Independent Methodist Church

[HumbleMan]

An Independent Methodist Church just built a new church not far from my house. We've got our fair share of UMCs here, but this is the first time I've heard of an independent group. Is this a new/old movement within the Methodist tradition?

I also wanted to ask this (don't know if this is related to the above):

I have family who have left the UMC recently because of a slow but steady shift towards new age and "liberal" things, such as chanting, and meditative prayers (I personally don't have a problem with this), and I was wondering if the denomination was moving leftward while it's older members remained "traditional"?

Thanks!

[cristianna]

I've never heard of an "independent" one.

[AquilaGT]

Independent just means it is a Methodist church not connected to on of the Methodist denominations, such as United Methodist, Free Methodist, Evangelical Methodist, etc.

There are not a lot of independent Methodist churches because one of the guiding principles of John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement was a connection with other believers. Methodists are said to have a connexional way of being organized.

The few Independent Methodist churches that exist do tend to be more conservative doctrinally and traditional in a 20th century American sort of way, similar to Southern Baptists. The service would probably not be very liturgical, the pastor probably would not wear robes, infant baptism would not be practiced. In other words, most of the Anglican hertiage John Wesley infused the Methodist movement with would have been jettisoned.

Also, the personality and authority of the pastor would figure prominently in the life of the church since there is no connection to a Conference or Bishop/Superintendent as other Methodist churches have.

As far as the reasons that your relatives left the United Methodist Church, here's my thoughts (with no disrespect to them). The UMC does have a pretty wide spectrum of theological perspectives, but the vast majority of United Methodist Christians are in the middle, moderate if you will. There is conservative theology at one end and some liberal theology at the other end, but there is absolutely nothing New Age in the official doctrine and practices of the United Methodist Church. There is a section called Beliefs at umc.org that explains all UMC beliefs in detail.

Over the last 15-20 years, the United Methodist Church has actually become more conservative in its theological outlook, based on the votes at General Conference. This movement is largely led and supported by the younger generation of United Methodists. The liberals tend to be led by much older academic types.

As far as chanting and meditative or contemplative prayers, those are practices of the ancient Christian church that have been in the universal church from the beginning, so those would be uber-traditional, not new aqe. However, I don't see a lot of that in the UMC, but it is a good thing if people discover the ancient ways of worship.

Hope this helps.

[yeshuaslavejeff]

hmmmm, i clicked on 'non=denominational' and ended up here :)

anyhow, I agree it is a good thing if /when people discover the 'ancient' ways of worship,
but it is paradoxical that as they do and if they continue
then they get kicked out of whatever group they're in.(like m.luther got kicked out of the rcc when he learned the truth that had been concealed and started to believe and obey Scripture)

[Holyroller125]

Independent just means it is a Methodist church not connected to on of the Methodist denominations, such as United Methodist, Free Methodist, Evangelical Methodist, etc.

There are not a lot of independent Methodist churches because one of the guiding principles of John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement was a connection with other believers. Methodists are said to have a connexional way of being organized.

The few Independent Methodist churches that exist do tend to be more conservative doctrinally and traditional in a 20th century American sort of way, similar to Southern Baptists. The service would probably not be very liturgical, the pastor probably would not wear robes, infant baptism would not be practiced. In other words, most of the Anglican hertiage John Wesley infused the Methodist movement with would have been jettisoned.

Also, the personality and authority of the pastor would figure prominently in the life of the church since there is no connection to a Conference or Bishop/Superintendent as other Methodist churches have.

As far as the reasons that your relatives left the United Methodist Church, here's my thoughts (with no disrespect to them). The UMC does have a pretty wide spectrum of theological perspectives, but the vast majority of United Methodist Christians are in the middle, moderate if you will. There is conservative theology at one end and some liberal theology at the other end, but there is absolutely nothing New Age in the official doctrine and practices of the United Methodist Church. There is a section called Beliefs at umc.org that explains all UMC beliefs in detail.

Over the last 15-20 years, the United Methodist Church has actually become more conservative in its theological outlook, based on the votes at General Conference. This movement is largely led and supported by the younger generation of United Methodists. The liberals tend to be led by much older academic types.

As far as chanting and meditative or contemplative prayers, those are practices of the ancient Christian church that have been in the universal church from the beginning, so those would be uber-traditional, not new aqe. However, I don't see a lot of that in the UMC, but it is a good thing if people discover the ancient ways of worship.

Hope this helps.

Greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

First, the Biblical text allows a diversity of convictions (Rom. 14-15), diversity of gifts of the Spirit (Acts; Rom. 12; I Cor. 12; Eph. 4:11-12), and even major theological diversity (Acts 15, Jews that kept Kosher and Dietary Laws and Sabbath, Gentiles that did not have to keep the dietary laws and Sabbath and Kosher). These were major theological differences between Jews and Gentiles, and yet, you had only "one" church in Jerusalem that worshipped One God, namely the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Second, the UMC has a charismatic movement that is picking up momentum. Members have expressed that to be a charismatic methodist with the Baptism of the Holy Ghost and tongues (Acts 2:4), vibrant worship, and strong alter ministry is taking the UMC back to its grassroots. In other words, to be a charismatic methodists is to be a grassroots methodist. I will recommend that you look up the charismatic movement in the UMC, contact Aldersgate Renewal Ministries, and find trinityflc.org on the web. We can therefore say that theologically, when it comes to the charismatic methodists, the UMC is being more conservative being closely related to their grassroots.

Hope This All Helps,

Gregory Paul Norton