The story goes that Methodists got their name because opponents of John Wesley, trying to deride him for his methodological approach to faith, call him and his followers, “Methodists.” Wesley liked the name and it stuck, and to this day the Methodist church is known to be one that has a method for just about anything.  Want to be ordained?  There is a very clear (and complex and long) method for that.  Want to give to missions?  We have a method for that.  We even have a thick book of church law called the Book of Discipline which contains all the rules and regulations to being a Methodist and all our Methodist organizations.  Yes, even after all these years the name “Methodist” still sticks!

This year, at the Texas Annual Conference, our speaker, Rev. Adam Hamilton of the Church of The Resurrection, a United Methodist church in the Kansas City area, presented some great strategies for churches to use to promote excellence and hopefully grow.  For the most part his advice and strategies were sound and churches that follow it likely will see fruit.  But what was disturbingly lacking from his presentation was any discussion of theology.  His omission of theology seems to imply that with proper techniques (methods) any church can grow.  The problem is that if we look at the largest churches in our denomination, this is not the case.  The very clear majority of large, growing churches not only excel in methods, but also hold to a biblical, evangelical theology that focuses on sharing Jesus Christ and a call to holiness.

Methods without a proper biblical message are not enough for a church to grow.  (And on the other side – having a strong biblical message with outdated or lacking methods will not bring growth.)  The example above is just indicative of the larger issues we struggle with as a denomination.  We spend tons of time, energy, and money to hone methods with no regard to message.  But even with the best methods we will never grow if we continue to water down our message as a denomination.  It is time for us to return to Wesley’s understanding of ‘methodist’ which combined strong methods and biblical, evangelical messages.

Methods are not enough to turn our church around – we must also restore our biblical, evangelical roots.  Our message needs as much work (or more) as our methods.

Beautiful, isn’t it?  I wish I could take credit for the photo, but it’s not mine.  I got it off the National Park Service website.  It’s the Grand Canyon.  My family and I took a trip to the Grand Canyon when I was around 11 and let me say that this picture, though amazing, doesn’t do it justice.  You can get an idea of what the Grand Canyon is like through this and other pictures, but you will never really appreciate and understand the Grand Canyon until you visit it in person.

Why do I bore you with talk about the Grand Canyon?  Because I believe this picture is a perfect illustration of the expression of God’s grace through the sacraments.  Just as this picture portrays the Grand Canyon but can never give you the full picture and understanding of the Grand Canyon, so too the sacraments present a snapshot, a glimpse of the grace of God promised to us in eternity.

In previous posts (1, 2, 3, 4, and 5) I have talked about what I think is distinctive in the United Methodist church, and certainly our view of the sacraments fits in this category.  The United Methodist church shares two sacraments with most of the Christian world – baptism and communion.  (The Catholic church adds confirmation, ordination, marriage, confession, and last rites and other churches add foot washing)  For the most part our view is alike with others, but there are some differences that are distinctive.  First, the UM church believes that communion is not an act reserved for those who meet some set of criteria, whether specific beliefs or acts.  We believe that communion, as an act of God’s grace, is open to all who seek Him and desire His grace in their lives.  None of us, if we are truly honest, fully understand or are worthy of the grace given us.  Just as Judas participated in the first communion, so too all of us, though unworthy, are welcome to experience God’s grace.

Baptism, in the UM view, presents a distinct difference from many churches.  We believe that those who are old enough to declare faith for themselves and have not been baptized can do so through baptism.  But we also believe that God’s grace is not reserved for only those who make a decision.  God’s grace is for all – whether we accept that grace or not.  Children, thought they are not able to understand faith and make a declaration for their own, are still under God’s grace.  God extends His love to us despite of us.  The act of baptism is a celebration that in Christ we all have salvation and can experience God’s grace.  It is God’s invitation to be in relationship with Him.  Our salvation is not bound to this rite, but to our accepting this invitation and seeking to live under this grace.  We are saved not because we are baptized and we are not baptized in order to be saved – our salvation comes in a personal relationship with Jesus.

The sacraments are full of mystery and certainly no view of them is fully complete.  But, like a snap shot of the Grand Canyon, through the sacraments we get a glimpse of the greatness of eternity.  We experience God’s grace in a special way and leave the altar knowing that God loves us and seeks for us to live rightly in faith.