John
Wesley’s Letter to a Roman Catholic, July 18, 1749 was an attempt at
articulating some of the misunderstandings and animosities of that era between
Roman Catholics and Protestants. In this
letter, Mr. Wesley defined himself as a follower of Christ rather than by his
affiliations with people who would claim a certain religious title as their
strongest evidence of Christianity. In
considering the ecumenical spirit Mr. Wesley portrays in his writings, I ponder
my own place in church history. When I
say I am a Christian, or even a Christian of the Wesleyan tradition, what do I
mean? My attempt to answer this question
is as follows:
I am a
Christian. My identity is found in the
One, Christ Jesus, who gave His life so I could be forgiven of and cleansed
from sin. I am a Christian because my
desire, my aim, my longing is to be Christ-like. This is the definition of a true
Christian. When others see me, I want
them to have a glimpse of Christ because I am a Christian. I want to mirror Him in action and
heart. I am washed in the blood of the
God-man who was raised on a cross two thousand years ago atop a hill called
Golgotha. I am a product of the hope and
power that comes from the triumphant resurrection of this God-man from the
dead. I am a Christian; nothing else
matters or makes sense. I am a Christian
because God has revealed Himself to me through His Son as related by the Church
and the Scriptures through His Spirit.
While I desire
nothing more than to be called a Christian, there are other descriptors by
which I may be known. For too long
society, and even our Christian sector of it, has sought to label people as one
extreme identity or another. If you are
left you cannot be right. Holding
certain beliefs must keep you from adopting others. While this is true in part, a close
examination of myself has led me to believe I am many things. Some of these seem to be in tension with each
other, but I have nonetheless found them all to be present within me. The catalyst for each movement within
Christendom has been an important point of truth, and while many denominations
and churches have strayed from their founding tenets of faith, I find I
identify with many different groups, at least in their original and pure
forms. I do not adhere to the statements
of faith of many Christian denominations or churches, but as I study history
and Scripture, I find many truly Christian ideas have been expressed at one
time or another by organizations who now may seem far from me in theology and
practice. For this reason, while I am
Christian, I can also be known in some capacity as the following:
I am
catholic. To be catholic is to believe
in the universal and holy Church of our Lord Jesus Christ. I desire to have fellowship with all those
who rightly name His name. Anyone who
believes Christ is who He claimed to be and is willing to act accordingly is my
sister or brother. The Church is not
bound to my fallible understandings or judgments of who should be allowed to
participate. Neither is it confined to
those in my area, my state, my country, my world, or my time period. Many Christians have preceded me and many
will come after me. I am catholic
because I believe that by the sacrament of God’s grace given to us through the
sacrifice of our Lord, all who know Him personally are my fellow Christians. I
am catholic.
I am
protestant. With the protesters against
complacency in the church I affirm we are to be everything the Scriptures have
called us to be and nothing the Scriptures condemn. I agree with the tenets of the faith so aptly
described by men willing to call the Church from its superstitions and ignorant
practices to an approach of theology based on the Bible. While I have never had to risk my life by
standing for correct teaching, I identify with the desire to have truth at any
cost. Official acceptance by the Church
is only as good as the doctrines upon which that Church stands. I am a protestant because I believe at times
men and women of faith are called to be the voice of reason within the
Body. I am protestant.
I am
orthodox. I believe in the straight and
narrow way. I believe in orthodoxy: the
correct way of interacting with God the Creator. I accept the creeds of the Church and the
implications they have in my life. I
believe in worshipping our holy God with every part of my being. I desire to see accurate teaching passed from
generation to generation throughout the history of the Church. I believe there is more to the Church than
our current understandings or culture.
In some ways the Church is to be above culture while interacting with
it. For this reason, congregations and
their leaders must provide the correct blueprint for interacting with and understanding
our divine Creator and Master. This is
orthodoxy, and I proudly claim it as my heritage.
I am
evangelical. I accept our Master’s call
to go to the entire world and preach the gospel (Mark 16:15). To evangelize is one of the highest callings
of the people of God. It is the
responsibility of His followers to share the truth of His death and
resurrection with those who are lost.
