True to our roots
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Doctrine, spirit, and discipline.
Those are the three words Wesley used to describe what Methodists need to "hold fast" to in order to keep from becoming "a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power."
Doctrine includes the fundamental tenets of belief that define who we are as a church. Spirit indicates the attitude with which we approach our discipleship and mission. Discipline points toward our character and the seriousness with which we take our faith.
All three of these were essential to Wesley. Without them, the Methodists weren't Methodists at all. And in this strange time in the life of our church - where it is unclear whether the people called Methodists care enough to rescue their sinking ship - these three should be essential to us as well.
I write about this issue in my current column in the Reporter. It is not clear to me that the UMC has the stomach for a truly Wesleyan practice of faith. And we certainly do not live in a culture or a time that is conducive to such a practice. What do you think?
Those are the three words Wesley used to describe what Methodists need to "hold fast" to in order to keep from becoming "a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power."
Doctrine includes the fundamental tenets of belief that define who we are as a church. Spirit indicates the attitude with which we approach our discipleship and mission. Discipline points toward our character and the seriousness with which we take our faith.
All three of these were essential to Wesley. Without them, the Methodists weren't Methodists at all. And in this strange time in the life of our church - where it is unclear whether the people called Methodists care enough to rescue their sinking ship - these three should be essential to us as well.
I write about this issue in my current column in the Reporter. It is not clear to me that the UMC has the stomach for a truly Wesleyan practice of faith. And we certainly do not live in a culture or a time that is conducive to such a practice. What do you think?
Labels: Church Renewal, UMC, Wesleyan Heritage
posted by Andrew C. Thompson at 10:09 AM
2 Comments:
Andrew,
I would join you in being uncertain that "the UMC has the stomach for a truly Wesleyan practice of faith." For that reason I would say that it really matters not whether we live "in a culture or a time that is conducive to such a practice" so much as it matters terribly that we live in a church whose atmospheric conditions are conducive to it. Thanks for bringing it up.
I think we should examine ourselves--each our own spiritual situation. The first question to answer is whether I myself have "the stomach for a truly Wesleyan practice of faith." If I personally do not, then perhaps I had better do some soul searching and figure out why not. The church is us.
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