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 In 1729, as a student at Oxford in England, John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, gathered a group together early each morning to spend much time in Bible study and methodical prayer. Other students jeered them, calling them "Methodists" because of their disciplined ways. Wesley had a way of turning criticism into usefulness, so he decided to claim the name that had been used
derisively.
Wesley was a scholar, and, following in his father's footsteps, he became a priest in the Anglican Church. He was a faithful follower of Jesus Christ, but most of his faith was logically derived. It wasn't until a special service nine years after he entered the ministry, at a meeting on
Aldersgate Street, that John Wesley experienced Christ in his heart in a very real way. He wrote, "I felt my heart strangely warmed." Wesley's preaching and leadership were never the same after that personal encounter with the Risen Lord.
Wesley said, "I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation, and assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and
death."
One of the things that defines
the United Methodist Church is
this continuing balance between
the heart and the head in faith.
We believe God moves in the
personal experience of people
and that's why we invite people
to accept Christ as Savior and
Lord.
But we
also have a
faith that is scholarly. Our clergy are
educated, with both college and seminary
degrees. And, we believe that the call to
discipleship for all Christians is also a
call to learn. So our church spends much
time, money, effort and energy on Christian
Education, Sunday School classes, weekday
Bible studies, and a variety of
opportunities offered to learn and grow in
faith. |
 The United Methodist church gathers to
worship and then scatters to serve. Wesley,
from the beginning, demonstrated how the
church encouraged spirituality, time for
prayer and Bible devotions, time for worship
and sharing one another's faith journeys in
small groups. Wesley led thousands upon
thousands to Christ by preaching in the
fields next to the factories in England.
Wesley spoke up strongly against the
practice of slavery, against the ills of
alcoholism, against the destructive
influences of gambling, and against war.
We are often asked by persons new to our church, just what it means to be a United Methodist and how are we different from other faith expressions. The United Methodist Church finds uniqueness in the way it accepts people as they are and yet challenges them to be better.
There are many ways in which we may
express our ideas about God a little bit differently than others express them, yet we have much in common with our brothers and sisters in Christ across the denominations that believe in the Trinity; God in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit.
What is important is not what we say that makes us different from Christians of other denominations. What is important is how we are listening to the true Word and Voice of God.
God is speaking to each of us. Is it too noisy for us to listen? God's still, small voice can yet be found among the competing voices in a sound-saturated society. If we quiet the voice of our own emotional discontent we can hear the comforting word of God. God's voice can be heard if we tune out the noise of our intellect, our arguments with what is said in the church or in the Scriptures. We may then hear a truth that reconciles reason and revelation.
God's voice can be heard if we tune out the noise of our busy, secular, selfish lives and put our focus on Him. |
