so, i’m on my way to becoming a card-carrying methodist.
i attend a methodist church because, quite frankly, seth felt a weird sense of loyalty (like you would for a certain bank or an insurance provider, for example) toward that particular christian sect because of his methodist upbringing, and also because we went church shopping near Kenyon college.
i attend a methodist church because we sort of wandered in there, and because we found people who ACT like christians instead of TALKING like christians. they put others before themselves. they bring flowers for me. and they remembered my name. and they’re willing to
at least i'm not catholic: i'm almost a methodist.
teach me how to pay it forward.
we were invited to membership classes, and suddenly, i’m a on my way to becoming a methodist.
for years, i’ve been prideful about my non-denominational status.
‘they need a name for what they do. as for me, i serve the lord,’ i’d say.
and all my ‘christian’ life (read: from age 18 on) i pretty much belonged to some sort of non-denominational, hippy-kind-of, all-encompassing body of faith.
now seth is making me be a METHODIST!
i’ve always thought that denominations were sort of divisive — that they all started because some young punk thought he could live the christian life and teach the christian life better than the other guy. but somewhere along the line (read: Sunday) i learned the hypocrisy in my non-denominational upbringing, i.e. ‘i can do it better than the other guy: i don’t need a denomination.’
so now, i’m learning the history and structure of the global methodist church and i am fascinated. (john wesley! woot! woot!)
did you know what 1 in 3 folks in the new America was Methodist shortly before the Civil War, and that when the church split over the issue of slavery, it served as a catalyst, fueling the start of the Civil War?
so, yeah.
in a few weeks, when i become a Methodist, you can blame the Civil War on me.
you can also credit me for Riverside Hospital. and Ohio Wesleyan Church. plus five other colleges. and that new heart hospital in Dublin.
our numbers may be dwindling nationally (damn you, Vineyard A-Holes!) but ‘we’ continue to provide the world with more resources with fewer members. you’re welcome, Ohio. you’re welcome, world.
i don’t think denominations guarantee you a pass through the pearly gates. i just think they provide a little accountability — as far as where the 10 percent tithing goes — and i think they provide a little guide as to what sort of worship one should expect when walking into the sanctuary.
‘methodist’ is just bland enough for me to be willing to hitch my wagon to them. i think they’re pretty liberal, relatively speaking.
what i meant to say is that i love jesus. he is changing my life.
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