Charles Wesley's Words Against Separation

This article was shared with me by S T Kimbrough, Jr.

A key sentences reads "Regardless of current opinions in the church, remembering the posture of our founders is essential if we would bear the name Methodist."

Kimbrough  is a retired NAC member of the North Alabama Conference and serves as a Research Fellow in the Center for Studies in the Wesleyan Tradition at Duke Divinity School

At the conclusion of John Wesley’s treatise Reasons Against Separation from the Church of England (1758) there is a rarely quoted paragraph written by his brother Charles Wesley. As one carefully considers issues related to dividing The United Methodist Church it behooves us to hear these words of one of the founders of the Methodist movement.

        “I think myself bound in duty, to add my testimony to my brother’s.

    His twelve reasons against our ever Separating from the Church of England,

    are mine also. I subscribe to them with all my heart. Only with regard to the

    first, I am quite clear, that it is neither expedient, nor lawful for me to

    separate: and I never had the least inclination or temptation so to do. My

    affection for the Church is as strong as ever; and I clearly see my calling;

    which is, to live and to die in her communion. This therefore, I am determined

    to do, the Lord being my helper.

        I have subjoined the Hymns for the Lay-Preachers; still farther to secure

    this end, to cut off all jealously and suspicion from our friends, or hope from

    our enemies, of our having any design of ever separating from the Church.

    I have no secret reserve, or distant thought of it. I never had. Would to God

    all the Methodist preachers were, in this respect, like minded with

                                                                                        CHARLES WESLEY.”

Following this statement Charles included a series of hymns and poems pertinent to this theme. I quote only one of them here. Regardless of current opinions in the church, remembering the posture of our founders is essential if we would bear the name Methodist. As “God is love,” the Wesleys remind us that this is the central force of individual and corporate life together. Charles reminds us that God transcends the opinions of our hearts: thou art greater than our heart. And humble love is to be our ongoing mark as followers of Jesus. In the current turmoil in United Methodism the deep sense of humble love in the spirit of Charles Wesley’s text below, alone is worthy of the people called Methodists who claim to be followers of Christ.

                    O Lord, our strength and righteousness,

                        Our base, and head, and corner-stone,

                    Our peace with God, our mutual peace,

                        Unite, and keep thy servants one,

                    That while we speak in Jesus’ name,

                    We all may speak, and think the same.

                    That spirit of love to each impart,

                        That fervent mind, which was in thee,

                    So shall we all our strength exert,

                        In heart, and word, and deed agree

                    T’ advance the kingdom of thy grace,

                    And spread thine everlasting praise.

                    O never may the Fiend steal in,

                        Or one unstable soul deceive:

                    Assailed by our besetting sin,

                        And tempted ’fore the work to leave,

                    Preserve us, Lord, from self and pride,

                    And let nor life, nor death divide.

                    Pride, only pride, can cause divorce,

                        Can separate ’twixt our souls and thee:

                    Pride, only pride, is discord’s source,

                        The bane of peace and charity;

                    But us it never more shall part,

                    For thou art greater than our heart.

                    Wherefore to thine almighty hand

                        The keeping of our hearts we give,

                    Firm in one mind and spirit stand,

                        To thee, and to each other cleave,

                    Fixed on the Rock which cannot move,

                    And meekly safe in humble love.

S T Kimbrough, Jr., retired NAC member

Interview with Paul Chilcote, Don Saliers, and Steve Harper

I was honored with a conversation on my new book with three people I look up to, Paul Chilcote, Don Saliers, and Steve Harper. This is segment #3 of UMsConnected, a new resource for those of us moving forward together as part of the United Methodist Church.

 

What if Someone Says Something I Don’t Like?

I get tired of having the same conversation over and over (haha). Somebody tagged me in a post about something an episcopal candidate in another Jurisdiction said, taken out of context to conclude that she didn’t believe in the divinity of Christ (which of course is not what she said).

First, I untagged myself from the post. Second, I wrote this. I share it with you, friends.

—

I don’t know her and she’s not a bishop, but here’s my comment. Every denomination has outliers and envelope pushers and extremists. If you leave the UMC, you are not leaving the outliers and extremists. You are leaving the main body of a wonderful denomination, for another denomination that will also have outliers and extremists. It’s human nature. If you shake a religious tree in America, a nut will fall out. In a 12.5 million person denomination, somebody somewhere is going to say something I don’t agree with. So?

It’s not new, and we work it out in the messiness of Christian community. It doesn’t bother me that somebody I don’t know somewhere believes something differently than me. Unless I’m willing to go have coffee with her, I let it go. Since this was given to me third hand and out if context, I do not fall prey to the hysteria. 

It bothers me that these little anecdotes and sound bites and half-truths get spread around the internet used as justification when the real reason people are leaving is over their fundamental intolerance of our differences. It’s nothing more that witch hunting. I choose love.

You asked, so I answered.

This is an excellent example of the method of rhetoric that involves taking an extreme example, spreading it as a anecdote out of context and perhaps even exaggerating it, wrapping it into a narrative of the infidelity of the whole, and using it to justify leaving. I’d rather just focus on making disciples.

Birmingham Area Book Signings

Live in the Birmingham area? I'd love to see you. Join me on Nov. 9 at 10 am at Bluff Park UMC or on Nov. 13 anytime between 5:30-7:00 pm at Trinity UMC West Campus.

