It's Official

[StacieA]

Hello Friends!

I just wanted to let you know that God has indeed called me to become a Methodist. :amen: I am so, so excited. I am making an appointment with my new Pastor for sometime this week or next, and will become an official Methodist in the Fall. It's been quite the journey here, lol. And it's only just begun!

I just wanted to share that with you all, :hug:

[Speculative]

Congratulations, and God Bless, StacieA :)

[cristianna]

Congrats StacieA! I'm delighted you are following God's lead! :clap:

[Redheadedstepchild]

Yay!!!!:tutu: This is great news!

[StacieA]

Thank you all, very much! ^_^

[Kryzoz]

PTL Stacie!!! :)

[StacieA]

PTL Stacie!!! :)

^_^

[Morgaine1205]

Awesome news, StacieA! Keep us updated on your journey! :)

[StacieA]

Awesome news, StacieA! Keep us updated on your journey! :)
I certainly will! Thank you all for your support!

[rrguy]

That must be a great feeling. If you don't mind could you give me some insight on how you reached that point? I am not quit there probaly cause the church I feel is pleasing to God & the one that is pleasing to my other 1/2 is not the same.

[StacieA]

That must be a great feeling. If you don't mind could you give me some insight on how you reached that point? I am not quit there probaly cause the church I feel is pleasing to God & the one that is pleasing to my other 1/2 is not the same.

I would be happy to share!

I grew up a Non-Denominational Protestant, and was content with that until almost two years ago. My husband's family is Catholic, and after some discussion, he and I decided to look into it. For almost one year, we went to RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) and learned about Catholic beliefs. But as the year progressed, the more uncomfortable I became with what I was learning. (No offense to any Catholics that might read this!)

So I sat down to pray one day, and asked God to please show me why I was so hesitant. And basically, He told me that I needed to find the truth for myself....not just my parent's beliefs, or my husband's. So what followed was months of prayer and research. I knew I wanted to be Protestant, but I also knew I wanted...needed...to pick a Denomination. So I sat down and wrote a list of my beliefs. My personal, heartfelt, this-is-what-I-believe-about-my-God list. (With much, much prayer of course)

After that, I set out to find a Denomination. And I found Methodism to be where God called me. And the peace and joy of being where He wants me is beyond description.

So if I understand you correctly, you aren't searching for a church because you already belong to one?

[heatherq17]

Welcome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:)

[StacieA]

Welcome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:)
lol!! Thank you!! :)

[Concetta]

Welcome to the Methodist family :hug:
Congratulations and best wishes as you journey forward, and God bless you always!

[sinner/SAVED]

Hello Friends!

I just wanted to let you know that God has indeed called me to become a Methodist. :amen:

:amen: and :amen: .

Try this on your pastor and see how he/she responds:

Tell him/her that you were sent by God to the Methodist Church.

[StacieA]

Welcome to the Methodist family :hug:
Congratulations and best wishes as you journey forward, and God bless you always!
Thank you so much!! :hug:

[StacieA]

:amen: and :amen: .

Try this on your pastor and see how he/she responds:

Tell him/her that you were sent by God to the Methodist Church.
lol, ok! I don't know what sort of reaction to expect though, :eek:

[sinner/SAVED]

Look in Webster's under "apostle"...

[StacieA]

Look in Webster's under "apostle"...

Well, I don't have a Webster's here with me, so I looked at Webster's online under "apostle,":

1. Apostle-A person sent by another; a messenger; envoy. This word is once used as a descriptive designation of Jesus Christ, the Sent of the Father (Heb. 3:1; John 20:21). It is, however, generally used as designating the body of disciples to whom he intrusted the organization of his church and the dissemination of his gospel, "the twelve," as they are called.

2. The Christian Apostles were Jewish men who were (as indicated by the Greek word apostolos) "sent forth", by Jesus to preach Christianity to both Jews and Gentiles, across the world.

3. Some saints are given the title "equal-to-the-apostles." The myrrh-bearing women, who went to anoint Christ's body and first learned of his resurrection, are sometimes called the "apostles to the apostles" because they were sent by Jesus to tell the apostles of his resurrection.

[GraceSeeker]

Hello Friends!

I just wanted to let you know that God has indeed called me to become a Methodist. :amen: I am so, so excited. :hug:

:clap::clap: :clap: Free? or United?

[Kryzoz]

:clap::clap: :clap: Free? or United?
The good kind. :P just joking

[StacieA]

:clap::clap: :clap: Free? or United?
lol! I think both are wonderful! But I'm currently looking into a Free Methodist Church.

[GraceSeeker]

lol! I think both are wonderful! But I'm currently looking into a Free Methodist Church.

