"Bob, I know what the Bible says. I just don't believe it." The conversation took place sixty years ago in a small town in north central Ohio. The quotation was uttered by the pastor of the Methodist church. He said it to my pastor. I mention it because the United Methodist denomination stands at its final crossroads. A vocal minority is pushing for complete acceptance of the "gay-lesbian-bi-trans sexual" agenda. This is the final campaign in this country and throughout Western countries to totally suppress Christianity and drive it "into the closet". At the United Methodist conference this summer the issue will be confronted. Evangelicals may win the day or the conference may "kick the can down the road" and appoint a committee to study it.
Even if biblical/evangelical Methodists (who are many) win this one, the denomination as a whole has been on the road to ruin for at least a century. Knowing that in the 1950's they ordained men who "knew the Bible but did not believe it" I have been surprised that they have not been completely lost to the Cause of Christ long before this. From the 1960's to the 1980's they lost over two million members. Another fatal trend is that many of their churches, like other dead or dying denominations, are no longer led by men. Much of the credit for biblical/evangelical leadership in at least some Methodist churches goes to Asbury College and Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. Without these two schools Methodism would probably be as far gone as the Presbyterian Church U.S.A.
The United Methodist Church is supposed to represent the spiritual legacy of such giants of the faith as John and Charles Wesley, Francis Asbury and Peter Cartwright. That spiritual legacy is far, far larger than most Evangelicals realize and for the last century and a half it has been carried on mostly by other groups and not by the United Methodist denomination. Those groups who have truly carried on the Wesley legacy and spirit of revival include Wesleyan churches, Nazarene, Salvation Army, Evangelical Methodists, and the Christian and Missionary Alliance among others. To appreciate this legacy I urge the reader to obtain the book Nothing To Do But To Save Souls by Robert Coleman. It is only a little over 100 pages but its content is priceless.
Until 1968 the Methodist denomination in the U.S. was called the Methodist Episcopal Church. This was because the Wesley brothers never intended to leave the Anglican (Episcopal) Church of England. In 1968 the Evangelical United Brethren, a smaller denomination in the Wesleyan tradition, merged with the Methodist Episcopal Church to form the United Methodist Church. (One pastor somewhat jokingly told me that some in the United Brethren considered it a "hostile takeover".)
Most of what I have said so far is prelude to these final remarks. The darkness in this land is very deep right now; so deep it leaves many in despondency. The "mainline" denominations, including many Methodist leaders, with their acceptance of the modern humanist world view, have much to answer for in bringing on this darkness. In the 1950's these "mainline" churches (Methodist, Presbyterian, United Church of Christ, Congregational, Episcopal, Lutheran) were literally packed with people Sunday after Sunday. But most of them were giving people neither the Life nor the Light that comes from taking Scripture and the claims of Christ seriously. Thus they have collectively lost millions of members and closed hundreds of churches. On the other hand there are many churches that consider themselves to be biblical/evangelical who also hold responsibility for much of our present darkness. They have been plagued with sectarian and competitive attitudes; Bible study without the Holy Spirit; mean spirited and anti science attacks on materialistic world views; shameful television personalities; and we could easily name more. There is enough blame to go around for both liberals and conservatives.
What I have written up to this point represents, however briefly, a lifetime of reading and thinking on these subjects. I have now reached the point where I am compelled by the Spirit to devote much less time to probing the causes and the depth of this present darkness. Two hundred and fifty years ago John and Charles Wesley fearlessly and at great personal cost proclaimed Him Who is the Light of the World into the midst of an England that was every bit as dark as our present moment. The Light blazed through that darkness producing the Evangelical Revival that resonates to this day. I hope that a future generation will say of me that the same Spirit Who came upon the Wesley brothers also filled me in this dark moment. I am, therefore, fully expecting a breaking forth of Light in the following days that will burn through and soften the hardest of hearts and bring Life like we have not yet seen in our lifetime. I am expecting that which is no less than "beyond all that I can ask or imagine".
"For God, Who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ."
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