The renewal to which we are inviting our United Methodist sisters and brothers is one that seeks to be faithful to the Wesleyan traditions. These traditions call us, first, to confess our faith in and obedience to Jesus Christ and no other. They call us, second, to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves.
For those who stand within the Wesleyan traditions, Jesus Christ, as the center of our faith and obedience, cannot be replaced by any creed or tradition, not even by Scripture itself. Even the Scriptures are themselves authorized to guide our faith and action only to the extent that they preach Jesus Christ. This is the first test of a truly Wesleyan renewal of theology and mission.
The apostolic faith is that faith in Jesus Christ which the apostles proclaimed. From the beginning, the apostolic faith came to expression in many diverse forms. What binds the New Testament together is a common conviction that Jesus Christ is God's agent of salvation. That is the "one faith" of which the letter to the Ephesians speaks and to which the letter of Jude refers when it says "the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints." Each New Testament author, however, understands that conviction differently. From the beginning and throughout its history, the church found it necessary to reformulate its interpretation of the apostolic faith in various ages and contexts.
Interpretations of the apostolic faith in our day, as in the early church, do not need to be uniform, and they do not need to conform to those past interpretations expressed in the historic creeds of the church. The test of whether they preach Jesus Christ, and whether those who so believe will continue to preach Jesus Christ, is sufficient.
We deplore the condemnation of Christians who are exploring new ways of preaching Jesus Christ today. We commend the Council of Bishops for the exemplary tone they have set before us for discussing theological differences in the Church. To those within our midst who are calling for conformity to a specific definition of "orthodoxy" in matters of belief and mission in The United Methodist Church, we respond with John Wesley that "orthodoxy...or right opinions, is but a slender part of religion at best, and sometimes no part at all." To those who would seek to discuss differences in our understandings of the Christian faith, we call upon them to join us in following the principles found in John Wesley's "letter to a Roman Catholic":
1. "In the name,...and in the strength of God, let us resolve, first not to hurt one another, to do nothing unkind or unfriendly to each other, nothing which we would not have done to ourselves."
2. "Let us resolve...to speak nothing harsh or unkind of each other. The sure way to avoid this is to say all the good we can, both of and to one another...."
3. "Let us...resolve to harbour no unkind thought, no unfriendly temper towards each other. Let us...examine all that rises in our heart and suffer no disposition there which is contrary to tender affection."
4. "Let us...endeavor to help each other on in whatever we are agreed leads to the Kingdom."
We believe that "right opinions" are measured by whether they build up faith, hope, and love, within the community of faith, and whether they lead to doing good to all--in short, whether they preach Jesus Christ.
To Resist Evil, Injustice, and Oppression
The teaching of "right opinions" cannot be separated from the central mission of the church. The most important mission of the church is to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ announcing that God sets people free from all forms of evil and equips them for a life of holiness. For Wesley, the holiness for which God, through the church, equips people includes social holiness. Recognizing the differences between John Wesley's social world and ours today, we call upon The United Methodist Church to be faithful to this mission heritage by continuing to work toward creating a more just social order for everyone, especially those who are poor and otherwise pushed to the margins of life--one in which people of various races and ethnicities, both genders, all social and economic classes, and different sexual orientations can live together lovingly and justly.
We affirm the importance of communities of committed, active Christians in churches at the same time that we believe that no particular church is perfect in its faith and action, and that every church, indeed the church as a whole, faces serious crises in these times. We also believe that in most churches much good is being done in the name and on the behalf of Jesus Christ. This belief gives us confidence and hope in calling for a renewal of theology and mission in The United Methodist Church.
An Invitation to The United Methodist Church
We invite all United Methodists to condemn all attempts:
*to equate Christianity with any particular culture;
*to centralize authority in the person of the bishop;
*to coerce doctrinal uniformity; and
*to confuse patriotism and nationalism with the holiness for which God, through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, calls us.
We invite all United Methodists to oppose these perversions of the Church.
We especially invite them to oppose the persecution of any person simply because their religion, race, ethnic background, gender, sexual orientation, economic station, physical or mental condition, and in opposing all other forms of oppression as sins against God and Jesus Christ.
We invite all United Methodists:
*to affirm the Wesleyan vow to receive into fellowship all those who confess faith in Jesus Christ;
*to affirm that the invitation to confess in faith in Jesus Christ is not ours nor that of any particular church or denomination, but that of Jesus Christ;
*to renew the pledge of loyalty to The United Methodist Church that individuals make when they join a congregation;
*to maintain fellowship in The United Methodist Church with all those who affirm the above in spite of differences in theology and in understanding of the mission of the church;
*to renounce the threat of withdrawal from The United Methodist Church as a means of coercion;
* to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in any form.
We invite all United Methodist seminaries, bishops, pastors, and laity to remember the Wesleyan proclamation of God through Jesus Christ and to strive toward an atmosphere of openness in which all thoughtful and prayerful expressions can be searched and heard. We believe that this call for renewal of theology and mission in The United Methodist Church is faithful to Wesleyan traditions.
General Conference Webmaster: Susan Brumbaugh
PETS Creator: John Brawn
Petition Text: 22214-DI-NonDis-O
1996 United Methodist General Conference