Voices from the Conference: Extended Edition
Billups “Bo” P Johnson III - Laity from Porterfield Memorial United Methodist Church
John Wesley - from his sermon, 'Catholic Spirit'
“. . . And ’tis certain, so long as ‘we know’ but ‘in part’, that all men [sic] will not see all things alike. It is an unavoidable consequence of the present weakness and shortness of human understanding that several men will be of several minds, in religion as well as in common life. So it has been from the beginning of the world, and so it will be ’till the restitution of all things.’
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My prayer and hope for the future of our United Methodist Church is that we reawaken to the spirit and intent of our founders when they unknowingly established the Methodist movement. As young college men, the Wesley's sought out to pray and share their thoughts about scripture together in small groups. They were seeking to find the Holy Spirit in their own, individual ways. However, the Church of England was intolerant of their new found independent gatherings and their freedom of thought where scripture was concerned. The Methodist Church has always been a place where we, as John Wesley said, "We Think and Let Think".
Our internal divisions today are rooting in the differing ways that we "think" about scripture. Some members of our denomination interpret scripture in more literal ways. Others view scripture first through the Gospels and the words of Jesus. As Wesley said in his 'Catholic Spirit' sermon, our disagreements are, "...an unavoidable consequence of the present weakness and shortness of human understanding". We will never know who is right and who is wrong. John Wesley would boldly tell us that it does not matter as long as we are. "...of the same Heart".
As United Methodist congregations consider the options for our future, l pray that we remember who we are as Methodists. We were founding on the basic premise of free thought and open sharing of spiritual discovery. We bonded together when intolerance threatened to prevented us from independently seeking Christ with our minds, hearts and spirit. We are the original church of "Open Hearts, Open Minds and Open Doors". It's time we again bond together and resume the Methodist movement that indeed..."Changed the World".
