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Bible Encyclopedias
Methodism
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
or as a distinctive form of Church life and polity, dates from the revival of religion in England under the labors of the brothers Wesley and of Whitefield. See' these names respectively.
I. Origin. — In November, 1729, the Wesleys, Whitefield, and their associates-about a dozen young men, students at Oxford University- formed themselves into a society for purposes of mutual moral improvement. They had a sincere desire to please God; and, by diligence, self-denial, and active benevolence, they sought to know and do his will. By instructing the children of the neglected poor, by visiting the sick and the inmates of prisons and almshouses, by a strict observance of the fasts ordained by the Church, and by scrupulous exactness in their attendance upon public worship,' they became objects of general notice. Many grave men thought them righteous overmuch, and attempted to dissuade them from an excess of piety; while profane wits treated them with sarcasm and contempt. Nothing could save from ridicule men who in that age and in such a place professed to make religion the great business of life. Hence by their fellow-students they were called in turn, Sacramentarians, Bible- bigots, Bible-moths, The Godly Club. One, a student of Christ-Church College, with greater reverence than his fellows, and more learning, observed, in reference to their methodical manner of life, that a new sect of METHODISTS had sprung up, alluding to the ancient school of physicians known by that name. The appellation obtained currency, and, although the word is still sometimes used reproachfully as expressive of enthusiasm, or undue religious strictness, it has become the acknowledged name of one of the largest and most rapidly increasing evangelical Christian denominations (comp. Tyerman, The Oxford Methodists, N. Y., Harpers, 1873, 8vo).
From this time Methodism may be said to have started. In 1739 the first Methodist "‘ meeting-house" in England was built at Kingswood. "Wesley's idea at this time, and for many years afterwards," says Skeats (Hist. of the Free Churches of England, p. 363), "was merely to revive the state of religion in the Church; but he knew enough of the condition of society in England, and of human nature, to be aware that unless those who had been brought under the awakening influence of the Gospel met together, and assisted each other in keeping alive the fire which had been lit in their hearts, it must, in many instances, seriously diminish, if not altogether die out." Originally, therefore, it was no part of the design of Wesley and' his associates to found a new religious sect. He considered them all me-ni'bers of the Church of England-zealous for her welfare, and loyal to her legitimate authorities. For a full discussion of this point, see the article WESLEY. They were all tenacious of her order, and great sticklers for what they deemed decency and decorum. One of them tells us, "I should have thought the saving of souls almost a sin if it had not been done in a church;" and such was the sentiment of John Wesley, when, to his horror he first heard that his bosom friend, Whitefield, had attempted to preach the Gospel in the open air. This was in the year 1739, on Saturday, the 17th of February.
The discourse was addressed to the colliers at Kingswood, near the city of Bristol. "I thought," said Whitefield, ‘ that it might be doing the service of my Creator, who had a mountain for his pulpit, and the heavens for a sounding-board; and who, when his Gospel was rejected by the Jews, sent his servants into the highways and hedges." In a little while John Wesley was induced to follow his example. Being providentially at Bristol, and a great assembly (estimated at 3000) having come together at a place called Race Green, "I submitted," he says, " to be more vile, and proclaimed in the highways the glad tidings of salvation. This was Wesley's first attempt in England. He had previously preached in the open air while in this country as a missionary to the Indians in Georgia, but he had no intention of resuming the practice in England, till he was stimulated by the example and urgent advice of his friend. His brother Charles was even more opposed to this departure from Church usages, and this apparent breach of ecclesiastical order. He had ‘ confined himself to the usual labors of the ministry in such pulpits as were opened to him, preaching the Gospel with earnestness and simplicity, more especially in London, where he also devoted much of his time to the felons in Newgate, not a few of whom were brought through his instrumentality to repentace and faith in Christ. Being strenuously urged by-Whitefield, he-at length consented to make one effort. "I prayed," he says, "and went forth in the name of Jesus Christ. I found near a thousand helpless sinners waiting for the Word in Moorfields. I invited them in my Master's words, as well as name, ‘ Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' The Lord was with me, even me, the meanest of his messengers, according to his promise..
My load was gone, and all my doubts and scruples. God shone on my path, and I knew this was his will concerning me." Thenceforth, in various parts of the kingdom, they continued to preach the Gospel in the open air as opportunity was afforded. Immense crowds thronged everywhere to hear the Word, and multitudes were converted from the error of their way. As a consequence of this violation of ecclesiastical order, and more especially because of the earnest and energetic style of the preachers, most of the pulpits of the Established Church were soon closed against them. Many dignitaries of the Church were above measure enraged at this new way, and zealous in opposing it. "Some clergymen," says Wesley, " objected to this ‘ new doctrine;' salvation by faith; and, because of my unfashionable doctrine, I was excluded from one and another church, and at length shut out of all." In many places, too, Wesley and his associates were treated as disturbers of the peace, and subjected to annoyance and persecution. They were reviled, mobbed, imprisoned. They bore everything with patience. "Not daring to be silent," says Wesley, "it remained only to preach in the open air; which I did at first not out of choice, but necessity. I have since seen abundant reason to adore the wise providence of God herein, making a way for myriads of people who never troubled any church, nor were likely so to do, to hear that Word which they soon found to be the power of God unto salvation."