Because I am experiencing a personal and life-altering relationship with
Him, I know this is the key to changing our world. God can transform lives, but people will not
know unless they hear and they cannot hear without a preacher. For this reason I believe we are all
preachers in some capacity. Our lives,
in word and action, must be a constant testimony to those around us. The call of Christ goes beyond making
converts. We are to develop
disciples. I am evangelical because I
want to promote growth for all people within the context of a passionate
relationship with the Master. I want us
to do more than go through the motions.
Yes, I am concerned with evangelism and discipleship. I am evangelical.
I am
Lutheran. With Martin Luther I declare
that by faith alone may we find our hope of eternal life. There are no works by which we can earn our
place in the Kingdom. I believe there is
a definite divide between the secular and the sacred and that, while the Church
should never leave society to flounder in sin, we are set apart from it by our
relationship with Christ. Sola Scriptura
must be our primary method of interpreting worldview, for by Scripture alone
can we measure life with any accuracy. I
believe in the graciousness of our God and in His desire to show that grace
actively at work in the lives of all people.
With Luther I also recognize that at times the wrong teachings of
society or the Church may cause me to say, as he did at the Council of Worms in
1521, “…to go against conscience is neither honest
nor safe. Here I stand, I cannot do
otherwise. God help me. Amen.”[i]
I am
congregationalist. I affirm that the
people of God make up the Body. The
Church, with all of its leaders, is nothing without the sheep of the
flock. The congregation is the
assembling of the followers of the one, true God and I believe in the authority
and power of this assembly. Many laypeople are blessed with gifts that must be
utilized within the context of the body.
It is dangerous to ignore gifts of ministry within the congregation so
the clergyman can perform all duties of the church. The government and life of the Church depend
heavily upon each member of the congregation.
I am
presbyterian. I accept that within the
body of Christ there are those set aside for leadership beyond that of other
believers. This is the presbytery. While a pastor tends the flock in many ways,
a group of elder spiritual leaders is necessary to provide well-rounded
direction for the local church. No one
person will have all of the insights necessary for overseeing a group of
believers. Therefore the board, the
council, or the elders must give their spiritual discernment for charting the
course of the church. Those within the
congregation should respect such authority; not as some political position to
be gained or lost by a congregational vote, but as a divinely appointed
position of leadership within the church.
I am presbyterian.
I am episcopalian,
for while I know the value of leadership within the congregation, I also know
the necessity of it from without the local church walls. I believe in the validity of an episcopalian
church government, at least in part. God
has not left the direction of the Church to the whims and desires of each
parish. Instead, He has placed an
authority structure that includes levels of qualified leaders for the Church at
large, much the same as we see in Scripture as St. Paul interacts with Timothy
and Titus and their churches. There is
no infallible leadership, but there is clear direction given to the churches
through those in high places of authority as determined by our Lord. For this reason pastors, elders, bishops,
superintendents, cardinals, and general councils are vital to the local
church. We are not a dictatorship of
church authority, but neither are we a democracy. I am episcopalian because I want to submit
myself to every appropriate authority structure put in place by our Father.
I am baptist. The outward sign of God’s grace at work in a
person who has been converted is shown through the washing of the body in
water. Death of the old man is
transformed into the life of the new one.
Living in obedience to the Word of God, believers should be baptized as
a symbol of their commitment, relationship, and conversion. I believe in the symbolic and sacramental
aspects of baptism as it was instituted by our Lord with His cousin John. I am baptist.
I am
methodist. I believe there is a
discipline and structure necessary to our relationship with Christ. There can be little hope for the believer who
wishes to live his Christianity without purpose or determination. I believe in the filling of the Holy Spirit
as the Enabler in this devoted life.
There is a method to how we must live and so I am methodist. Scripture, prayer, good works, the means of
grace, and spiritual accountability are all necessary parts of a faith lived
out. I am methodist because I believe in the interdependency of believers in
our journey through life. I am methodist
because I know it is our responsibility to care for those in need and to
transform the world in which we live through unconditional love for God and
man. There is no hopeless person or
situation when true principles of methodical Christian living are applied. I am methodist.
