The Confessing Movement's Initial Newsletter - 11/95
"We Confess"
From the Editor
Welcome to the first issue of We Confess, the newsletter of the
Confessing Movement in The United Methodist Church. Since the release of our Confessional Statement in April 1995, there have been
numerous requests for more information, questions about our purpose and intentions, and
pleas for advice about what concrete action we recommend. The Steering Committee of the
Confessing Movement, therefore, has asked me to edit this newsletter.
Our hope is to create a network of information, support, and reflection for those who are
hearing the call to a renewed confession of Jesus Christ as Son, Savior, and Lord.
This first issue reprints (in slightly altered form) a quarter-page ad that the
Confessing Movement recently placed in The United Methodist Reporter. It is our attempt to
reply to our critics in a non-defensive manner and to ask them to confess the ground of
their hope.
In future issues of the newsletter we will keep you informed of how the Confessing
Movement is being received in the church at large. We will introduce you to the
contributions being made by those who are at the forefront of this movement for doctrinal
reinvigoration in our church. And we will offer practical suggestions and resources for
action and study at the local level. If you have questions or information pertinent to
this newsletter write:
Editor
We Confess
7995 East 21st Street
Indianapolis, IN 46219
The Confessing Movement and Its Critics
On April 29, 1995, the Confessing Movement released its Confessional
Statement to The United Methodist Church at large. On June 2, The United Methodist
Reporter announced that "the document merits discussion" and that "now is
the time for United Methodists everywhere to join this conversation, will come to
wholesome discourse during General Conference."
OUR CRITICS SAY
While many clergy, laity, and congregations have expressed strong support for the
Statement, some voices have risen in protest against our confession of Christ.
"Beware of a Self-Proclaiming Confessing Movement" warns an article in Christian
Social Action (Sep./95). The author claims the Confessing Movement is "Demonstrably
anti-ecumenical" and then challenges us to demonstrate that we are " not also
anti-women, anti-poor and anti-gay." Trinity United Methodist Church in Atlanta began
circulating a "response" to the Confessing Movement two weeks before its April
1995 meeting. Their document accuses us of seeking "to impose a narrowly defined
orthodoxy on the church" and of attempting "to silence theological explorations
by women and people of color."
WE INVITE YOUR TESTING
We are not afraid to repeat these charges against us because they are untrue. We
invite all United Methodists to judge for themselves the claims of our Confessional
Statement and to test the spirits of the current voices in the church. To advance this
process of testing, we ask: Have our critics responded to us with the love for diversity
and dialogue they claim to prize so highly? Have our challengers corrected us on the basis
of Scripture? Have they redescribed our Confessional Statement for their own purposes?
WHO NARROWS?
Our critics say that we are imposing a narrow doctrinal agenda upon the church. We
ask: Which is the more narrow agenda? That which reduces doctrine to the personal
experiences of individuals? Or, that which regards doctrine as an attempt to define the
boundaries which mark authentic Christian belief from substitutes or counterfeits?
WHO SILENCES?
Our critics say we are trying to silence the voices of women, people of color, and
those who are engaged in theological exploration. We ask: Why do our critics falsely
equate a criticism of radical feminism with a wholesale condemnation of women? Why do our
opponents speak as if people of color cannot evaluate the Confessional Statement from
their own rich perspective? Why is the Confessing Movement accused of silencing others
when we are calling for a vigorous theological conversation about essentials among all the
voices in the church?
WHO DIVIDES?
Our critics say that we are dividing the church by making fundamentalist,
intolerant, doctrinaire demands. We ask: Which theology is more unifying to the church?
That which claims to be inclusive and pluralistic while launching intolerant attacks on
those, who are committed to the classical faith of the Church? Or that which confesses
that Jesus Christ is the center around whom all our doctrinal, theological, and moral
claims are oriented and shaped?
WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?
We hold with Wesley and the Doctrinal Standards of our church that Scripture is
the primary authority for faith and practice. On that basis we have confessed the Church's
faith in Jesus Christ as Son, Savior and Lord. Now we ask: Why has it become suspect to do
this? Does our great breadth as a church depend on an uncritical defense of any and all
opinions, or on our confidence that in confessing Jesus Christ the church will be unified
and renewed? In a church which has aimed to base its faith on its agreement with Peter's
confession, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God," we ask our
critics: Who do you say that Jesus Is?
What Can You Do?
Getting Involved in the Confessing Movement
People have asked what, if anything, they can do to help the cause of doctrinal renewal
in United Methodism. Here are some suggestions to get you directly involved at the local
level. Let us hear what you are doing.
- READ... the Confessing Statement. Copies can
be obtained from the return address on this newsletter. Read the Apostles and Nicene
Creeds found in your UM Hymnal. Read the Articles of Religion and the Confession of Faith
found in the UM Book of Discipline. Look up the words "confess" and
"confession" in your concordance and bible dictionaries.
- DISCUSS... Do you know what the Doctrinal Standards of our church are? Has your
local church, Administrative Board, Bible study class or small group ever examined itself
in light of these Standards? Are they taught to your children, youth and new members? Is
there clear teaching in your local church about the difference between private opinions
and the Church's consensus about the faith?
- ORGANIZE... Ask your Administrative Board to consider supporting the Confessing Statement. Ask your pastor to lead a class which
explores the Doctrinal Standards. Ask your Adult Church School classes to study the
documents listed above. Order the cassette tapes of the Confessing Conference speeches by
Dr. Mark Horst and Dr. William Abraham to use as an introduction to the issues.
- PRAY... Pray for the Church, for our leaders, for all our people. Pray for God to
send the "Spirit of truth" who will guide us into "all truth" (John
16:13).
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