Methodism defined

Methodism- Doctrine and Origin

Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother Charles was instrumental in writing much of the hymnody of the Methodist Church. George Whitefield, another significant leader in the movement, was known for his unorthodox ministry of itinerant open-air preaching. The Methodist Church is known for its missionary work,[8] and its establishment of hospitals, universities, orphanages, soup kitchens, and schools to follow Jesus' command to spread the Good News and serve all people.

Wesley, along with his brother founded the Holy Club while they were at Oxford, where John was a fellow and later a lecturer at Lincoln College. The holy club met weekly and they systematically set about living a holy life. They were branded as "Methodist" by students at Oxford who derided the methodical way they ordered their lives. Wesley took the attempted mockery and turned it into a title of honour. Initially Whitefield and the Wesleys merely sought reform, by way of a return to the gospel, within the Church of England, but the movement spread with revival and soon a significant number of Anglican clergy became known as Methodists in the mid-18th century. The movement did not form a separate denomination in England until after John Wesley's death in 1791. Although Wesley and the majority of his followers were decidedly Arminian in their theological outlook, George Whitefield, Howell Harris,and Selina Hastings (the Countess of Huntingdon) were notable for being Calvinistic Methodists

A return to the gospel. Much like Martin Luther when he began the protestant church. He felt the church had gotten too involved in superficial influences and power struggles as well as manipulation of the masses by keeping them ignorant of the truth. The truth being the Word of God.

Vintage Christianity is about contending earnestly for a return to the First Gospel. The gospel that the apostles preached. The gospel that at one time changed the world forever. The gospel that says Jesus “died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3-4 ESV).

It is about being faithful to the biblical text, not going beyond it, and not falling short of it. It is about engaging the culture around us with the pure gospel of Christ, following Jesus’ example of love and compassion, grace and truth, worship and mission, life and death.

Early Methodists were drawn from all levels of society, including the aristocracy,[4] but the Methodist preachers took the message to labourers and criminals who tended to be left outside of organized religion at that time.[13] Wesley himself thought it wrong to preach outside a church building until persuaded otherwise by Whitefield.

Doctrinally, the branches of Methodism following the Wesleys are Arminian, while those following Harris and Whitefield are Calvinistic.[5] Wesley maintained the Arminian doctrines that were dominant in the 18th-century Church of England, while Whitefield adopted Calvinism through his contacts with Calvinists in Scotland and New England. This caused serious strains on the relationship between Whitefield and Wesley, with Wesley becoming quite hostile toward Whitefield in what had been previously very close relations. Whitefield consistently begged Wesley not to let these differences sever their friendship and, in time their friendship was restored, though this was seen by many of Whitefield's followers to be a doctrinal compromise.[15] As a final testimony of their friendship, John Wesley's sermon on Whitefield's death is full of praise and affection.[16

The Methodist revival originated in Epworth, North Lincolnshire, England. It began with a group of men, including John Wesley and his younger brother Charles, as a movement within the Church of England in the 18th century. The movement focused on Bible study and a methodical approach to scriptures and Christian living. The name "methodist" was a pejorative name given to a small society of students at Oxford who met together between 1729 and 1735 for the purpose of mutual improvement, given because of their methodistic habits. They were accustomed to receiving communion every week, fasting regularly, and abstaining from most forms of amusement and luxury. They also frequently visited the sick and the poor, as well as prisoners.

Methodist preachers were notorious for their enthusiastic sermons and often accused of fanaticism. In those days, many members of England's established church feared that new doctrines declared by the Methodists, such as the necessity of a new birth for salvation, of justification by faith, and of the constant and sustained action of the Holy Spirit upon the believer's soul, would produce ill effects upon weak minds. Theophilus Evans, an early critic of the movement, even wrote that it was "the natural Tendency of their Behaviour, in Voice and Gesture and horrid Expressions, to make People mad." In one of his prints, William Hogarth likewise attacked Methodists as "enthusiasts" full of "Credulity, Superstition and Fanaticism." But the Methodists resisted the many attacks against their movement.

John Wesley came under the influence of the Moravians, and of the Dutch theologian Jacobus Arminius, while Whitefield adopted Calvinistic views. Consequently, their followers separated, those of Whitefield becoming Calvinistic Methodists. Wesleyan Methodists have followed Arminian theology.