I am Wesleyan, for
I claim the heritage of John and Charles as my own. I know God does not only desire to see people
converted, but to be purified. Therefore
I believe two works of grace are possible in this life: conversion and
sanctification. I believe in perfect
love and Christian perfection. I believe
true Christianity is bound in the two greatest commandments: Love the Lord your
God with all your heart, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as
yourself. On these hang all the law and
the prophets (Matthew 22:37-40). I
believe in corporate and individual works of grace. I believe it is possible to lose one’s
salvation, but the committed believer need not worry over his security as long
as he walks in daily communion with the Lord and quickly responds to any
promptings of the Spirit. I believe
God’s grace is at work in each person, Christian or not, and the more we
recognize our need for it, the more grace we receive. I believe in using reason, logic, and
experience to form theology based upon the teachings of Scripture. I am Wesleyan.
I am a proponent
of holiness. I do not merely adhere to a
theological structure that espouses two works of grace, but I believe in
separation from the mindset of the world and separation to the will of
God. I believe purity of heart and life
is possible and should be sought. I
believe holiness is not a theology of a few denominations, but must be the
pursuit of all believers. I take
seriously the call to be holy because God is holy. We are to be like the One who made us, called
us into relationship with Himself, died for us, and provides His Spirit for our
conversion and purification. I believe
in holiness.
I am
pentecostal. I believe in the filling of
the Holy Spirit as it came on the Day of Pentecost. Believers ought not be content with a
conversion experience, but should expect more from the God who loves them. He promised us the presence of the Comforter
and Guide. He showed us His power on the
day of Pentecost. When the Spirit comes
we are empowered for ministry and evangelism and given gifts beyond our own capabilities. The New Testament outlines how the Spirit
works within followers of Christ to enable them to do the work of the
Body. The Church is built and
encouraged, developed and expanded when the Spirit uses people within it to
preach, teach, evangelize, give, help, and use many other spiritual gifts. I believe the Spirit has the ability to meet
us in ways we do not expect with results we may find surprising. I am pentecostal.
I am
charismatic. I believe the gifts of
God’s grace are active in the Church through the power of His Spirit. I desire to be full of charisma, or the
inspirational qualities that come from having the Spirit within. I do not believe worship and a personal
relationship with Christ will always follow an established plan. While the Scriptural call is for all things
to be done decently and in order, I expect a passionate love for Jesus will at
times call believers to act out of the ordinary and to behave in ways that
perhaps seem strange. My worship to the
Lord may at times overpower me as I consider the holiness of God. The Spirit may so fill my heart that I cannot
help but express it aloud to others. For
these reasons, I am charismatic.
I am
independent. I am not bound by any
denomination or belief structure and yet I am bound by them all. Anything shown to me through Scripture and my
relationship with Christ becomes part of my creed, whether it is supported by a
formal group or not. For this reason I
must stand outside a denomination when I believe it has strayed from Scripture
and yet be willing to claim it for all points on which we agree. To be independent is not to be free from
authority but to think beyond the scope of what the authority says. No person is infallible; no denomination is
perfect. I pledge my allegiance first to
Christ and then to the Church. While
doing so, I still affirm that to be outside of the Church body is to be
slipping away from Christ Himself.
I am a
fundamentalist. I believe some aspects
of theology are the irreducible minimum.
I accept the fundamentals of faith as proposed in the creeds and
experienced by generations of Christians.
To stand for everything is to stand for nothing, and so I believe there
are lines drawn in the sands of culture that must not be crossed. I believe in strong moral and ethical
guidelines. I believe in the trinity,
faith, salvation, scripture, and eternal life.
I believe heaven and hell are real, that the world was created as the
Bible says, and that it will end the way the Bible foretells. I am a fundamentalist.
I am a
progressive. I am not bound only by what
the Church has believed for centuries, but by what God is doing and wants to be
doing in the Church now and in the future.
