Back to the Basics

Series Intro

By virtue of being Methodist we are a part of movement of the Holy Spirit that began in 1700’s England and now bears fruit throughout the world. By tapping into the history of our movement we can see how the Holy Spirit has been at work in and through the structures that made up our original denomination. As we bring ourselves “back to the basics” once again we can begin to identify why it is that we have created our own method. Our church method (to worship, connect, and respond) sounds like some catchy slogan that we made up.....the harsh truth is that it is almost exactly the structure that our early denominational ancestors adopted. Throughout this series we will explore both what we do as people of faith, but more importantly why we do it.

Throughout the past several months our church has been praying the prayer “God, let your light shine through me so that others can know you.” We have only been praying this prayer for a little while, but God has been shining God’s light through people for time immemorial. As we look back on our history as a movement as well as Ankeny First we have the opportunity to recognize and celebrate the ways that God has shone through us already, and wonder together where God might be leading us into the future.

There is an old saying that goes something like, “anything valuable I ever learned I picked up in kindergarten.” Sometimes it seems that way for our faith as well. Our church and our world has faced us with some incredibly difficult questions about the future. Perhaps the best thing to do now is not to dream up some new fancy thing, but rather to get “Back to the Basics.”

Notes for Worship Planners

So the goal is that each week would contain three things: 1. A brief component or ideology of our early Methodist Movement 2. A component of our churches method 3. (optional) but if there is a story or component of our contemporary history that fits in that would be ideal.

Back to the Basics: Mission

The mission of God is to know and follow Jesus.

Matthew 28:16–20 (NRSV)

16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.

17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

John Wesley found himself dissatisfied with the institution of the church not because it didn’t do worship well, but because it did not lead to life change. This scripture this week is one that many have memorized, but is very difficult to live out in actuality. It encompasses so many important foundational components to our faith: that our faith life is is only made possible through “the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”, our faith life includes every part of our own life, our faith life requires both learning and doing, and lastly that our faith life is meant to encourage the faith life of others. If we are not allowing God’s mission to flow through us, we are likely getting in the way.

The Mission of God did not begin in the Gospel, in fact it was with us before the beginning of time, is with us now, and will be forever.... “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Mt 28:20b). The church is the physical manifestation of the mission of God within our cultural context. This is the cornerstone of the remainder of the series because if we don’t have a clear understanding of our mission, then the mechanisms of our church might not make much sense.

The ultimate aim of the mission of God is that others would know God, and live into the life of discipleship following God. In order for us (as the people of the church) to guide others towards that we need to be walking that path ourselves. This is a week to touch back into the basics of why it is that we do everything that we do as a church. If you see fit it may also be a good time to re-visit the mission of the UMC:

"The mission of the church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world." (Book of Discipline)

Methodist Basic: Mission above buildings and programs

The world is my Parrish - John Wesley

Communities where love is incarnate are central to salvation, to Christ’s mission to redeem the world by grace through faith. (Watson, 66)

Back to the Basics: Worship

True worship is about worshiping God in spirit and truth

John 4:19–30 (NRSV)

19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet.

20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.”

21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.

22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.

23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him.

24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.”

26 Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.”

27 Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you want?” or, “Why are you speaking with her?”

28 Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people,

29 “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?”

30 They left the city and were on their way to him.

(please either include a description of the story of the woman at the well, or read John 4:1-30 as a part of the sermon. The focus is on this last portion, but it does occur within some important context that I don’t want others to miss)

The early worshiping communities of the Methodist Movement were not on Sunday mornings in the fancy church buildings; they were in field and work yards. The reason was to proclaim that worship was something that everyone needed very desperately. At the time there were some that were no physically able/available to worship God in the church setting, and were often excluded. The Mission (that we talked about last week) drove the early Wesleyan movement to be inclusive in worship. To not just welcome some, or to suggest that worship is just the way that some people live out their faith, but that worship is a necessary component of anyone’s faith. Worship is the heartbeat of the church as well. It is an opportunity for us to hear the spirit of God moving in and amongst us.

This passage reminds us of some convicting words in verse 24: spirit and truth. When we worship it is not just a weekly habit or ritual, it is an opportunity to recognize the spirit of God at work around us, and also to be fully truthful with ourselves and with God. We have an opportunity every week to experience God’s grace a new, or to just go through the motions.

Taken within the context of the full Woman at the Well story Jesus is pushing back against the assumptions of worship: it is just for the Jews, there is a particular place that you must worship, you must worship in a particular way, etc. Instead Jesus proposes a paradigm for worship that seems much more compelling. One that is not grounded in the traditions of the church, or the ways that others have faithfully worshiped, but one that is rooted in bringing our whole selves honestly before God. It is a compelling vision that connects so well with the early field preaching/field worship of the Methodist Movement.

