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after the manner of John Wesley by Wm. Michael Clemmer
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The United Methodist Church, generally, and local congregations, specifically, are once more going through a period of unsettledness and discomfort that is extending from the pew to the pulpit, from the pulpit to the episcopal office. There are good reasons for the unsettledness and the discomfort. There are important decisions to be made, and there is an important witness to be lived. All of this poses difficult questions that must be answered in the restless, sometimes stormy sea of information, beliefs, feelings, actions and reactions that is our human life. There is much that needs to be sorted through as we seek answers to our questions so the decisions can be made and the witness can be lived. At least one thing is certain as we United Methodists do our sorting, our decision-making, and our witnessing: we will frequently disagree. It is even likely that we will disagree with one another more than we agree with each other. Thankfully, our unity as United Methodists does not have to depend upon our total agreement about what our answers to all our questions are, about the final decisions that are made, or about every detail of the way we live our witness. Our unity depends on the "method" we use to seek our answers. The method itself rests upon our honest answers to some very pointed questions.
Some Core Questions The fundamental, unavoidable question that we who are United Methodists face in our lives together and in our individual lives is:
Are you seeking the mind If there is any answer to any question that United Methodists agree about, then it is our "YES" in response to this question. The "YES" may be tentative or qualified; it may be hesitant or irresolute; it may be shallow or cursory; it may be firm or unconditional; it may be bold or settled; it may be life-encompassing or profound; ... it is somehow "YES" to the search for the mind of Christ. This question and our "YES" in response is a common thread that ties United Methodists together. John Wesley advised: "Seek God alone ... Beware you do not stick in the work itself; if you do it is labor lost. Nothing short of God can satisfy your soul. Therefore, eye him in all, through all, and above all." Another question that bears weightily on the "method" is:
What is the duty of one who In contrast to the first question, the answer to this question cannot be reduced to a simple yes or no. This question demands some intense and careful thought as well as commitment to action. Here is a challenge extended to search out and become familiar with all that God has spoken ... not just convenient or easily accepted bits and pieces ... not just the parts that seem to support our preconceived notions. John Wesley, as he planted the seeds of Methodism, emphasized that, vital to seeking the mind of Christ, is a willingness to hear the whole witness of the word of God.
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Wesley exhorted early Methodists: "Whatever prejudices you have contracted from education, custom, or example, divest yourselves of them, as far as possible. Be willing to receive light either from God or man; do not shut your eyes against it. Rather, be glad to see more than you did before ..." Wesley perceived that the truth of God's word had been broken into pieces and scattered abroad, with each denomination or faction of Christians holding onto one part or another of the whole. Wesley hoped that those who would follow the whole word of God would "...gather up all these fragments, that, if possible, nothing be lost ..." Next, there is a two-fold question to be considered: Ought we not to love our neighbor as ourselves? Does someone cease to be our neighbor because s/he has and declares a different opinion than is ours? At this point, we turn the focus of our attention to relationships among human beings. It seems safe to say that both Jesus and John Wesley realized that it is not shared opinion, theology or practice that fundamentally holds people together. The "glue" is love of God and love of each other. Jesus has provided the model showing humankind how to love God and each other. Jesus has provided the revelation of God's love for all humankind. In the light of Jesus' life, his persecution and death at the hands of those who "disagreed" with his opinions and teachings; and, in the light of the persecution and sufferings of early Methodists at the hands of those who disagreed with them; John Wesley advised Methodists: "Condemn no [one] for not thinking as you think: Let every one enjoy the full and free liberty of thinking for himself: Let every [one] use his own judgement, since every [one] must give an account of himself to God. Abhor every approach, in any kind or degree, to the spirit of persecution. If you cannot reason or persuade a [person] into the truth, never attempt to force him into it. If love will not compel him to come in, leave him to God, the Judge of all." Historically, Methodism has emphasized a Christ- centered, word of God based, highly self-disciplined, and simple (in the sense of refraining from unnecessary complexity and adornment) approach to thinking, believing and living. However, from the beginning, it has been held that it is a "method" of living that each person must willingly embrace and can only accept as the light of Christ shows the way. It was not that John Wesley advocated a "soft", a "passive" or a "silent" Christianity. Rather, Wesley clearly believed that those who seek the mind of Christ should only be strict with themselves; strict in the sense of being as honest and as consistent as possible in the quality of their own lives. John Wesley wrote: "If you walk ... continually endeavoring to know and love and resemble and obey the great God ... as the God of love, of pardon-ing mercy; if from this principle of loving, obedient faith, you carefully abstain from all evil, and labor, as you have opportunity, to do good to all [people], friends and enemies; if, lastly, you unite together, to encourage and to help each other in thus working out your salvation, and for that end watch over one another in love, you are they whom I mean by Methodists."
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