I cannot afford to hold only to those concepts I have known to be true,
for the Lord is always illuminating new areas I have not yet examined. For this reason some practices I thought
foundational have been revealed to be only tradition. Likewise, some methods being attempted in the
Church today will likely not last beyond the present decade. I cannot adhere to certain practices because
they are old or because they are new, but only because they align themselves
with the principles of Scripture. I am
open to new ideas and want to always be moving forward, not with the latest
gadgets and ideas, but in exploring appropriate ways to be the Church we have
been called to be. I want ever to be
progressing in my relationship with God and so I am a progressive.
I am an American
Christian and a proud citizen of the United States of America. I have been placed in the greatest country on
earth and given countless opportunities to use the resources around me to
further the work of Christ. I pledge
allegiance to my country and to the values on which it was founded. While I shudder at many of the ills plaguing
our nation, I am bound to it by birth and by identity. I recognize many of my brothers and sisters
around the world will never know the kind of life I have the joy of
living. I am an American, yet I cannot
be defined by my country. Primarily I am
an alien and stranger in this land. I am
no more at home here than I would be in Africa.
My ultimate allegiance is to a country and King not of this world. For this reason I stand outside the confines
of my national identity at times and judge whether or not our nation honors God
and if the Church in the United States is really being the Church. I do not despise my patriotic status, for I
am blessed to be an American. However, I
do not always take pride in my country because we – yes, all of us – have
allowed the ease of life to make us lazy Christians. I do not think because I live in the greatest
land that I am always right or always know best. I believe we have much to learn from those
who suffer daily for their Lord.
By today’s
standards I am a conservative. I desire
to conserve that which is good, wholesome, and pure. I believe in moral responsibility, the
sanctity of marriage, the right to life, and that our culture poses many evils
to us. I believe the family is the basis
of society and that a man and a woman should remain married for life. I abhor the evils of drugs, alcohol,
violence, and abuse. I disdain the
immoral, promiscuous, and flesh crazed world in which we live. What is more, I fear many of these wrongs we
would attribute to those outside the Church have crept into our own houses and
into the Church itself. I am a
conservative Christian because I think many basic values and principles have
been long left by the wayside in the pursuit of comfort and pride. Without a return to such conservative ideals,
I fear there is little hope for our country or the portions of the Church that
have slipped into lukewarm apathy. We
need to once again claim the truths of Scripture and live by its moral,
financial, and cultural principles.
By another
viewpoint, I might be considered a liberal.
I desire to liberate the oppressed and free the captive by caring for
those less fortunate than myself, regardless of the circumstances they have
experienced or the cost to my own wallet.
I believe in providing care to the sick and social support structures to
the needy because it helps to liberate people from oppressiveness. I know Christ would have the Church be the
social service organization of the world.
I am certain one of the primary reasons the government has taken on
these responsibilities is because the Church failed to. I am concerned over the greed and selfishness
that seem to have permeated corporate America.
I believe in spending freely and liberally to help others, provided the
money is there to begin with and good judgment is used. I think we should accept all people as they
are, realizing God does not desire to leave any of us where He finds us. To accept someone as he is does not mean to
agree with what he believes, but to understand his problems and to believe God
is capable of changing the worst of sinners into the purest of saints. I believe Christ is the greatest liberal in
its purest sense because He liberates all those who call on Him for freedom
from the chains of sin. I do not think a
person should be judged by stereotypes.
I can believe all of this and not live in contradiction because I am a
Christian first, not a conservative or liberal.
I am
political. I believe the responsibility
of the Christian is to be active in the society in which he is placed. For me, this must mean political involvement,
but I cannot be defined by a political party.
In some ways I may seem Republican, in others Democratic, and in others
independent of any major affiliation. I
agree with a strong moral code within the political realm, even if few
politicians seem willing to abide by one.
I am called to be involved in politics as a Christian, because that is
who I am. I believe in some aspects of
capitalism and some of socialism because I believe there are principles of each
found in Scripture. I believe that,
taken to an extreme, any political or financial structure will show itself to
be unbiblical, but that the truth often lies somewhere in the middle of many
different systems. I am not sure about
the death penalty or wars started in the name of democracy and truth, but I am
willing to wrestle with these ideas. I
desire to choose leaders to represent what seems to be the most accurate
depiction of the truth of God’s word. I
am a political Christian.
