Touch points
Liz Selzer shares a liberating
approach to relational evangelism.
Amazing love William C. Goold celebrates the
300th birthday of Charles Wesley.
Modern day circuit rider Tina S. Pugel tells about
Wesley Putnam's road to ministry.
Church must support returning soldiers Kathy L. Gilbert reports on
army chaplains' call to the church.
Pastoral leadership and church membership Gregory D. Stover explains why
membership standards matter.
How to become a General Conference delegate Joe Kilpatrick outlines
election strategies for delegate hopefuls.
Aaron Neville's road to redemption Steve Beard profiles a music legend's return to faith.
COLUMNS
Editorial The continuing debate about
membership
Next GenerationThe dangers of transparency
RENEW Women's NetworkRetain the label-before
it's lost
The Great Commission Obscurity and fame
From the HeartMen without eyes
Letters to the Editor
Straight Talk
News Bishop applauds homosexual
membership as "courageous"
Decision 1032: Theologians
debate its implications
Scholarship fund set up in memory
of Robert D. Snyder
Culture in View The Reaping
News Analysis Has our United Methodist ad campaign ignited any church growth?
In the last magazine issue we talked about the label “Wesleyan/Methodist/Holiness” and how we should wear the label proudly. This time we focus upon retaining that label—before it’s lost.
What is the meaning of this statement? Considering product labels might provide clarity. Sometimes companies are sold or bought out. Under new management, the original product may change. Cost-cutting measures may cut product quality; design initiatives may alter the product line; a different business vision may eliminate the original product altogether.
In this article, we will pursue answers to a few questions: Why do we need to retain the label? What specifically should be retained? Why is there urgency in doing so?
1. Why do we need to retain the label? We need to retain the label because it represents something too good to lose. As I have continued my research into the Wesleyan heritage, I am deeply inspired by the Reformation faith rekindled in the hearts of John and Charles Wesley as they heard Martin Luther’s writings on Ephesians and Romans. I am awed by the providential meeting of the Wesleys with the Moravians on their journey to America, and how this initial contact forged a link to the Moravian faith that traced itself back to the heroic John Hus, burned at the stake in 1415, and to the writings of John Wyclif, which shaped the teaching of Hus. As John Wesley took his holy orders, his studies brought him to Catholic and Anglican writers from earlier centuries, whose scriptural truths moved him toward a deeper faith commitment. Upon viewing this historic panorama of Christian faith, one could easily visualize the plan of God to preserve the Apostolic faith throughout all generations. Nor was it difficult to see the role of Methodism in that process.
2. What specifically needs to be retained? John and Charles encountered deep piety, sincerity, and assurance in the Moravians that pointed them toward saving faith. The Moravians held a steadfast belief in: the authority of Holy Scripture; the evangelical assurance that a man is justified before God “through the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ and the righteousness which is of God”; and, in the way of life and worship portrayed in the New Testament. From Luther, both Charles and John came to understand that, “by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest
anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). They grasped that it was not their righteous acts, but the righteousness of Christ and his atoning death that would redeem them as they received, by faith and through repentance, this gift from God.
Out of this background, John Wesley identified the “main branches” of Christian doctrine as original sin, the atonement of Christ, justification by faith, the Holy Spirit, the New Birth, Christian assurance, and holiness.
John Wesley’s sermon “Almost Christian” presses home the message that good works are not saving. He insists that only a personal conversion can transform one from an “Almost Christian” into an “Altogether Christian.” Even so, good works are integral to Wesleyan theology. In this same sermon, Wesley reminds his reader, “It is crucial to keep in mind that the kind of faith which fails to produce repentance, love, and good works is not genuine living faith.”
3. Why the urgency? Since the late 1800s, with the advent of Social Darwinism and higher criticism right up to the present time, there have been attempts to “buy out” the Wesleyan/Methodist/Holiness label. Unfortunately, those who desire to “manage” the United Methodist Church desire to cut product quality, alter the product line, and change the label. Recommended new labels include: Universalism/Pluralism/Syncretism; Social/Political/Governmental; Socialism/Liberationism/Feminism; Homosexual/Transgendered/Bisexual. Do we as faithful United Methodists approve these proposed new labels? Some believe we need to move rapidly toward one or more of these options. Are we ready to discard the Wesleyan/Methodist/Holiness label in favor of these labels?
Next time we will discuss how we can prevent a “sell out.”
(References: The Methodist Heritage, by Henry Carter, Abingdon Press; John Wesley on Christian Beliefs: The Standard Sermons in Modern English, by Kenneth Kinghorn, Abingdon Press)
RENEW is the women’s program arm of the GOOD NEWS movement. For additional information, visit us at: renewnetwork.org; or contact us at: renew1@hemc.net;
P.O. Box 889, Cornelia, GA 30531; 706-778-4812. Your contributions to this ministry are needed and appreciated!GOOD NEWS
Click here to send your response plus the title of this article to us at Good News.