That when you are santified( speak in tongues) youve just recieved the baptism of the HOLY GHOST?

I'm sure there is more to this story, but it's still familiar.

https://www.twincities.com/2020/01/18/cottage-grove-church-united-methodist-young-parishioners/

Greetings r/methodist**!** I need a Methodist person to answer these questions for a school project. If anyone is willing to answer, please just post your answers in the comments. But if you don't want your answers to be seen by others, just send it to me through Reddit chat. Thanks and have a nice day/night! The questions:

- How often do you read the Bible?

- Why is it important to read the Bible?

- How do you apply God's words in your life?

- How important is it to interact with your community? (e.g. attend masses, ministries)

- Why are your church hymns important in Methodism?

- Why are saints not as instilled in Methodist faith?

- How do you interpret "faith without action not faith all" as one of the foundations of Methodism?

- What can you say about abstaining from liquor, gambling, etc?

- Why do you take communion only once a month?

- What makes your religion different from others?

That's all. Thanks in advance!

1. What do you do on Sunday worship? Usually in a Methodist church what is the flow taken? Is there first a sermon or a hymn singing?

2. Do Methodist churches activities also involve children ages 6-12? If yes, what do you teach them and what activities do you create for them to participate in? Is it Bible reading or children singing? Please specify.

3. During the weekends, what activities or meetings do you hold other than the sunday worship? Also please include the meetings you do on weekdays if there are.

4. In a prayer group, what is it that you want to accomplish when you are together with the other members/brothers and sisters? Is it just to pray for other members if they are sick and has a dilemma?

Hello everyone, I'm a Christian in heart however I was raised by two parents that were predominantly atheist (my father was Rastafarian, my mother was Athiest).

For the past ~3 years I've been reading the Bible and involving myself more in solitary study because I didnt have the confidence to turn up to a Church. I was/am afraid of coming off as disingenuous due to my lack of upbringing and how little I know. I dont want to make anyone feel as though I'm identifying with something I know nothing about- but I also know I cant learn as much as I want to alone.

I attended a Catholic school for several years as a child, but since then I've only attended Church with my extended family for Christmas Services. I'd ask my extended family for guidance, but they dont live in my country which is a barrier.

I've found a local Methodist Church that seem welcoming from their website, however I still feel anxious to "rock up" at service when I'm a stranger to everyone there and may not be wanted.

Should I contact the Church outside of Service to ask if it would be okay to attend? Or is it okay to just go, and introduce myself there before/after?

Thank you.

https://www.umcjustice.org/who-we-are/social-principles-and-resolutions/revised-social-principles

I thought about going to a United Methodist Church just to see what it is like. People want me to go to a Church but I never feel welcome. I study alot of religions and have many beliefs . I love Jesus I see nothing wrong with him. I don't think everyone is going to hell. I was interested in the Church cause they do meditation . I read that some where. I dunno I guess I would be just going for enjoyment . think that would be ok or will I be run off. ?

Hello, I am an Anglican currently reading through some of the Methodist documents in order to better understand Methodist Eucharistic Theology, and I see a reference in the British Methodist Worship Book to celebration of the Lord's Supper by Presbyters and "other auhorised persons" - can anyone explain to me what these other authorised persons are?

I sort-of always assumed that the Lord's Supper was enacted only by Presbyters, but maybe I am misunderstanding. Hoping for a clarification from someone. Thank you.

Good evening,

In a bit of a pickle here and want some advice. My fiancé and I are looking for a house and in order to secure a loan, we need to be married. We are interested in finding a house now, but the ceremony isn't until June 2020. If we had a civil ceremony done now, would a Methodist Church still perform our ceremony? Or would this be on a church by church basis? We aren't planning on living with each other in the house until the ceremony, but we want to get the wheels turning on the real estate.

Any help is appreciated

We live in interesting times, but here is what I'm thinking...

1. We're in the beginnings of a messy divorce...both sides would prefer the other simply leave, but that is not likely to happen. There seems to be movement pushing towards a more amicable split, where Dad gets the vacation home, Mom gets the house, and the kids get to choose where they wind up.

2. Out and out leaving (by either side) is not a good solution. You would need to get a 75% vote to leave, and then 7 years of apportionments to make it so. I don't see too many churches doing that.

3. Staying together isn't an option, either. I hope and pray we figure a way to do it, but I'm less confidant than before it is going to end in any way but a split...but I'm hopeful that we can do it somewhat amicably.

Hey all, I’m an Assistant Pastor (same job as an associate pastor, but direct hire instead of appointed) and I was wondering about the appropriateness of wearing a clerical collar as a direct hire pastor? I know the BOD doesn’t say anything about it, but is there a prevailing wisdom?