The result of these labors was not only the conversion of manly souls, but the formation of religious societies. The young converts, neglected, and in many instances treated contemptuously by the established clergy, were as sheep having no shepherd. They naturally longed for the fellowship of kindred spirits. At their own request, they were united together for mutual comfort and edification. Wesley gives the following account of the origin of what was then called simply " the United Society." The rules which were drawn up for them are to the present day recognised, with two or three very slight alterations, as the General Rules of all branches of the great Methodist family in England, in the United States, and elsewhere:
"1. In the latter end of the year 1739 eight or ten persons came to me in London, who appeared to be deeply convinced of sin, and earnestly groaning for redemption. They desired (as did two or three more the next day) that I would spend some time with them in prayer, and advise them how to flee from the wrath to come, which they saw continually hanging over their heads. That we might have more time for this great work, I appointed a day when they might all come together; which, from thenceforward, they did every week, viz. on Thursday in the evening. To these, and as many more as desired to join with them (for their number increased daily), I gave those advices from time to time which I judged most needful for them; and we always concluded our meetings with prayer suitable to their several necessities.
"2. This was the rise of the United Society, first in London, and then in other places. Such a society is no other than ‘ a company of men having the form and seeking the power of godliness; united in order to pray together, to receive the word of exhortation, and to watch over one another in love, that they may help each other to work out their salvation.'
"3. That it may the more easily be discerned whether they are indeed working out their own salvation, each society is divided into smaller companies, called classes according to their respective places of abode. There are about twelve persons in every class; one of whom is styled the Leader. It is his business,
"(1.) To see each person in his class once a week, at least, in order
"To inquire how their souls prosper; "To advise, reprove, comfort, or exhort, as occasion may require;
"To receive what they are willing to give towards the support of the Gospel;
"(2.) To meet the ministers and the stewards of the society once a week, in order
"To inform the minister of any that are sick, or of any that walk disorderly, and will not be reproved;
"To pay to the stewards what they have received of their several classes in the week preceding; and
"To show their account of what each person has contributed.
"4. There is one only condition previously required of those who desire admission into these societies; viz. ‘ a desire to flee from the wrath to come, and be saved from their sins.' But wherever this is really fixed in the soul, it will be shown by its fruits. It is therefore expected of all who continue therein that they should continue to evidence their desire of salvation,
"First, by doing no harm, by avoiding evil in every kind; especially that which is most generally practiced. Such as
"The taking the name of God in vain; "The profaning the day of the Lord, either by doing ordinary work thereon, or by buying or selling;
"Drunkenness; buying or selling spirituous liquors; or drinking them, unless in cases of extreme necessity;
"Fighting, quarrelling, brawling; brother going to law with brother; returning evil for evil, or railing for railing; the using many words in buying or selling;
"The buying or selling uncustomed goods; "The giving or taking things on usury, viz. unlawful interest;
"Uncharitable or unprofitable conversation; particularly speaking evil of magistrates or of ministers;
"Doing to others as we would not they should do unto us;
"Doing what we know is not for the glory of God: as, "The putting on of gold and costly apparel; "The taking such diversions as cannot be used in the name of the Lord Jesus;
"The singing those songs or reading those books which do not tend to the knowledge or love of God; "Softness, and needless self-indulgence; "Laying up treasure upon earth; " Borrowing without a probability of paying; or taking up goods without a probability of paying for them.
"5. It is expected of all who continue in these societies, that they should continue to evidence their desire of salvation,
"Secondly, by doing good, by being in every kind merciful after their power, as they have opportunity; doing good of every possible sort, and as far as is possible to all men:
"To their bodies, of the ability that God giveth, by giving food to the hungry, by clothing the naked, by helping or visiting them that are sick or in prison;
"To their souls, by instructing, reproving, or exhorting all we have any intercourse with; trampling under foot that enthusiastic doctrine of devils, that ‘ we are not to do good, unless our hearts be free to it.'
"By doing good, especially to them that are of the household of faith, or groaning so to be; employing them preferably to others, buying one of another, helping each other in business; and so much the more, because the world will love its own, and them only.
"By all possible diligence and frugality, that the Gospel be not blamed.
"By running with patience the race that is set before them, denying themselves, and taking up their cross daily; submitting to bear the reproach of Christ; to be as the filth and offscouring of the world; and looking that men should say all manner of evil of them falsely, for the Lord's sake.
"6. It is expected of all who desire to continue in these societies that they should continue to evidence their desire of salvation,
"Thirdly, by attending upon all the ordinances of God: such are
"The public worship of God; "The ministry of the word, either read or expounded;' "The supper of the Lord: "Family and private prayer; "Searching the Scriptures; and "Fasting or abstinence. "7. These are the general rules of our societies: all which we are taught of God to observe, even in his written Word the only rule, and the sufficient rule, both of our faith and practice. And all these we know his Spirit writes. on every truly awakened heart. If there be any among us who observe them not, who habitually break any of them, let it be made known unto them who watch over that soul, as they that must give an account. We will admonish him of the error of his ways: we will bear with him for a season. But then, if he repent not, he hath no more place among us. We have delivered our own souls."
