“All churches seem the same to me. What makes your church any different?”
Do you have an answer to that question? Do you know how to articulate what’s different about our church that sets it apart from others, and why someone who’s tried church before might want to give us a try?
When they hear them, our distinctives will lead many outside of the church to give us a try, and discover that there are alternatives to Christian Fundamentalism as a way to enjoy friendship with Jesus Christ.
Christian Fundamentalism
Christian Fundamentalism started as a reaction against the Theory of Evolution at the 1910 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, but came to influence many Methodist (and other) churches throughout the 20th century. Christian Fundamentalism is based on a series of “test questions” that measure whether someone is truly a Christian. They include:
- Do you believe that the Bible is free from errors, and is literally true except in places where it says otherwise (such as a parable)?
- Do you believe that the conception of Jesus was a miracle performed by Holy Spirit, and that Mary became pregnant with him without the involvement of a human father?
- Do you believe that Jesus’ death on the cross served as payment for the penalty owed to God for your sin?
- Do you believe that Jesus rose from the dead?
- Do you believe that Jesus really performed miracles?
A good case can be made for any of these beliefs. I’m a personal subscriber to somewhere between 3 and 4 of them. Yet Christian Fundamentalism has not been a good influence on United Methodism. Here’s a few reasons why:
First, it prioritizes getting people from earth into heaven, rather than getting heaven into earth, as was prioritized by Jesus. United Methodists view personal and social holiness as equally important, which is why our mission is “making disciples of Jesus Christ (personal) for the transformation of the world (social).”
By contrast, those churches leaving the United Methodist church have changed this mission statement to “making disciples of Jesus Christ who worship passionately, love extravagantly, and witness boldly.” It’s a double helping of personal holiness, removing “transformation of the world” as the result of their disciple-making; replacing it with a resulting change in their personal behaviors instead.
Second, it teaches that salvation hinges on our having a moment of mental agreement to, and public pronouncement of, the 5 doctrines above, placing salvation in our hands rather than God’s. We are saved by grace–through faith, and “not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”
Third, it creates a culture in our churches by which we have switched on a constant “belief radar,” and we use this radar to measure the validity of each other’s faithfulness. Today, Christian Fundamentalists in United Methodist churches scrutinize sermons and other communications of Christian authors, pastors, or other leaders with questions like these in mind to measure how “liberal” or “conservative” they are. Neither of these words are helpful as a way to identify ourselves. Our identity should be in Christ alone. As this measuring one another increased in importance, we retreated from our world transforming efforts, selling our hospitals to corporations, giving up our orphanages to the “foster care system,” etc.
Fourth, its standards measure what you think, rather than how you live. It’s goal is correct thoughts, when Jesus’ goal was loving actions.
Fifth, it teaches people to see churches, denominations, seminaries, etc., as “watering down” or “adding things” to the Bible; when Christian Fundamentalists “just read the Bible and do what it says.” The work of archaeology, linguistics, writing conventions, anthropology, and other disciplines help put the stories of the Bible into the context in which they were written. By considering (1) who wrote this, (2) to whom, (3) when, and (4) why, we can be better prepared to discern how to apply the lessons of these stories from ancient cultures in our present day.
A key difference is the United Methodist practice of “holy conferencing.” It's the way we come together to consider how to apply the Scriptures today, with our decisions on these matters recorded in the Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church. We address an issue by starting with Scripture, by also considering reason, tradition, and experience; and then by observing the fruit of the Holy Spirit produced (or not produced!) by our application. By this process Methodists worked to abolish slavery while other denominations defended it using the Bible. By this process Methodists invited women to become leaders and teachers and preachers in the church, while other denominations used the Bible to keep them from using their leadership gifts. By this process we are now considering how LGBTQ persons might find a peaceful and affirming home in the United Methodist Church, while many have used the Bible to condemn them instead.
