The Sheepdog’s Blog

An informative article on to clarify United Methodist Theology

COMMENTARY: Methodists need to recover identity as doctrinal people Andrew C. Thompson, Apr 12, 2012

By Andrew C. Thompson UMR Columnist
There should be few things more offensive to Methodists with regard to their tradition than the oft-repeated and vacuous claim that it is “not doctrinal.”  This ill-informed opinion (often spoken by other Methodists) is flatly wrong. And given that we are on the verge of a General Conference—where doctrinal decisions are made in abundance—it’s helpful for us to look at just how central a role doctrine plays in our church.
My guess is that the resistance to the idea of doctrine is rooted in a misunderstanding of what the word means. Many people seem to think of doctrine in negative terms, as an oppressive and boundary setting notion that limits freedom of thought and action. That is an unfortunate misunderstanding that fails to see doctrine’s true meaning.  The term doctrine comes from the Latin cognate doctrina, which refers to teaching, instruction or training in a certain area of knowledge or practice. The Christian understanding of doctrine was given classical expression by the great Dominican theologian Thomas Aquinas. In the opening of the Summa Theologiae, Aquinas refers to “sacra doctrina” or “holy teaching” to describe the truths about God that pertain to humanity’s intended end in God. Doctrine in this sense is about providing the framework for the whole Christian life. It is not limiting but rather life-giving. Embracing doctrine means embracing the good news that we don’t have to make up the Christian faith on our own.

Wesleyan doctrine
American Methodists tend to balk at a full embrace of doctrine because they’ve always tended to be more American than Methodist. In popular American culture, anything that gets in the way of unlimited freedom of individual action or opinion is seen as, well, un-American. Thus Christian discipleship must always conform to what good, consumer-oriented and radically democratic Americans think it should.

That idea would strike John Wesley as bizarre. After all, his agenda at the first annual conference in 1744 was centered on considering the questions, What should we teach? How should we teach it? And what should we be doing, practically?
He explained in the conference minutes that these were questions about doctrine, discipline and practice. And doctrine took pride of place amongst the three. The proceedings of that first conference bear out the importance with which Wesley viewed doctrine as the center that held the movement together. Those who gathered discussed the doctrinal issues of justification and sanctification for two days before moving on to practical matters.

What they believed counted, the early Methodists thought, because what they believed determined what they were going to proclaim. And what they proclaimed was going to be the formative teaching for the movement as a whole.
At other times, Wesley also claimed that the strength of Methodism rested on “three grand scriptural doctrines—original sin, justification by faith, and holiness consequent thereon.” He sometimes stated these more simply as repentance, faith, and holiness. They were a shorthand way of talking about the very meaning of salvation—for Wesley, the driving force of his ministry.
This commitment to doctrine never wavered in Wesley’s thought. Near the end of his life, he penned an essay for the Arminian Magazine which begins, “I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America. But I am afraid lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power. And this undoubtedly will be the case unless they hold fast both the doctrine, spirit, and discipline with which they first set out” (“Thoughts Upon Methodism,” 1786).

The General Rules
Wesley’s desire to write “practical divinity” for Methodist folk meant that he was always aiming at making the Scriptures and the historic teaching of the Christian church understandable for believing Christians. Practical divinity is what we might call practical theology today—writings on the Christian faith for the purposes of discipleship and ministry.
Wesley’s desire for practical divinity was the motivation behind the “General Rules,” which have become re-emphasized in Methodism in recent years. The best book by a contemporary Methodist on the General Rules is Kevin M. Watson’s A Blueprint for Discipleship (Discipleship Resources, 2009). In it he outlines Wesley’s injunctions to “do no harm, do all the good you can, and attend upon the ordinances of God.”
Mr. Watson’s topic is the same as Bishop Rueben Job’s popular Three Simple Rules, though he writes in a less devotional style than Bishop Job and resists the temptation to reduce the third rule to the overly sentimental counsel to “stay in love with God.” He does reframe the third rule to make it more understandable to contemporary ears, but his alternative is the more rigorously Wesleyan phrase, “practice the spiritual disciplines.” In this he recognizes that, for Wesley, loving God always involves responding to God’s grace in concrete, measurable ways.  Wesley’s rules—and Mr. Watson’s excellent adaptation of them for contemporary use—are at root about doctrine. They are about holy teaching for the life of Christian discipleship.  And doctrine understood in this way is not ultimately about oppressive rule setting. Instead it is about grasping that the Christian life must take a discernible form that points us to the life that God desires for his people.
The wider culture in which we live gives us all the resources we need to be a people adrift, meandering from false promise to false promise about what it means to be truly happy.  What the wider culture does not give us is the true means for life. For this, we need faithful doctrine that interprets the Scriptures and the broad tradition of the Christian church. Doctrine is therefore a form of mediation, interpreting the eternal decrees of God in such a way that we don’t have to figure out the whole of discipleship on our own.
We should therefore embrace it and thus take the first step to reclaiming the doctrine, spirit, and discipline with which we first set out.

The Rev. Thompson is an instructor in historical theology & Wesleyan studies at Memphis Theological Seminary. Reach him at www.andrewthompson.com.

