Methodist-y
Michael Airgood pulled out a John Wesley Quote on our Talk About... blog and now I'm getting all "Methodist-y" here...
From The Story of Methodistm Throughout the World, from the Beginning to the Present Time; Tracing the Rise and Progress of that Wonderful Religious Movement, which Like the Gulf Stream, Has Given Warmth to Wide Waters and Verdure to Many Lands; and Giving an Account of Its Various Influences and Institutions of To-day. (heh, no kidding) by A.B. Hyde, D.D., Professor of Greek in the University of Denver; Member of American Philological Association; of American Society of Biblical Exegesis; of Summer School of Philosophy, etc.; lately Professor of Biblical Literature, Allegheny College, Pa. (heh, no kidding). Published 1889...
[Methodism] introduced to the world no new ecclesiastical institute, but a newness of life; not a new formula of doctrines, but a fresh and full experience, under doctrines accepted from the beginning, the simple foundation doctrines on which Christianity itself was resting. The word Methodism was only an old term revived, and not one newly coined.
That's just from the first page (okay, I'm not very far into the book - not COMPLETELY Methodist-y today...heh). What struck me about this quick assessment was the ideas of newness and freshness - ideas that we don't generally associate with the United Methodist church these days. Old, dusty, stoggy - or out of touch, dwindling, backwards...
But there are signs of Freshness and Newness. Check out Hot Metal Bridge (http://www.hotmetalbridge.com/) for one type of Newness. Check out Ginghamsburg (http://ginghamsburg.org/) for one type of Freshness. Check out Leonard Sweet's writing or William H. Willimon. Go to UMCOR (http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/) and see the kind of stuff we can do as a denomination. Not a "one size fits all" denomination, but there are still signs of life...and hope...and we still proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
We're doing some seemingly small things here at First UMC - but I'm feeling a fresh wind of the Spirit here. Something's different this time. Something good is coming. Something wonderful - as we keep our eyes on Jesus...
From The Story of Methodistm Throughout the World, from the Beginning to the Present Time; Tracing the Rise and Progress of that Wonderful Religious Movement, which Like the Gulf Stream, Has Given Warmth to Wide Waters and Verdure to Many Lands; and Giving an Account of Its Various Influences and Institutions of To-day. (heh, no kidding) by A.B. Hyde, D.D., Professor of Greek in the University of Denver; Member of American Philological Association; of American Society of Biblical Exegesis; of Summer School of Philosophy, etc.; lately Professor of Biblical Literature, Allegheny College, Pa. (heh, no kidding). Published 1889...
[Methodism] introduced to the world no new ecclesiastical institute, but a newness of life; not a new formula of doctrines, but a fresh and full experience, under doctrines accepted from the beginning, the simple foundation doctrines on which Christianity itself was resting. The word Methodism was only an old term revived, and not one newly coined.
That's just from the first page (okay, I'm not very far into the book - not COMPLETELY Methodist-y today...heh). What struck me about this quick assessment was the ideas of newness and freshness - ideas that we don't generally associate with the United Methodist church these days. Old, dusty, stoggy - or out of touch, dwindling, backwards...
But there are signs of Freshness and Newness. Check out Hot Metal Bridge (http://www.hotmetalbridge.com/) for one type of Newness. Check out Ginghamsburg (http://ginghamsburg.org/) for one type of Freshness. Check out Leonard Sweet's writing or William H. Willimon. Go to UMCOR (http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/) and see the kind of stuff we can do as a denomination. Not a "one size fits all" denomination, but there are still signs of life...and hope...and we still proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
We're doing some seemingly small things here at First UMC - but I'm feeling a fresh wind of the Spirit here. Something's different this time. Something good is coming. Something wonderful - as we keep our eyes on Jesus...
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