Methodist Basic: Field Worship/preaching

In relation to Field Preaching:

By this method, the gospel could be brought to the people where they were, to people who could not or would not go to a church at the appointed hour for services. (Heitzenrater, 110)

Back to the Basics: Connect

Good community points us back to Jesus

Hebrews 10:19–25 (NRSV)

19 Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus,

20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh),

21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God,

22 let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

23 Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful.

24 And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds,

25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Hebrews 10:32–36 NRSV

32 But recall those earlier days when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, 33 sometimes being publicly exposed to abuse and persecution, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. 34 For you had compassion for those who were in prison, and you cheerfully accepted the plundering of your possessions, knowing that you yourselves possessed something better and more lasting. 35 Do not, therefore, abandon that confidence of yours; it brings a great reward. 36 For you need endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.

One of the handful of structures that made the Methodist Movement unique was it’s emphasis on small groups. There were a couple of different types of small groups, but one of them (the band meeting) was a group that gathered together explicitly to spur each other on in discipleship. It was a place where one could honestly confess their sins, hear words of forgiveness and assurance, and be pointed back once again to Jesus. Community with other believers becomes for us the space to make sense of the hardships of life. It becomes the sounding board that we know we can go to when the next big tragedy hits. But more than that our “connect” is not just about finding good friends. Our connect step is about those around us helping us to look more like Jesus. The “band meetings” of the early Methodist movement were often only attended by few, however the people that were committed to them saw themself grow more and more into the likeness of Christ. The same is true of small groups today.

This passage begins with the conviction/assumption that our faith in Jesus starts with us, but we can’t do this thing alone. Our faith needs others to “provoke” us into christlikeness. This passage also remind us that we show up to Christian community sometimes because we know that someone else needs us to be there. The second part of the passage helps the readers to look back on the times within their own stories where they were struggling and couldn’t hold themselves up, and needed others to come along side them. We have all had those moments in our own lives, perhaps it was a friend or family member that helped us navigate through it. Likely those moments are turning points in your story that have made you who you are. It is when we are struggling and seek the support of others that we grow and figure out our identity. As Christians our identity is that we are followers of Jesus. When we surround ourself with they type of community that will “Provoke one another to love and good deeds,” (Heb. 10:24 ) we make ourselves available to be shaped more fully by God through the community of the church.

Methodist Basics: band meetings

In relation to band meetings

In these groups, historically, people confessed sin to each other in order to grow in holiness. They named the places of deepest brokenness, where they found that sin was in control of them and they were, in their own striving, powerless over it. The vast majority of Christians have actively avoided these kinds of conversations because they disrupt our efforts to convince ourselves, and those around us, that we have everything under control. (Watson, 24)

To put it strongly: it is not a matter of whether we will connect with something, but to what we will connect. (Watson, 18)

Back to the Basics: Respond

When we respond we give God’s love hands and feet.

Romans 13:8–14 NRSV

8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law. 11 Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; 12 the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; 13 let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

The theology of the early Methodist movement was not all that different then the theology of the Anglican church at the time. The difference came in how that theology was lived out. The Methodist movement found their center in “The Foundry” a large communal gathering space where people were fed, physical wounds were tended to, and community was offered to all. This stood in contrast to the church buildings of the era. It also spoke of a deep commitment to live out the mission of God in a new way.

Our “respond” step is similar in that it is a way for us to live out the Mission of God for others. When we provide food, shelter, clothing, etc we are not just doing a good thing to make us feel warm and fuzzy we are doing no wrong to our neighbor and fulfilling the law (Rom. 13:10). Often times we think in the negative about living holy lives ie. the “long list of things that we shouldn’t do.” Rather holiness, or holy living, is defined here also in positive terms, ie all of the ways that we should show love to our neighbors.

One of the unique theological claims of Methodism was the belief in Christian perfection. We often cringe at these words because we know that we aren’t perfect. Wesley did not think of Christian perfection as having no sin, but rather defined it by loving God and loving others perfectly. When we go “back to the basics” we remember that our faith is about living out God’s love for those around us. We give God’s love hands and feet.

Methodist Basics: Christian Perfection

“This is the sum of Christian perfection: It is all comprised in that one word, Love. The first branch of it is the love of God: And as he that loves God loves his brother also, it is inseparably connected with the second: ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself:’ Thou shalt love every man as thy own soul, as Christ loved us. ‘on these two commandments hang all the law and the Prophets:’ these contain the whole of Christian perfection.” (Sermon 76, On Perfection, Vol. 6, p. 413)

Wesley believed right theology was important, especially in one’s core beliefs. The difference he sought in Methodists was the living out of that theology in everyday life. (Job, 75)