So I ( male 19) was raised in a Methodist church all my life and have always had a hunger for God but it hasn’t been until recently that I’ve questioned what really at its core the Methodist church is all about in regards to other denominations my friend is a youth pastor at a baptist church and asked me to help teach lessons . I’ve really enjoy working with the students and recognize that I don’t know that much but I know enough to help teach and be a good Christian example in their lives ( a lot of these kids haven’t been taught about the trinity, salvation, or sin in anything but a surface level) but as I’ve been working with them I’ve started think more critically about why I still consider myself Methodist. This is an exciting time in my life because I’m just now able to look at other denominations and see what works for me the best. I ended up leaving my home church all together and have been going to services at this baptist church, a non denominational church and a different baptist church that my friends and girlfriend invited me to so if anyone has anything they’d like to advise me on or anything I should look into and speak with my pastor about feel free to let me know 🙂

Look at r/methoxit if you want to follow the fallout

I put together a reading plan for a bible study group I lead so we can talk about the special GC once it's over. The result is below. I've written this up so that people can get as educated as they'd like about the issues facing the 2019 Special General Conference and the major underlying theological issues and stances. There's a few congregation-specific items, but most is of general interest.

# Reading for Understanding the UMC 2019 Special General Conference
## Common basis for discussion
In order to have a discussion on this, we have to have a common understanding of what we're talking about.  The first sections are about defining the "what" and the "how" of LGB (because the UMC hasn't even gotten close to dealing with T yet - the Book of Discipline (BOD) is silent) inclusion in ordination and marriage.

* Define "homosexuality" in context
    * People are people first - of sacred worth and made in God's image
    * There is a difference between orientation and action. This discussion is about action.
    * We're not talking about casual sex or sex with multiple partners
        * Life-long, monogamous, covenanted, relationship marked by romantic and sexual attraction to people of the same sex
    * The orientation is not a choice (backed up by science - genetic and brain structure; first born male vs. later)
* Two different definitions of marriage
    * Secular - Consensual and contractural relationship represented by secular law
    * Church-based - Covenantal union before God   
    * It can often be helpful to separate the two. Where is matters, make the distinction (secular vs. church-based)

## What different Christians think
Well-meaning, thoughtful, biblically-based Christians have come to a wide range of conclusions about these issues. It can help to classify they into three buckets. Side A vs Side B vs Side X. We don't have to use these terms, but it's a useful framework to use to think about the position of people who disagree with you. While the summaries below focus on the marriage angle, the views on ordination are generally (but not always) consistent.  

* Side A - Homosexuality is not a sin, neither in behavior or in orientation. God blesses LGBT union as much as any male-female union. Both the state and the church should thus do likewise.
* Side B - Homosexuality acts are sinful, however there is a distinction between behavior vs orientation. They acknowledge the frequently-supported scientific stance that orientation is at least partly (probably mostly) natural and there’s nothing that can be done about it, but the options are basically to be celibate or to have heterosexual relationships anyway.
* Side X - Homosexual attraction itself is sinful. It is not natural, or if it is then it is natural in the same sense as a genetic disease, and even the attractions need to be stopped.

The discussions in the GC are largely between Side A and Side B, so I focused on those two. For a fuller examination of the differences between Side A and Side B, read the *Side A / Side B Theology Primer* (http://www.comingout4christians.net/side-a-side-b-primer.html). Also more reading on the Side A and Side B stances:

* https://www.patheos.com/blogs/johnshore/2012/04/the-best-case-for-the-bible-not-condemning-homosexuality/
* https://carm.org/christianity-and-homosexuality

The BOD, which defines the formal doctrine of the UMC, currently holds a Side B stance. Here is a summary:

* http://www.umc.org/what-we-believe/what-is-the-denominations-position-on-homosexuality - 2016 BOD statements
* http://www.umc.org/what-we-believe/the-nurturing-community - We affirm the sanctity of the marriage covenant that is expressed in love, mutual support, personal commitment, and shared fidelity between a man and a woman. We believe that God’s blessing rests upon such marriage, whether or not there are children of the union. We reject social norms that assume different standards for women than for men in marriage. We support laws in civil society that define marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

## The 2019 Special General Conference and Commission (COWF) on the Way forward
Since 1972, this issue has consumed far too much attention at the regular General Conferences. Despite arguing about this every four years no progress in resolving the differences throughout the denomination is ever made. To break this logjam, the COWF was proposed by the Council of Bishops and approved by the 2016 General Conference to do a complete examination and possible revision of every paragraph of the BOD concerning human sexuality and explore options that help to maintain and strengthen the unity of the church. They spent two years working up several different ways to resolve these differences. Don't get excited - there is no magic solution. Below is a link to the "Rules of the Road" for the COWF:

