Skip to main content

A Broad Church





The Methodist church prides itself on being a broad church, including all manner of opinions.  It sees it as one of its strengths.  For me it became a stretch too far.  I have always known I was at a far end of the scale, whether right or left I would not know. I began life in a country Baptist church and belonged to that church until I was fifty.  At that point I left my first husband for another man and felt unable to continue in that church.  I was shunned by various churches but welcomed by my local Methodist church.  I will always be grateful to them for helping me at a difficult time.  My problem is not with the ordinary members of the churches in my circuit, instead it is the attitude to doctrine and the Bible that filters down from higher up in the denomination. I have pondered staying in the denomination for the sake of the folk in the pews, but I now feel i need to make this break as a warning to them that things are not as they should be and their beliefs are more likely to be undermined by some who lead them.

  The new paper,  the Connexion illustrates the sort of thing I find myself unable to stomach.  For instance several chaplains give accounts of the work they do.  These people would call themselves evangelicals but all I can find is a social gospel with very rare mentions of Jesus, where debt management is more important than presenting the gospel to people.  It is good to give the social help but not at the expence of leading people to know Jesus. For me knowing Jesus and the forgiveness He gives is the central most important thing in my life and I would wish others to find this. I believe John Wesley would support me in this desire. More importantly it is what my Sovereign God desires.

  I love the people I am leaving and pray God has wonderful things in store for them.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How do you cope with depression?

There are two main types of depression, reactive, which is a reaction to your circumstances and endogenous, which is a part of your makeup and not entirely affected by your circumstances. I get the second type. When I am depressed I like to sleep a lot, this is probably not a good thing as depression can lift if you do not have extra sleep. It is all very well knowing that , but acting upon it is another thing. Exercise is also beneficial. Some sorts of depression can be lifted by taking these measures, but some people need medication. You need to get to know your doctor and develope a relationship with him/her where you feel you can trust their judgement. Do look for help as there are lots of possibilities out there. It is not good to spend long stretches of time on your own. Talking with other people will often help lift your spirits, especially if they are people who have gone through this experience themselves. Maybe you need to join a self help group. Avoid people who tell...
Post a Comment
Read more

Life after death

When we lose a loved one it is natural to wonder how they are faring in the next life. I would warn against going to a medium to find out. At worst these people are charlatans after your money, the rest misguided or worse. We are told in the Bible not to try to reach the dead. The best person to call on in this situation is Jesus. That's right, go to the top. He is always available through prayer and doesn't make a charge. All he requires is that you look for him with all your heart. He has the answers to all of life's difficult questions.
6 comments
Read more

Section A

I've posted off my work for section A. Now to get on with B. Onward and upward as they say. It does feel good to have completed A, progress is being made.I think my tutor is more nervous than I as to the outcome, but then I am his first student. We are learning from each other.But then that should always be the case. It's an adventure we go on together.The course seems to be suiting me alright but I feel there are a lot of potentially excellent local preachers out there who are put off by the study. Something should be devised to include these good people, we can ill afford to do without them, especially as the numbers of ministers is dropping. What did Wesley do? You don't need a degree, or even A levels to preach. You need a call, and a close relationship with God.
6 comments
Read more