Wisdom Wednesday: The Methodist Story

Grace and peace to you. I’m Rev. Joe Cailles, the pastor of Peakland United Methodist Church in Lynchburg Virginia. Today is Wednesday, November 8, 2023 Peakland United Methodist Church is finishing up with this book, Being a United Methodist Christian which explores our beliefs, our best practices and our history as a United Methodist Christian. This week and next, we are talking about the three general rules of being a United Methodist Christian. John Wesley created the three rules in 1743 when the methodist movement was growing beyond the Holy Club that he led at Oxford University. Small groups of Methodist men and women were gathering each week to pray for one another, read scripture together and to hold one another accountable in their Christian discipleship. John Wesley gave these methodist groups three rules to live by and to strengthen their faith: First: Do no harm and avoid evil of every kind. Second: Do good of every possible sort and as far as possible to all. Third: Attend upon the ordinances of God. A simple way to remember that: Avoid Harm. Do Good. Follow Christ. John Wesley had specific ways that methodist were to avoid harm, do good and follow Christ. Wesley wrote, Avoid harm like drunkenness and buying or selling spiritous liquor or drinking it, unless in extreme necessity. Avoid harm with no Fighting, quarreling, brawling, returning evil for evil or, the using of many words in buying or selling. No putting on gold or costly apparel. No softness or needless self-indulgence. My favorite is No uncharitable or unprofitable conversation particularly no speaking evil of magistrates or of ministers. For doing good, John Wesley quotes the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 25 and directs us to give food to the hungry, clothing to the naked, visiting or helping them who are sick or in prison. That will be the scripture and the theme of the sermon next Sunday, when we at Peakland welcome Rev. Leigh Anne Taylor to the pulpit. John Wesley also warned methodists that they were to avoid the odious custom of avoiding good works unless our hearts be free to do it. Some Christians back then had gotten it into their heads that unless they felt like doing good works, they shouldn’t actually do good works. I trust none of us are so foolish as that. I don’t always feel like flossing or working out at 6:00 in the morning or paying my bills, but I still do those things. Charity and acts of mercy and kindness and justice are not optional for us United Methodists. John Wesley’s final rule was to follow the ordinances of God. “Ordinances” in this case are the activities which God has ordered for us to draw us closer to God and closer to each other. Things like: Sunday worship, prayer, Bible study, fasting and abstinence, communion, and baptism, acts of charity, justice, forgiveness, and mercy. We today may disagree with some of the specific John Wesley wanted methodists to do but the three rules are an honorable part of our heritage and a really good way of being a United Methodist Christian, so this week and in the days to come figure out how you will Avoid Harm. Do Good and Follow Christ. Thanks be to God.