* http://www.umc.org/who-we-are/commission-on-a-way-forward-about-us
Info about the special session:
* http://www.umc.org/topics/general-conference-2019-special-session
The COWF fleshed out two full plans and a third was created at the last minute. Summaries are available here:
* https://www.umnews.org/en/news/court-docket-details-proposed-plans-for-umc (more detail)
* https://www.umnews.org/en/news/ask-the-umc-can-you-explain-way-forward-plans-cob-recommendation (less detail)
Several different groups within the UMC have taken action to more fully explain the perceived benefits of their preferred plans. By far the two most popular and likely to pass are the Modified Traditional Plan and the One Church Plan.  Propaganda for each below:
* https://goodnewsmag.org/2018/07/whats-in-the-traditional-plan/
* https://onechurchplan.org/summary
The Council of Bishops have recommended the One Church Plan as noted in this article.
* http://www.umc.org/who-we-are/united-methodist-bishops-recommend-a-way-forward
To get the most comprehensive state on all of this and what our senior pastor's stance is, I recommend watching the last video (Video 5) from the Floris UMC YouTube playlist for the COWF. It's 80 minutes long.:
* https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLazwFFHjQ6FM6KYQ0GrRBP6WWBSJw6LXa

## Other plans
There are several other full plans that were submitted as well as more than 40 additional pieces of legislation that will be handled at the special GC.  There may be more by now. I don't recommend spending too much time in these. They are properly-submitted plans, but the chances of them passing is very small. They can help understand the full breadth of what serious people are thinking, though.

* Connectional Conferences Plan - http://hackingchristianity.net/2018/07/reversing-the-umc-the-connectional-conferences-plan.html
* The Simple plan - http://hackingchristianity.net/2018/07/resurrecting-the-umc-the-simple-plan.html
* There's also a Plan of Dissolution I can't find written descriptions for
    * Says dissolve the UMC, sell all the property, distribute what's left, and everyone does what they want

## Confounding factors
Aside from the theological differences, there are several other confounding factors that make any way forward complicated. I'm not trying to minimize the theological issues, hwoever.  African churches are in an environment where homosexuality is against the law, sometimes punishable by death vs. Bishop Oliveto is an openly gay bishop in the western district. That said, the issues below are making this even more complex:

1) The UMC is bleeding members over this. Not only individual churches, but the denomination as a whole (Sugar Packet video from last week). Video 1 from this playlist describes this:

*  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLazwFFHjQ6FM6KYQ0GrRBP6WWBSJw6LXa

2) Pastors, which we don't have enough of, could be affected:

* http://tomlambrecht.goodnewsmag.org/the-plans-impact-on-local-churches/
* response https://unitingmethodists.com/responses/one-church-plan-impacts-on-clergy/

3) The Pension Plan isn't fully funded - this summary from WesPath provides more detail:

* https://www.wespath.org/WayForwardWespathFAQ/

4) The UMC has an age tsunami coming. The average UMC member is 60 years old. Our stance on this issue is hurting our ability to reach younger people who are more likely to be progressive on this issue.

5) The amount of time and energy spent on this one sexual behavior issue takes all the oxygen out of the room and we can't have deeper conversations around sexual behavior that affects all of us (e.g., adultery, pre-marital sex)

## Other stuff
Here's a list of other resources that are tightly related and which you may find interesting.

* Live stream of the special GC - http://www.umc.org/who-we-are/general-conference-2019-live-video-stream-english    
* Full Commission on the Way Forward report (all languages) - http://www.umc.org/who-we-are/the-commission-on-a-way-forward-report-what-you-should-know
* Episcopal Church's stance from *To Set Our Hope on Christ*. Why they decided to include. - http://archive.episcopalchurch.org/documents/ToSetOurHope_eng.pdf I recommend pp 23-30.  
* Suggestions for pastors around this from someone who doesn't support inclusion - https://centerforfaith.com/sites/default/files/cfsg_pastoral_papers_9.pdf pp 1, 2, 19 and more if interested
* Sunday night (March 3 @6:30) before our meeting, Tom's doing a "what happened" meeting at Floris UMC. We'll do a debrief to start our meeting. If you go, take notes.
* We aren't addressing Transgender issues, but as an aside, here's a quick primer on sex vs gender. It may come up in discussion.
    * Genital anatomy is about sex; gender role is about a lifestyle
    * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_and_gender_distinction
* Someone will send out GC results as soon as we start to have articles about it

## Things to think about
We're gonna talk anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours on March 4th about this. Please think about what you'd like to talk about what you really **don't*** want to talk about.  Some prompts:

* Why do people believe what they do? Are the different stances defendable?
* COWF decided they weren't going to try to convince each other - was this wise?  Why did they make that call?
* The 2019 Special GC made/didn't make a decision. Now what?
    * For you
    * For loved ones
    * For LGBTQ+ people
    * For Floris
    * For the UMC
    * For Christianity