A Young Methodist's Evaluation of UMC

Last January, I attended a Methodist Lay Seminar (I am, by the way, a 20-year-old Methodist). A lecturer gave us this assignment one day: 

Write an article that shows the areas in United Methodist Church where you see "unbelief", and note what you can do to change them.  

The following was what I submitted (sorry, it's a bit long).

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Before all else, let me first clarify that I will broadly define “unbelief” here. I took it to mean “not believing what is openly taught by the Scriptures”, whether they know it already or not yet (for even Christians do call those who have not yet heard the gospel as “unbelievers”). Ignorance of biblical teaching is, in a sense, “unbelief” because just as the general revelation of God in His creation is open so is the Scriptures very accessible to our church today.
 

Doubtless the primary source of unbelief is the pulpit, the supposed place where all forms of unbelief are exposed. The pulpit is as open as the pews. Anyone—politicians, businessmen, unlearned laymen, heretics, etc.—who desires to preach is accepted, ignoring the warning of James not to make everyone a teacher (how much more with preachers!) and of John to test every spirit. Some people might find that statement exaggerated but I’ve already heard so much ugly statements from the pulpit–-statements which distort the trinity (e.g., “Jesus is the Father”), which teaches salvation by works (e.g., “give for the church building so that your name may be written in heaven”), which promotes universalism, which teaches easy-believism, which affirms positive confession (e.g., “if you proclaim it, it will happen”), and many other intolerable false teachings, which are not only offensive to United Methodism but also to Evangelicalism. And the saddest part is that the pastor most of the time calls it “beautiful” and that the congregation applauds them. And it’s not only in the pulpit. I know one Sunday school teacher who is a fanatic of Apollo Quiboloy, founder of that Oneness cult. For me, our church is ignorantly embracing a reckless faith.

I believe that the deeper reason for that, which I’ll classify as the second area, lies in Christian Education (or should I call it, Christian Mis-education?). Hermeneutics has become an alien word to the postmodern church. You can rarely hear good expositions in the pulpit and in teaching ministries. And its importance is never emphasized.  Figurative and subjective interpretations are tolerated. Morality is far more valued than doctrines as if false doctrines are not deadly. Traditional celebrations are desired more than educational ones (like completely reading a book in the Bible, finishing a Sunday school set of lessons, etc.) And we know in Acts 2 that this is not the pattern. The first step is growing in the apostles’ doctrine. You missed that, you’ll miss the rest. Not to miss that means being grounded in hermeneutics. In fact, eisegesis is the common denominator of all Christian cults. For me, despite our sound creeds and confessions, our church is ignorantly embracing a cultic foundation.
 

The third area, which springs from the first two aforementioned ones, is the church’s testimony. Because the church has become careless in doctrines, it has also become careless in discipline. With a distorted view of grace, the church tolerates many sins of its members. One obvious sin is in attendance. The author of Hebrews commands us to meet often. And this I believe is a sickness stuck in almost all Methodist churches. How many Methodist churches are truly concerned with true membership? There’s a part in our liturgies where birthdays of members are written and I usually read there names of people whom I do not know, whom I know but no longer attends for a very long time, who attends other denomination already, and sometimes who are already deceased. The church failed to distinguish those who are in the inside from those who are in the outside. This is largely the pastor’s mistake. It’s his duty to make sure as much as he could that the visible church he administers and feeds is a part of the universal church. That is, he should make sure as much as he could that the members are true believers. This he can do by exercising church discipline, making sure that all his members bear fruit, since they all profess to be believers. And obviously who can bear fruit if he is not there? Long, unexplained nonattendance must imply self-excommunication already. In fact, joy in the company of the saints is an inevitable fruit of a true Christian. Church discipline does not mean forsaking the person. This is showing the person who he truly is so that the church may know its proper loving action toward him, whether evangelism (for unbelievers) or edification/restoration (for true believers). And the Bible teaches this in Matthew 18 and many other passages. The church forsook discipline because of unbiblical definition of love so the church’s testimony degraded. Consequently, evangelism is watered down. That is reasonable. We cannot convince the world to enter the church if they don’t see the church having any difference with the world other than religious rituals. No matter how diligent we are in our efforts to save people whom we call ‘unbelievers’ if we live just like them, we will only appear hypocrites to them.
 

For my five years of Christian life, I am both glad and sorrowful to know these. I’m glad because God showed me these errors. I’m sorrowful because these are grave errors of the church I belong and love. I long for a reformation and I know I have some things to do to achieve it. First is to make sure I’ll have a renewed mind and a Spirit-filled life. I must have a sound belief and practice, and still be zealous for the glory of God. Second, as a youth, I should make sure that my generation would also have the same character I desire for myself. This I will do through leadership, teaching, and being an example. Third, I should do my best to strengthen the laymen in all churches as much as possible by promoting holiness just as Wesley did. Lastly, if the Lord will call me, I will enter the seminary and become a devoted professor and scholar or a Scripture-saturated pastor.

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Some may doubt my credibility but they should first evaluate this young man's theology ere abandoning his opinion. I pray that UMC would someday be blessed with renewal, reformation and revival.