Brad’s Back
Of the Bulletin
“So why are we called
Methodists anyway?” Well, actually we are called United Methodists … and that
has nothing to do with our being united, but I will save that for another week.
Our being called “Methodists” goes back to our good friends the Wesley
Brothers, John and Charles in the 1700s.
Both John and his
younger brother Charles studied at Christ Church in Oxford. Graduating before
his brother, John began studying to become ordained a priest in the Church of
England and was elected a fellow at Lincoln College, a smaller college in
Oxford. After a brief time serving as an associate pastor under his father
Samuel in the congregation in which he and his brothers and sisters were raised,
John returned to Oxford and his duties as a fellow at Lincoln College.[1]
While in Oxford, the
brothers began to meet periodically with Charles’ friend William Morgan for discussion,
prayer and Bible study. Their practice of receiving the Lord's Supper at least
once a week earned them the nickname “Sacramentarians.”
As more Oxford
students joined, the group slowly grew and expanded their charter. Soon they were
visiting prisoners, teaching children, visiting the elderly, and caring for the
poor as part of their regular activities. Other students noticed them, but
didn’t understand their zeal. They gave the group mocking nicknames including,
Bible-moths, The Holy Club, Supererogation-Men, and of course Methodists. It
was the name “Methodists” that ridiculed their methodical approach to spiritual
disciplines that we carry with us to this day.
This group is most
often referred to as the Holy Club. They adopting a holistic approach to their
Christian formation, studying the Bible, praying, and worshiping together. They
also worked together to love their neighbor, reaching out to those who were in
the most need.
The
subsequent Methodist movement was, in a sense, a replication of this group to
help others grow as leaders in discipleship in the Church of England. The focus
on both love of God and neighbor expressed in everyday actions, was a
centerpiece of early Methodism, and continues today.
So
the name “Methodists,” that actually started as an insult, has become something
that I am pleased to be called today.
[1] United Methodist
Communications. (2016) The method of early Methodism: The Oxford Holy Club.
Retrieved September 28, 2016, from http://www.umc.org.
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