 

Balancing Resources

There is misinformation being spread by some to actively recruit churches to leave our denomination. Much of it consists of either strawman arguments or exaggerated, extreme examples that do not represent the whole.

I have nothing against those that are leaving. I just believe in telling the truth, and that laity deserve to have balanced and accurate information.

I offer these balancing resources.

North Alabama Conference Releases Excellent Set of FAQ’s in October of 2022

Adam Hamilton Responds to Maligning and Misleading Videos by Rob Renfroe

Bishops Push Back Against Recruitment Tactics

African Bishops Condemn the WCA and refuse to go into the GMC

What’s Next for the UMC? - An older but still relevant video by Lovett Weems

Council of Bishop’s Narrative for the Continuing UMC

Requirements for the Discernment Process - North Alabama Conference of the UMC

StayUMC – Grassroots coalition of North Alabama United Methodists

Celebrate the UMC Event in Montgomery - Featuring Tom Berlin … *BEST VIDEO TO SEE*

Sermon by John Robbins of Pulaski Heights UMC on Staying in the UMC

Messages from the NAC3 Team

    June 2 message

    July 6 message

    July 28 message

    August 25 message

    November 16 message

#BeUMC - United Methodist Communications

What We Believe – The United Methodist Church

Is the United Methodist Church Really …? - Myth busting by “Ask the UMC”

    Part 1

    Part 2

    Part 3

    Part 4

     

    Part 5

United Methodist Social Principles

“Why I’m Not Leaving the United Methodist Church”

Letter by Steve West that went viral after first Clear Branch event promoting leaving the UMC

Open Letter to Chris Ritter - Letter by Steve West that went viral in response to biased side-by-side comparison distributed by the WCA

More Accurate Side-by-side Comparison of the UMC and GMC - North Texas AC

Adam Hamilton on Why Stay in the UMC - Video of Church Council meeting

Adam Hamilton visits Asbury UMC Birmingham - Cosponsored by Stay UMC

Addressing Myths about the Future UMC - Steve Harper dispels myths about future beliefs

“That We May Be One” – Texas 

“Abide” - South Georgia 

United Methodist News Service

“United Methodist Insight”

Join me at Grace UMC in Madison on October 15 from 2-4 pm!

 

I will also be signing books at the "Glow Parade" in front of Trinity UMC West (Homewood, AL) on Sunday, Nov. 13, from 5:15-7:15 pm.

Book Featured in North Alabama Conference communications

I'm honored that my book was featured in communications of the North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church this week. You can find the original article original article here. 

It reads:

"Communion has a way of shedding light on both who we really are and who we are called to be. It is an honest meal. We come to the table being real with God through confession, and Christ comes to us in real ways through his presence, hospitality and grace. The Lord’s Supper binds us together in ways beyond words, for it is a sacred act of both receiving the grace of God and being the body of Christ with one another."

These words come from the Prelude of a new book by North Alabama Conference pastor Rev. Dr. Steve West.

The book titled Something Happens Here: Reclaiming the Distinctiveness of Wesley's Communion Spirituality in Times of Divisiveness has the stated purpose of taking a careful look at John Wesley’s core teaching on the Lord’s Supper. The About this Book introduction explains, “Readers will grapple with the idea that Communion is not just a personal experience with Jesus but a feast that has huge implications for our life together. They will be given language to define themselves against sacramental theology colored by other denominations in their communities. Along the way, they will discover tools to thoughtfully sort through difficult conversations about divisive matters rather than settling into the either-or and ‘us against them’ mentalities that pervade national conversations about culture wars.”

Rev. West, the senior pastor of Jacksonville First UMC (Cheaha District), is descended from multiple generations of Methodist pastors and circuit riders. He has not only a deep belief in the church’s sacramental theology but also a great love of the United Methodist Church. He notes that he wants this book to be a timely resource for United Methodists as the denomination journeys through a season of conflict and division. In that spirit, he says he offers the book as a gift for God’s church and has committed to using 100% of proceeds to go back into promoting the book because he believes “it is so very timely for those who are part of the present journey of the United Methodist Church.”

The book is a scholarly work receiving praise from a variety of United Methodist scholars and authors. Rev. West says, “I hope it will be helpful for the classroom, thought-provoking for church study groups, lifegiving for pastors and church leaders, and accessible for anyone interested in what it means to bind ourselves to Christ and move forward with joy into the future God has in store for us.”

In Something Happens Here West explores the historical background of each core characteristic of Wesley’s communion teachings, finds evidence in the writings of John and Charles Wesley and applies them to the struggles of present-day United Methodism. The unique features of Wesley's communion theology become lenses readers can use as they navigate troubled waters. Chapters include Communion as a Prism, The Mystery of Presence, Experiencing Anew, Become All Flame, Foretaste of Heaven, Grand Channel of Grace, Becoming the Body and Reconnecting. West concludes the book with signs of life emerging as people come back to the Lord's table to move forward into the future.

West writes, “The table is a radical table, because it brings us back to what connects us, which is not agreement or like-minded thinking but community and love-minded thinking. We are bound by our belief, yes, but I’m reminded that in early English, the word 'belief' was pronounced ‘by life.’ How we love those we don’t agree with is the very definition of Christian fellowship.”

The book is available from Amazon or Wipf and Stock Publishers. The book is also available for sale by the author. For a signed copy, see the author or send a check for $22 plus $3 shipping (total $25) to Steve West, 313 2nd Street NE, Jacksonville, AL 36265.