As the Book of Discipline puts it: And yet, like a stream that ebbs and flows, the doctrinal history section of our Book of Discipline paints the picture of a church has never been rigid or unyielding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is a core \u201cmarrow\u201d of beliefs, but beyond these \u201cessentials,\u201d there is room for difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Or as Wesley put it, \u201cAs to all opinions which do not strike at the root of Christianity, we think and let think.\u201d (p. 56).<\/p>\n\n\n\n We have the freedom and ability to both hold on to the core of Christian beliefs and to think and reason and disagree with one another in love about everything else. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I think this is a vital and important thing to remember as we make our way forward in this hyper-partisan and divided world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n In his 1750 sermon, \u201cCatholic Spirit,\u201d Wesley lays out what it means to be charitable in our thoughts.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Quoting from 2 Kings: 10:15, he lays out what it means to be one in heart\u2026 to be right in heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It isn\u2019t about sharing the same opinions, or even sharing the same worship practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n No, Wesley lays out what he believes are the essentials:<\/p>\n\n\n\n First, he wants to know if your heart is right with God. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Do you believe in God and believe in Jesus, and is your faith and belief \u201cfilled with the energy of love?\u201d (John Wesley\u2019s Sermons, p. 304) <\/p>\n\n\n\n In this limited time that we have on earth, are you trying to do God\u2019s will.. more afraid of displeasing the one we love, than of death or hell?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Second, is your heart right with your neighbor? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Do you have love for others, full of goodwill and tender affection? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Not just the folks who love you, but even your enemies\u2026 \u201cDo your bowels yearn over them?\u201d Wesley asks\u2026 which is kind of like staying, do you spend your time worrying about them \u2013 praying blessings over even those who would curse you? <\/p>\n\n\n\n And do you live out that love in actions? Do you take care of the wants of their bodies and souls?<\/p>\n\n\n\n If so, take my hand. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s show love to one another\u2026 the kind of love described in Paul\u2019s letter to the Corinthians, full of patience and humility. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s pray for one another that the love of God and neighbor would grow in our hearts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And let\u2019s join together in the work of God in the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n As the Methodist movement grew in Great Britain, sermons like this, along with the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England and Wesley\u2019s commentary on the New Testament, became the standards for teaching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We also taught our theology through a rich history of hymns and practices of community like the General Rules we talked about last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And each year, the preachers were called together at a conference where Wesley would instruct and supervise their work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n These were the boundaries of our doctrine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And then, these standards were shared in an American context. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Methodist movement grew up alongside the American Revolution and when England lost and the Church of England left the colonies, American Methodists were left without churches or leadership. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Reluctantly, John Wesley realized the necessity of an independent church and provided a basic liturgy, doctrinal statement, hymnbook, and General Rules. <\/p>\n\n\n\n At the Christmas Conference of 1784, the Methodist Episcopal Church was formed with the Articles of Religion as its only core doctrine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But there was an interesting shift that happened. Unlike Anglicans, who were required to subscribe to the Articles, Americans simply were instructed to keep their teaching to within those boundaries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Or as the Book of Discipline puts it: \u201cThe doctrinal emphases of these statements were carried forward by the weight of tradition rather than the force of law.\u201d (p. 60)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Truth be told, we launched out into the frontiers of the continent and placed much more focus on that \u201cpractical divinity\u201d that launched the Methodist movement\u2026 evangelism and nurture and mission\u2026 instead of worrying about formal doctrines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The same was true for the formation of the Evangelical Association and United Brethren traditions. Spreading the good news and calling believers into a life of witness and service was more important than theological speculation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Philip Otterbein and Martin Boehm came from German Reformed and Mennonite traditions respectively, but the leaders of these traditions discovered that although they had differences, they were brethren\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jacob Albright who began the Evangelical Association, was a German Lutheran who was formed in a Methodist class meeting. \u201cIf your heart is with my heart, give me your hand\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n In this graphic by Rev. Jeremy Smith, we get a glimpse of those different streams of theology and tradition that flow into the United Methodist Church today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Naming the richness and diversity of the church, our Book of Discipline also reminds us that \u201cCurrents of theology have developed out of the Black people\u2019s struggle for freedom, the movement for the full equality of women in church and society, and the quest for liberation and for indigenous forms of Christian existence in churches around the world.\u201d (p. 61)<\/p>\n\n\n\n All of that means that as we have become a global denomination\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n As we open our arms to folks of different theological traditions\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n As we allow language, culture, and lived experiences to encounter our traditions\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then, rather than become more rigid or uniform, our church expands its ability to keep discerning the most faithful way to live out the gospel in real life, in this community, today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Next week, we will talk about some of the tools we have at our disposal as United Methodists for that work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But we do so without sacrificing the core of what we believe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All along the way, we have continued to include in our doctrinal standards the Articles of Religion from the Methodist Church, the Confession of Faith of the EUB Church, the standard sermons of Wesley and his Explanatory Notes on the New Testament, and the General Rules of the Methodist Church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And we protect this core in our constitution, which declares that these may not be revoked, altered, or changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What I have come to understand, however, is that while we might all cling to that same \u201cmarrow\u201d of essential beliefs, there is much that we will disagree on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n John Wesley gives us this advice: \u201cIn essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; and in all things, charity (or love).\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier I asked the question:<\/p>\n\n\n\n What is the story of our people\u2026 how does it make us weep and grieve, and how can it be an opportunity for our future? <\/p>\n\n\n\n I must admit that my heart weeps and grieves right now for two reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First, when I remember and rediscover this rich history of theological difference, I have a hard time coming to terms with why my siblings in the United Methodist Church might want to leave and separate from me around a theological difference that isn\u2019t at the core of those beliefs. Why can we not stay united around our essentials?<\/p>\n\n\n\n But I also am grieved by the idea that our continued holding together has caused immense harm to our LGBTQ+ siblings, because we have not in fact created space for freedom. In fact, at our General Conference in 2019, we made our positions around human sexuality more rigid and punitive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We are stuck in a system that has winners and losers based on the outcome of a vote. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Our denomination is currently echoing the partisan divide of the nation and the hostility, misinformation, and bad feelings that it engenders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This week, I stumbled upon a hymn written by Charles Wesley that seems written for this moment. Echoing the same message as his brother\u2019s sermon, \u201cCatholic Spirit\u201d, \u201cCatholic Love\u201d call us to return to the core of love of God and love of neighbor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe pioneers in the traditions that flowed together into the United Methodist Church understood themselves as standing in the central stream of Christian spirituality and doctrine, loyal heirs of the authentic Christian tradition\u2026 grounded in the biblical message of God\u2019s self-giving love revealed in Jesus Christ.\u201d <\/p>p. 56<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
These distinctive theological traditions all rally around the core essentials of the faith\u2026 our love of God and neighbor put into practice in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"shows](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aws.hackingchristianity.net\/wp-content\/files\/umc-traditions-original-hx-450x253.png?resize=450%2C253&ssl=1\")
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