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Commentary
COMMENTARY: How should Methodists teach church doctrine? Katie Shockley, Aug 28, 2008
By Katie Shockley Special Contributor
I recently completed a course in United Methodist doctrine at Perkins School of Theology at SMU. A question posed by our professor was, “How would you teach doctrine?”
Her question is relevant to local congregations, given that families join churches for reasons unrelated to denominational loyalty. It might be the style of worship, the effectiveness of children’s or youth ministries, or simply the preacher’s charisma.
I have heard people say they joined the United Methodist Church because they can believe whatever they want. True, we respect different opinions on many issues, but we also do have beliefs that unite us as a fellowship of believers. These beliefs need to be taught in our local churches.
One way to teach United Methodist doctrine is to begin with the Articles of Religion and the Confession of Faith found in the Book of Discipline. The first few articles are straightforward and contain few surprises: We believe in the Holy Trinity, we believe Scripture reveals the Word of God for our salvation, and we believe the church is holy, apostolic and catholic.
Other articles capture the Anglican heritage of United Methodism: We believe the Lord’s Supper and Baptism to be the only sacraments, we believe ministers can marry and we affirm infant baptism.
Several articles present beliefs that are truly Methodist: We believe good works come from faith, we believe Christian perfection is possible and we believe that by the grace of God we can come back to faith after falling into sin.
Another source of our beliefs is the sermons of John Wesley, though we debate which and how many of Wesley’s sermons are authoritative for the doctrines of Methodism. These differences of opinion should not discourage the educator from reading and presenting any of the sermons. Refusing to study them because the denomination lacks a firm statement on which are authoritative is to throw the baby out with the bath water.
Many of Wesley’s sermons edify Methodists and contribute to our understanding of the Articles of Religion and the Confessions of Faith. His sermons point to passages of Scripture that underscore his ideas and passages that can enlighten our own understandings of faith. Wesley’s sermons greatly contribute to the United Methodist beliefs of sin, grace and the way of salvation.
Any teaching of United Methodist beliefs must include the liturgy and hymns in the United Methodist Hymnal. Church leaders disagree on the level of authority these materials provide to our doctrinal claims but they provide the most frequent contact active church members have to doctrine.
Most local churches use these liturgies frequently and hymns weekly. Examining and understanding the liturgical statements in the Lord’s Supper and Baptism help us navigate why we do and say what we do and say.
Reading of the words in our hymns also can bring clarity to details about what we believe. We should not ignore the power of regular exposure to liturgy and hymns.
Other resources include the Social Principles, the ecumenical creeds, the General Rules and the Book of Resolutions. Again, church leaders and scholars debate the relative authority of these materials, but they do provide clarity of what we believe. A well-rounded education of United Methodist doctrine should include these materials as well as an understanding of why we debate their relative authority.
United Methodists may agree to disagree about many theological issues, but we do have certain doctrinal beliefs, and these beliefs need to be taught in our local churches.
I invite you to explore the realm of United Methodist doctrine, discover what we believe and pass it on to others in your local church.
Ms. Shockley, a member of First UMC in Rockwall, Texas, is working on a Master of Church Ministries degree at Perkins School of Theology.
