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A Very Brief History of the United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church traces its beginnings to 1739, developed as theology of reformation from within the Church of England by the reverend John Wesley and his younger brother Charles. While studying theology at the University of Oxford, John - who was a fellow or professor - Charles and several others formed a formal group for study and devotional exercises and helping the underprivileged. This group gathered around the Wesley brothers were labeled Methodists by fellow students because of their use of rules and "methods" to about their devotional and religious affairs.
The beginning of Methodism as a popular movement began in 1738, when both of the Wesley brothers, influenced by contact with the Moravians, undertook evangelistic preaching with an emphasis on conversion and holiness. Though both Wesley brothers were ordained ministers of the Church of England, they were barred from speaking in most of its pulpits because of their evangelistic methods. They preached in homes, farm houses, barns, open fields, and wherever they found an audience.
Neither John nor Charles set out to form a new church but rather their goal was formation of small "faith restoration groups" designed out of the theologies and principles of the Anglican Church and meant to act within the established ecclesial systems already in place within the Anglican Communion. These "United Societies" formed by John Wesley, however, did spread, and eventually became its own unique church in 1744.
Methodism, at its beginnings, was an urban movement the centers of which were Newcastle in the north, the port city of Bristol and London. Methodism drew followers from among the working-class people who came to characterize the earliest formal congregations of the budding denomination. Methodism's early preachers preached in the open air a message of salvation by faith, freely available grace, and the goodness and absolute fairness of God, drawing to them huge crowds in the open fields and city streets.
On the American continent, Methodist ideals were first preached by John Wesley as appointed missionary priest in the colony of Georgia from his parish churches on Saint Simon's Island and in Savannah. Eventually becoming the Methodist Episcopal Church, the movement retained much of the high Anglican style with the uniquely Methodist theology. In the decades before the Civil War, the Methodist Episcopal Church divided over issues of slavery and bishops' ownership of slaves into northern and southern branches. In 1939, three branches of Methodism (The Methodist Protestant Church, The Methodist Episcopal Church and the Methodist Episcopal Church South) came to a new agreement to reunite under the name "The Methodist Church. This nearly eight million member church thrived on its own for the next twenty-nine years.
In 1968, the bishops of the The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church took necessary steps to combine the two denominations into, what is today, the second largest Protestant denomination in the United States; the United Methodist Church. What The United Methodist Church Believes
Wesley's three basic precepts that began the Methodist tradition consisted of:
1. Shun evil and avoid partaking in wicked deeds at all costs, 2. Perform kind acts as much as possible, and 3. Abide by the edicts of God the Almighty Father.
God is all-knowing, possesses infinite love and goodness, is all-powerful, and the creator of all things.
God has always existed and will always continue to exist.
God is three persons in one, the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit.
God is the master of all creation and humans are meant to live in a holy covenant with him.
Humans have broken this covenant by their sins, and can only be forgiven if they truly have faith in the love and saving grace of Jesus Christ.
Jesus was God on Earth (conceived of a virgin), in the form of a man who was crucified for the sins of all people, and who was physically resurrected to bring them the hope of eternal life.
The grace of God is seen by people through the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives and in their world.
Close adherence to the teachings of Scripture is essential to the faith because Scripture is the Word of God. Christians are part of a universal church and must work with all Christians to spread the love of God.
Baptism is a sacrament or ceremony in which a person is anointed with water to symbolize being brought into the community of faith.
Communion is a sacrament in which participants eat bread and drink juice to show that they continue to take part in Christ's redeeming resurrection by symbolically taking part in His body (the bread) and blood (the juice).
Wesley taught his followers that Baptism and Communion are not only sacraments, but also sacrifices to God. People can only be saved through faith in Jesus Christ, not by any other acts of redemption such as good deeds.
What Makes United Methodists Different from Other Protestant Denominations?
The most fundamental distinction of Methodist teaching is that people must use logic and reason in all matters of faith. Also important is the acknowledgment of "prevenient," "justifying," and "sanctifying" graces. It is taught that people are blessed with these graces at different times through the power of the Holy Spirit. Prevenient grace is present before they are saved from the error of their ways.
Justifying grace is given at the time of their repentance and forgiveness by God. And sanctifying grace is received when they have finally been saved from their sins and the sins of the world. And lastly, the Methodist Church puts a great emphasis on missionary work and other forms of spreading the Word of God and His love to others. Doctrinal Standards of the United Methodist Church
The officially established Doctrinal Standards of United Methodism are:
2. The Confessions of Faith of the Evangelical United Brethren Church; The General Rules of the Methodist Societies;
3. The Standard Sermons of John Wesley; And John Wesley's Explanatory Notes on the New Testament.
* Rev. John Wesley recognized none as Methodists who did not recognize the named Standards of Doctrine. Other doctrines of the United Methodist Church are found in the Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church.
""When any one asks for authority for calling Wesley's "Notes" and the first fifty-three of his "Sermons" (of the one hundred and forty-seven published in 1771) our "Standards of Doctrines" the answer will be conclusive to all logical minds by citing the fact that Mr. Wesley recognized none as Methodists who did not recognized the named standards; that Mr. Wesley, personally, through special authority, delegated by word of mouth and explicit communication by Dr. Coke, organized the Church in America the latter part of the same year he recorded his "Deed of Declaration;" and that he planned the Church in America in every detail of essential principle, even giving it a limited episcopacy; the Church in America acknowledged in every moment and by preaching and teaching Wesley's "Sermons" and "Notes" that it was organized as a Wesley Methodist Church." (Why two Episcopal Methodist churches in the United States?: A brief history ... By William Abraham Bowen, 1901)
Wesleyan theology stands at a unique cross-roads between evangelical and sacramental, between liturgical and charismatic, and between Anglo-Catholic and Reformed theology and practice. It has been characterized by Arminian theology with an emphasis on the work of the Holy Spirit to bring holiness into the life of the participating believer. The United Methodist Church believes in prima scriptura (rather than sola scriptura) , seeing the Bible as the primary authority in the Church writ large and using sacred tradition, reason, and experience to interpret it, with the aid of the Holy Spirit Therefore, according to The Book of Discipline, United Methodist theology is at once "catholic [universal], evangelical, and reformed." Today, the UMC is generally considered one of the more moderate and tolerant denominations with respect to race, gender, and ideology, though the denomination itself actually includes a very wide spectrum of attitudes. Comparatively, the UMC stands to the right of liberal Protestant groups such as the United Church of Christ and the Episcopal Church on certain lifestyle issues (especially regarding sexuality), but to the left of historically conservative evangelical traditions such as the Southern Baptists and Pentecostalism, in regard to theological matters such as Biblical interpretation. A great emphasis is placed on the individual's own interpretation and understanding of Scriptures, they being filtered through one's own understanding of traditions, one's own process of reason and one's own experiences. |
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