Ten Reasons to Remain UMC
Image Courtesy of Alabama-West Florida Annual Conference.
September 13, 2022
Grace and Peace to you in our Lord Jesus Christ,
We are leaders who love the Alabama-West Florida Conference of The United Methodist Church and are praying for its hope-filled future. We believe no institution or denomination is perfect, including the United Methodist Church, but this Church has called us, nurtured us, and brought us into connection with God’s children of our conference and we will work to make it better each day.
United Methodists in southern Alabama and the panhandle of Florida have a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences, and each of us has found the grace of Jesus Christ in United Methodist Churches. For us, the UMC has been a lifeboat in a chaotic world. We are committed to preaching and teaching the faith that we proclaim weekly in the creeds of the church. We affirm the traditional Methodist view that scripture is the primary source and standard for Christian doctrine. Scripture is primary to our understanding of the Triune God, the world, and ourselves, and “contains all things necessary for salvation (Articles of Religion).” We are committed to “spreading scriptural holiness all over the land (John Wesley).” These doctrines are rooted deeply in our worship, our lives, and our Book of Discipline. These are not negotiable.
We believe in salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. In fact, a theology that is captivated with grace—prevenient grace, justifying grace, sanctifying grace, and the means of grace—is our Wesleyan distinctive. Salvation cannot be earned or rendered by human action, whether by being good or cutting ourselves off from those we deem bad. It only comes as a gift from God. We believe that God loves the entire world and sent Christ to die for its salvation. We endeavor to be the kind of people that lift Christ up so he can “draw all people unto himself (John 12:32).”
We are Wesleyan evangelicals whose mission is “to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.” Jesus is changing lives weekly in our churches, and as a result, we serve churches which are growing and witnessing regular professions of faith. We have church members who kneel side by side to take the sacrament of Holy Communion, knowing that they disagree on how best to live according to the example of Christ. They have chosen humility and loving service to God and neighbor over any issue that can divide them. And so have we. Therefore, we believe that the United Methodist Church is strategically positioned to reach the unchurched and those who are not already committed Christians.
God is not finished with The United Methodist Church. The Triune God who is making all things new is just beginning with us. The world does not need more denominations or church growth strategies. We need more of Jesus Christ and those willing to follow him. During this time of great division in the world, we are praying for revival and rebirth in our denomination. We are praying that the Holy Spirit will move anew in our time and do what the Spirit has done through the ages—bring us together, as on the day of Pentecost. Everyone is invited to be a part of this revival.
We will welcome conservatives, progressives, traditionalists, liberals—every single person—into a life changing relationship with Jesus.
We will commit to revitalizing all United Methodist congregations in the Alabama-West Florida Conference.
We will plant new churches to share the transforming love of Christ.
We will help women and men discern God’s call into ministry and equip them to lead these United Methodist Churches.
We will offer Christ to our communities. Our doors and hearts will always be open to those who long for a relationship with him and seek the refuge of his church, which Christ has opened to people of all ages, nations, and races.
We will love our neighbors, despite our disagreements about politics or scriptural interpretation.
We will proclaim and uphold the orthodox faith as contained in our Articles of Religion and Confessions of Faith. We believe these truths are not negotiable and are a means of uniting us as one in Christ.
The diversity in our 12-million-member church, active in over 100 countries, can be overwhelming. United Methodism in California looks different from Methodism in Alabama, not to mention Tanzania or the Philippines, but that is one of the things we love about it. John Wesley, when defining what a Methodist was, said there were two marks:
“A Methodist is one, who has the love of God shed abroad in his heart...And he accordingly loves his neighbour as himself.”
We in the United Methodist Church are committed to loving God and neighbor, and we hope that you will join us in our exciting United Methodist movement in Alabama-West Florida. This is who we joyfully and earnestly commit to be as United Methodists, all for the glory of God. Christ is our living hope.
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