I had the incredible privilege today of being with Aletha, a member of Polk Street UMC and resident of Amarillo who will be 108 this week.  She struggles to hear, but with her glasses can read quite well.

She earned a lifetime certificate for teaching in 1922 when she graduated from High School (in the state of Missouri).

She is the beautiful little lady on my left.

The following is an exchange between myself and a parishoner.  I had made an appeal for men to be a part of the Living Last Supper modeled after DaVinci’s “Last Supper” and this was what transpired.

Member: Hey, do you still need guys for the Last Supper thing?

Me: Yes.

Member: I told Katie I could do that and she asked who I would be.  I told her I could play Jesus.

Me:  Really, why is that.

Member: Because I know what Jesus said.

Me: And that was…

Member:  All you guys who want in the picture, get on this side of the table.

He’s in.  But I assigned him the part of Judas.

All future reflections on the 40 Day walk through the Gospel of John are posted at www.psumc.com

I expanded the practice include the staff members at Polk Street UMC as well.

Jacob's Well

Scripture reading: John 4:1-42

Picture: A Greek Orthodox Church has been built around the location we believe to be Jacob’s well and where Jesus encountered the Samaritan woman.

Key Verse: John 4:39 “Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in Jesus because of the woman’s testimony.”

Key thought:  This passage is filled with dynamics about Jesus being and doing things that his own Jewish religious context considered wrong – being in Samaritan territory, talking to a woman, talking to a Samaritan woman, and receiving something touched by the unclean Samaritan woman.   Even the disciples are surprised to see Jesus talking to a woman when they return (v.27).

Most water was drawn in the early part of the day or late in the day because it was much cooler and more practical.  The woman was probably there because she was considered unacceptable to associate with because of the decisions in her life.  And Samaritans were considered unclean and had compromised the faith.  So, she was unaccepted in a society that was not regarded as acceptable.

“Come see a man that told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” she says (v.29).  Good news!  Yes, he is the Christ and his knowledge of everything we have ever done will never affect His offer of Grace!

Who might believe if we would tell about our encounter with Christ?

Caution: Reading this may expose one to the Jesus Virus.

Scripture Reading:   John 3:22-36

Key Verse:  John 3:30  “He must become greater; I must become less.”

Key thought:  In this passage John is responding to those who were following him when they questioned why “the man on the other side of the river, about whom you spoke, is baptizing too”.   On Day 3, the text challenges us to do as Christ says, to follow Christ’s instructions.  Today, John challenges us to let Christ become greater and the only way that happens in us is when we choose to become less.

The challenge is really about letting the faith we proclaim with our voices in worship fully infect our entire life.  Though we don’t say it, our actions indicate that we would really rather receive the “Jesus Inoculation”, you know, like a “flu shot” – just enough of the virus that we don’t get the real thing.

Dear God, let me catch the Jesus Virus!

Reading: John 3:1-21

Key Verse: John 3:17

^”For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

Key Thought:  Jesus speaks these words about himself.  So often many know John 3:17, but what about 3:17?  And what if we personalized these words:  Jesus said, “My father sent me to you, not to condemn you, but that you might be saved through me.”

Now, insert your name and read the passage Jesus said, “My father sent me to you (name), not to condemn (name), but that (name) might be saved through me.”

The Good News is that God is still saving me.

Reading:  John 2:1-23

Key Verse: John 2:5  “Jesus mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.”

Key thought:  In this passage that records Jesus’ first miracle and confrontation at the Temple, Mary plays a role uniquely recorded in John alone.  Jesus reluctance is common to a theme in John, “my time has not yet come.”  I find such a playful, humanness Jesus as he encounters his mother and Mary does what Mother’s do.  In the midst of the humanness of this passage is also a miracle of transformation, which occurs in part because of the faithfulness of the servants.

So, in this day I wonder if I am listening to Christ?  Who in my life is urging me to do whatever Christ says?

This is the Fransican Wedding Church in Cana of Galilee.  Cana of Galilee is known today as Kafr Canna or Khirbet Cana.  If you look very closely over the middle arch, you will see part of star.  In the evening, colored lights (much like our Christmas lights) outline the upper terrace area.

Scripture reading: John 1:19-51

Kev Verse: John 1:35 “When John saw Jesus passing by, he said “Look the Lamb of God”.

Key thought: All of John’s life pointed toward Jesus so he was able to recognize Christ.  Does my life point toward Christ?  Do I recognize Christ and point others toward Him?

At PSUMC we are walking through the Gospel of John during 40 days of Lent.  I will not record all of my reflections using SOAP, but will give a comment or question each day (that I have computer access) that the reading stirs in me.  For more information you can check out our web at www.psumc.com

Day 1 reading:  John 1:1-18

Key Verse:  “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” (1:14)

Key thought: In Christ, God chose to dwell with us.  “Dwelling” means “to abide, live with or tabernacle.”  Tabernacle is a term from the Old Testament.  It was the structure erected to define God’s presence with God’s people.  So, part of God’s grace is that, in Christ, God choses to dwell with me, to be present with me; but how often do I choose to dwell in God’s presence?