Christian. Evangelical. Methodist. Friend of Israel. Publisher of Methodist Prayer.
Joined December 2008
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Jun 10
A worship service can be a blend of Anglican liturgy and revivalist liturgy. It can be done!
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Jun 10
Leaning hard into entire sanctification is one way that a Global Methodist congregation can avoid becoming indistinguishable from a garden-variety evangelical church.
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Jun 10
Another is keeping at least a somewhat recognizable Anglican order of worship, even if it’s adapted and abbreviated.
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Jun 8
A couple of reasons:
1. The UMC branding. It is confusing to anyone visiting who doesn’t understand the difference between UMC and GMC. The UMC has a bad reputation right now and many people don’t want their church associated with it.
2. The UM Hymnal is good but not great. It changed lyrics that should’ve been left alone and it has too many dated songs from the 60s that won’t stand the test of time. OGRP has more Wesleyan hymns and an overall better selection of classic hymns that teach doctrine.
Why people so quickly dispose of such fine work found in the Book of Worship and UMC hymnal, I will never understand? I say this as GMC. It wasn't the doctrine found in those books that caused the great divide. It was the disregard for it........
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Jun 5
“If God can instantaneously make a spiritual man out of a sinner, he can, with even greater ease, make a holy man out of a Christian.” — Beverly Carradine, Methodist pastor & evangelist (1848-1931). FUN FACT: He is the great-grandfather of actors Keith, Robert, and David Carradine.
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Jun 4
A couple of years ago, I read Kevin Watson’s book “Perfect Love”… it’s about recovering the doctrine of entire sanctification (aka Christian perfection) … the “lost power of the Methodist movement.” I found it helpful, but I read it and then put it on a shelf, both literally and figuratively. A couple of months ago, when online Global Methodists began discussing a revised and combined Articles of Faith, I joined the conversation and jumped back into reading Methodist theology in a serious way, especially the early stuff (e.g. Wesley, Fletcher, Clarke, Watson). (1/) cont.
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Jun 4
The biggest challenge for me is sharing my experience. This doctrine has been needlessly controversial throughout history, and it’s largely misunderstood. But after praying, God impressed upon me the importance of encouraging others by telling my story. He specifically brought Matthew 5:14-16 to my mind. (10/)
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Jun 4
I’ll have more to say about this as I continue to process what’s happened. The main takeaway is that Jesus is able to save us from all sin, even inward sin. We don’t have to wait until we die to experience that freedom. Jesus can and will completely save us… and we can expect it even now. (11/11)
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Jun 1
I’m reading a book by Methodist pastor and theologian Asbury Lowrey (1816-1898). He was born 11 days before Bishop Francis Asbury died, and was obviously named after him. What a classy first name!
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May 30
“In so far as any man has the remains of indwelling sin in him, he has opposition to holiness within him. We heard a minister say not long since that ‘he found something in himself that kicks against holiness.’ We did not doubt it, carnal nature always ‘kicks against holiness.’ When men are opposed to holiness it is because holiness is opposed to them.” — John Allen Wood
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Shane Raynor retweeted
May 25
Lovick Pierce (a 19th century Methodist pastor) said at a General Conference that “the desire of entire sanctification is dying out in the Church, because the grade of religion our people have been running upon is below the level where sanctification begins.”
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