We don't really charge that much to attend one of our non-Free Methodist churches. In fact, if you were to check out the giving patterns of my local church, it seems they think we are a free Methodist church as well.

[StacieA]

We don't really charge that much to attend one of our non-Free Methodist churches. In fact, if you were to check out the giving patterns of my local church, it seems they think we are a free Methodist church as well.
Ha!! That's good, because being free was the kicker for me ;)

[Marycita]

^^^ HAha...that made me chuckle..

StacieA!!!! Congrats!! I'm excited for you!!

[StacieA]

^^^ HAha...that made me chuckle..

StacieA!!!! Congrats!! I'm excited for you!!
Thank you so much!! It makes it that much more exciting to be able to share it with all of you, :)

[humblet]

That's great! :hug:

[StacieA]

That's great! :hug:
Thank you!! :hug:

[Rawben]

Hello Friends!

I just wanted to let you know that God has indeed called me to become a Methodist. :amen: I am so, so excited. I am making an appointment with my new Pastor for sometime this week or next, and will become an official Methodist in the Fall. It's been quite the journey here, lol. And it's only just begun!

I just wanted to share that with you all, :hug:
y cant u just be a christian who believes just in the bible and God and not that other weird stuff

[StacieA]

y cant u just be a christian who believes just in the bible and God and not that other weird stuff
You can absolutely be a Non-Denominational Christian, if that is where you feel led, :)

[Rawben]

whats the difference

what does a methodist believe that a holy-roller doesnt

i mean pentacostal

[StacieA]

whats the difference

what does a methodist believe that a holy-roller doesnt

i mean pentacostal
Oh goodness, I am not nearly equipped enough to answer this question for you as well as others here can. I will go PM a friend here, to see if perhaps he can answer your question more thoroughly. :)

[Redheadedstepchild]

Basically, pentecostals believe in a separate infilling of the Holy Spirit which is initially evidenced by speaking in tongues (you don't have the infilling unless you have spoken in tongues). They also believe that the gifts of the holy spirit are active today...which is not to say that Methodists don't believe this, but the interpretation of what the gifts actually are is a little different.

[StacieA]

Thank you Redheadedstepchild!

[GraceSeeker]

whats the difference

what does a methodist believe that a holy-roller doesnt

i mean pentacostal

Nothing that I can think of, at least not off the top of my head. We believe in things like God's prevenient grace and the importance of moving on toward perfection in living the Christian life. Not all other groups talk about these things as much as Methodists do, but I think that Pentecostals believe in them.

You might have asked what do "Holy-Rollers" believe that Methodists don't? Some Pentecostals believe that the only "proof" of the Holy Spirit's presence in one's life is evidence by the speaking in tongues. Methodists would say that there are many ways that the Holy Spirit can evidence himself in the life of a believer, tongues is just one of many gifts and not all persons would have it.

The language used to speak about these experiences might also be different, depending on the church you attended. Pentecostals often speak of being "baptized in the Holy Spirit." Some Methodists speak this way as well, but others speak more of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. In either case, it varies from one individual Methodist to the next whether by such langauge they are speaking of a second work of grace or not, while nearly all Pentecostals do indeed consider the baptism of the Holy Spirit as a second work of grace and some even think of it as a requiste experience in order to be saved -- Methodists would nearly universally reject the later view as being too extreme of an interpretation of scripture.

There are some other differences in the expression of worship (Pentecostals typically showing more emotional enthusiasm) and certainly in the organizational structure of a Pentecostal vs. a Methodist church (Methodists being more heirarchial). But pentecostalism as a movement, actually had its origins in the Methodist campmeetings of the 1800s. And outside the USA, you will find a lot in common between Methodism and Pentecostal churches. In fact, in Chile, the two branches of methodism in that country are: La Iglesia Metodista de Chile (The Methodist Church of Chile) and La Iglesia Metodista Pentecostal (The Pentecostal Methodist Church) which grew out of the former. You can read about the emergence of the later body here: http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iglesia_Metodista_Pentecostal_de_Chile.

[Redheadedstepchild]

I was waiting for GS's answer!:)

The pentecostal holiness church I attended definetely believes that the infilling is a separate experience, but that you could be saved without it. They also definetely believe that you do not have the infilling if you have not spoken in tongues. This is how it was explained to me: Imagine the Holy Spirit as water and people as vessels. At the moment one accepts Christ as their savior they recieve the Holy Spirit, like water being poured into their vessel. As the person moves towards entire sanctification they receive more and more of the Holy Spirit, and their vessel is filled to the brim. When the infilling occurs it's as if the Holy Spirit overflows them, and water spills out from their vessels because it is too much to be contained.