Sixth, it promotes an unhealthy fixation on predicting the timing and nature of the end of the world. Fundamentalists often assign themselves an identity based on their prediction of how and when the end of the world will come, when our identity should be found in Christ, who calls us to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength; and our neighbor as ourselves–regardless of whether the return of Christ will be tomorrow or in a zillion years.
Seventh, it has created an oppositional posture within the church toward the world around us. Fundamentalists use warfare language against those who do not share their views, lumping them into a conspiracy to attack and destroy the Christian faith, rather than seeing them as potential partners that could be inspired by the words of Christ and mission of the church to join us in charity and service to those in need.
Eighth, Fundamentalism has inspired the rise of the lobbying efforts of political groups to pass laws that make people behave like Christians without first becoming Christians. These groups have packaged together and endorsed a collection of political views (gun rights, taxation, entitlements, immigration, education, capital punishment, abortion, etc.) that they think should be standard for people who follow the Bible. By claiming that these are God’s stances on these political issues, by giving funding and endorsements to political candidates in exchange for espousing their platform, and by employing the oppositional warfare language mentioned above, our political discourse has been changed from a “team of rivals” debating and exploring the merits of various solutions for America’s challenges to battles of “good vs. evil.” Further, a disturbing similarity has begun to appear between our nation’s deteriorating political discourse and the dehumanizing way that brothers and sisters in Christ speak to each other when they disagree.
Ninth, as an approach founded in the Presbyterian Church, it promotes views consistent with “predestination” and the sovereignty of God over all things, as opposed to the Wesleyan view of “free will.” The influence of Christian Fundamentalism on Methodist Churches has allowed “everything happens for a reason” or “God is in control” language to overshadow the critical contributions of Wesleyan Christianity that teach of God’s grace. The Wesleyan approach is that God does not cause the misfortunes of the world for some greater purpose–he invites us to walk through them strengthened and equipped by the “means of grace” (prayer, fasting, sacraments, Scripture meditation, small group participation, attendance at corporate worship, generosity, service, evangelism) to move forward in the direction of healing, hope, and peace that will sanctify us along the way. God does not force or coerce us–he invites us, giving us the free will to accept or reject the invitation to enjoy friendship with God.
Tenth, Christian Fundamentalism has changed the form and function of the “Wesleyan Class Meeting.” These meetings were intended to be gatherings in which Methodists would share their struggles and successes, joys and pains, temptations and victories. They worked together in order to live lives that “Do no harm, do good, and stay in love with God,” and these class meetings were truly life giving and transformational. These have been replaced by gatherings called “Bible Study,” which are focused on receiving information about the Bible that reinforces what we already think and who we already are.
There is good that has come out of Christian Fundamentalism. A lot more good, however, would come out of United Methodists remembering who we are, how we’re different, and the important contributions we make to the global conversation about who Jesus was and the difference following Him can make in the world today.
There are people out there for whom Christian Fundamentalism works. The ironclad certainty and black and white perception of what is true and what is not surely provides soothing clarity and reassurance.
There are many, many others, however, who crave something different; but don’t even know it’s out there because they assume all churches are Christian Fundamentalist. United Methodism’s ability to step into the grey areas and be fully present with people who are struggling or suffering is an important gift that we must boldly offer to those hoping for another way.
Wesleyans are called to be at peace with our imperfect incompleteness. We are called to “go on to perfection,” emptying ourselves of selfishness and replacing it with love for God and love for our neighbor. It’s okay if we’re still in process. It’s okay if we’re still figuring it out. Wherever we might be on our journey, we know that God is still speaking, still shaping, still sanctifying, still forming, still inviting us forward; and is giving us important work to do along the way. Let’s welcome all the other imperfect, incomplete people out there to join us in our work, in our hope, in our process, and in our peace.
Author Horan
The Rev. Matt Horan
The Rev. Matt Horan serves as senior pastor of Heritage United Methodist Church in Clearwater, Fla. This post is republished with permission from his blog on the church website. Please contact the author via the church website to reproduce this content elsewhere.