In some ways I am
a moderate Christian. While there are
many issues I believe need to be radically changed in our culture, I am content
to begin by taking small steps towards the truth. Christ is always patient when working in my
life, and I believe the Church must show the same attitude towards society. We have often formed our political agendas
around extreme hot topic issues while ignoring concerns that would take more
care and precision in solving. I am
content in the middle of the road at times because I see my Master reaching out
to both sides of a culture divided harshly in the middle. While doing so I continue to proclaim there
is only one way, one God, and one truth and to ignore it is certain eternal
damnation.
Because I see so
much of myself in many viewpoints and because I am loyal only to Christ and no
organization in particular, I may take stances others feel are
contradictory. For example, I may
support Christian schooling in contexts where it is the only form of good
education and yet condemn Christian schools that have become exclusive private
clubs to keep children from interacting with the very world they are called to
influence. I may abhor alcoholism and
yet spend time befriending people who are drinking. I can do so because my Lord seemed more
interested in life-changing transformation than with only the immediate
representation of a particular problem.
I may support the sanctity of life or marriage and yet disapprove of the
tactics employed to promote these issues.
My faithfulness to Christ may make me what seems to be a walking
contradiction, but that is what the Pharisees thought of Him and so I accept
the title willingly.
I am a Christian.
I am a leader and a follower, a director and a servant, a teacher and
student. I am judgmental and yet
tolerant, and I believe in many things that seem idealistic. I am an enigma
because I support ideas that are Christian only in part and defy others that
claim to be Christian to the core. I am
difficult to describe because many adjectives are tied to presuppositions and
stereotypes. I want all who do not know
Christ to think He might resemble what they see in me, and I want every
believer to know I reflect the image of our Lord.
I am a
Christian. I can identify with all the
major sectors of our faith and yet I can find fault with each of them, as
well. Because I stand for Jesus I cannot
be claimed by any one group. You see, to
be Christian is to be like Jesus. My
allegiance is to Him, my desire is for Him, and my life is of Him. I proudly call all that is Christian my own
and willingly discard that which does not mirror His image. I may be frowned on by many, misunderstood by
the majority, and claimed by but a few.
But then, my Savior was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows
and acquainted with grief (Isaiah 53:3).
And so for all that I am, I feel no need to be accepted by anyone but
Him.
Do not think that
because I would call many sectors of Christendom part of my heritage that I
stand for nothing. In fact, it is
because of what I stand for I find my roots go so deep. I am on my way to eternity with Jesus in the
company of all the faithful followers of His name; I trust I will not know who
all that may be until we have completed the journey together. I am rigid and flexible. I am harsh and yet forgiving. I seem a contradiction, because that is what
people thought of my Jesus.
I am a
Christian. My trust is in God, my
actions are under His judgment, and my person is His property. I am always compelled to examine what it
means to be Christian today. For this
reason I cannot be forced to live within one set structure. My faith is not a religion only but a
personal relationship with God. What I
am is who He is; what He is not, I cannot be.
To be Christian is
to see myself in comparison to Christ.
This shows me I have much to learn and far to grow even while I am
walking in perfect love. I am content to
be where I am spiritually, but not willing to stay here long. Jesus beckons me onward, to follow and
sacrifice my very self.
When I have left
this world, I suppose it is unlikely any of the descriptors I have listed above
will be placed on my tombstone. Perhaps
it will read with my name and “Husband” or “Father”. However, it is not the labels of this world
with which I am concerned with. Let my
life bear record that when I have gone on to be with my Lord, the One I love
more than anything, those left behind will say: “He was a Christian. Perhaps not one easily defined or understood,
but when we saw him we knew we saw a likeness of Christ.” Yes, I am a Christian, nothing more or
less. I pray my life is a witness of all
that He is and that others see it clearly in me. May I be called Christian rather than
anything else. It is what I am. I am a Christian, and that is enough for me.
[i] Shelley,
Bruce Church History in Plain Language (Nashville,
Tenessee: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995), 242.