Most Methodists identify with the Arminian conception of free will, through God's prevenient grace, as opposed to the theological fatalism of absolute predestination. Historically this distinguishes Methodism from the Calvinist tradition prevalent in Reformed churches. In strongly Reformed areas such as Wales, however, Calvinistic Methodists remain, also called the Presbyterian Church of Wales. The Calvinist Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion was also strongly associated with the Methodist revival.

Methodism affirms the traditional Christian belief in the triune Godhead: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as well as the orthodox understanding of the consubstantial humanity and divinity of Jesus. Most Methodists also affirm the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed. In devotional terms, these confessions are said to embrace the biblical witness to God's activity in creation, encompass God's gracious self-involvement in the dramas of history, and anticipate the consummation of God's reign.

It is a historical position of the church that any disciplined theological work calls for the careful use of reason. By reason, it is said, one reads and is able to interpret Scripture coherently and consistently. By reason one determines whether one's Christian witness is clear. By reason one asks questions of faith and seeks to understand God's action and will.

The first American Methodist bishops were Thomas Coke and Francis Asbury, Circuit riders, many of whom were laymen, traveled by horseback to preach the gospel and establish churches until there was scarcely any crossroad community in America without a Methodist expression of Christianity. One of the most famous circuit riders was Robert Strawbridge who lived in the vicinity of Carroll County, Maryland soon after arriving in the Colonies around 1760.

The Third Great Awakening from 1858 to 1908 saw enormous growth in Methodist membership, and a proliferation of institutions such as colleges (e.g., Morningside College). Methodists were often involved in the Missionary Awakening and the Social Gospel Movement. The awakening in so many cities in 1858 started the movement, but in the North it was interrupted by the Civil War. In the South, on the other hand, the Civil War stimulated revivals, especially in Lee's army.

In 1914–1917 many Methodist ministers made strong pleas for world peace. To meet their demands[citation needed], President Woodrow Wilson (a Presbyterian), promised "a war to end all wars." In the 1930s many Methodists favored isolationist policies. Thus in 1936, Methodist Bishop James Baker, of the San Francisco Conference, released a poll of ministers showing 56% opposed warfare. However, the Methodist Federation did call for a boycott of Japan, which had invaded China and was disrupting missionary activity there.[26] In Chicago, sixty-two local African Methodist Episcopal churches voted their support for the Roosevelt administration's policy, while opposing any plan to send American troops overseas to fight. When war came in 1941, the vast majority of Methodists strongly supported the national war effort, but there were also a few (673[27]) conscientious objectors.

The United Methodist Church was formed in 1968 as a result of a merger between the Evangelical United Brethren (EUB) and the Methodist Church. The former church had resulted from mergers of several groups of German Methodist heritage. There was no longer any need or desire to worship in the German language. The merged church had approximately 9 million members as of the late 1990s. While United Methodist Church in America membership has been declining, associated groups in developing countries are growing rapidly.

Famous Methodists

Will Rogers - popular TV and film cowboy; humorist

Robert Mitchum - actor (nominal Methodist)

 James Arness – actor

Rush Limbaugh -popular conservative talk show host

 James Knox Polk - 11th U.S. President

- Ulysses S Grant - 18th U.S. President

- Rutherford B. Hayes - 19th U.S. President

- William McKinley - 25th U.S. President

- George W. Bush - 43rd US President

Alben W. Barkley - U.S. Vice-President under Truman

- Hubert H. Humphrey - U.S. Vice-President under L.B. Johnson

- Walter F. Mondale - U.S. Vice-President under Carter

- Dick Cheney - U.S. Vice-President under George W. Bush

Norman Vincent Peale - popular American preacher, inspirational author; (ordained in Methodist Episcopal Church, but converted to Dutch Reformed

Bart Starr - football player

- Fran Tarkenton - professional football player

John Wesleys Covenant……………..

Christ has many services to be done. Some are easy, others are difficult. Some bring honour, others bring reproach. Some are suitable to our natural inclinations and temporal interests, others are contrary to both... Yet the power to do all these things is given to us in Christ, who strengthens us.

 ...I am no longer my own but yours. Put me to what you will, rank me with whom you will; put me to doing, put me to suffering; let me be employed for you or laid aside for you, exalted for you or brought low for you; let me be full, let me be empty, let me have all things, let me have nothing; I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things to your pleasure and disposal.

—Wesley Covenant Prayer