The "societies" thus formed increased so rapidly that very soon there arose a necessity for additional ministerial service. As the leaders in this wonderful revival of religion had been led providentially into the practice of field-preaching, and into the formation of religious societies, so they were induced in the same manner to accept the assistance of preachers who had not been educated for the ministry, nor ordained to that service; This. was at that time regarded by many as the most heinous of their offences. The Wesleys themselves at first hesitated at what seemed so monstrous an innovation; and the elder brother, when he first heard that a layman had taken a text and preached a sermon, hastened to London to put a stop to the irregularity. The man, Thomas Maxfield by name, had been left in charge of the little flock during the absence of the ordained ministers, had prayed with them, read to them passages of Scripture, attempted an exposition of a verse or two, and found himself preaching almost before he was aware of it. Happily for the interests of the new sect, and happily, too, for the cause of Christ, Wesley was met by his mother before he had time to censure the young preacher, or publicly to denounce this innovation. Mrs Wesley; the widow of a stanch minister of the Established Church, had been educated in its doctrines, and she revered its prelatical assumptions. But she had heard the young man preach several times. On the arrival of her son, seeing that his countenance was expressive of dissatisfaction, she inquired the cause. "Thomas Maxfield," said he, abruptly, "has turned preacher, I find." She looked attentively at him, and replied "John, you know what my sentiments have been. You cannot suspect me of readily favoring anything of this kind; but take care what you do with respect to that young man, for he is as surely called of God to preach as you are." Her advice was followed, and the result justified her opinion. Wesley recognised the validity of the young man's call; and thereafter it became a settled conviction with him, as it is with his followers to this day, that a warrant to preach the Gospel does not of necessity come only through one channel. In process of time, as instances of this kind increased, it became necessary to devise some criterion by which to test those who professed to believe themselves called of God to preach. This was a subject to which John Wesley early turned his attention; and the question, with his answer, continues to the present day to be incorporated among the rules recognised by all Wesleyan Methodists. We say Wesleyan Methodists because, previous to the preaching of Maxfield, Whitefield had separated himself from his associates, and thenceforward became known as the leader of the Calvinistic division of Methodism. The question and answer were in the following words:
"Quest. How shall we try those who profess to be moved by the Holy Ghost to preach ?
"Ans. 1. Let the following questions be asked, namely: Do they know God as a pardoning God? Have they the love of God abiding in them ? Do they desire nothing but God ? And are they holy in all manner of conversation?
"2. Have they the gifts (as well as the grace) for the work? Have they (in some tolerable degree) a clear, sound understanding, a right judgment in the things of God, a just conception of salvation by faith? And has God given them any degree of utterance ? Do they speak justly, readily, clearly?
"3. Have they fruit? Are any truly convinced of sin and converted to God by their preaching ?
"As long as these three marks concur in any one, we believe he is called of God to preach. These we receive as sufficient proof that be is moved by the Holy Ghost."
From the time of Maxfield's admission as a preacher, many others of similar piety and gifts offered their services and were accepted. As the work went on, and additions were made to the "societies" in all parts of the kingdom, the demand for preachers increased. Wesley had always thought that preachers would be supplied from the pulpits of the Established Church, but, disappointed in this, he came to favor the admission of those who, although not episcopally ordained, were wholly devoted to the work of preaching the Gospel, and gladly recognised them as ministers of Christ. The employment of this class of auxiliaries constantly increasing, finally led to a meeting, held annually thereafter, and known as "the Conference" (q.v.). The first of these assemblies was held in 1744, and from this year Methodism began to assume the appearance of an organized system. It was in 1744 that the brothers John and Charles Wesley, with two or three other regularly-ordained clergymen, met with such of the "preachers" as could conveniently attend, to clothe Methodism with the conventional forms of established ecclesiastical government. Of course neither John nor Charles could brook the idea of becoming Dissenters, and Methodism was organized as an independent Church body only after the death of John Wesley. (See WESLEYANS).
To all intents and purposes the Church was organized at this first Conference in 1744, and yet by this very body one of the questions asked was, "Are we Dissenters?" and its answer an emphatic "No." "Although we call sinners to repentance in all places of God's dominion, and although we frequently use extemporary prayer, and unite together in a religious society, yet we are not Dissenters in the only sense which our law acknowledges, viz. those who renounce the service of the Church. We do not, we dare not,' separate from it. We are not seceders, nor do we bear any resemblance to them. We set out upon quite opposite principles. The seceders laid the very foundation of their work in judging and condemning others. We laid the foundation of our work in-judging and condemning ourselves. They begin everywhere with showing their hearers how fallen the Church and its ministers are; we begin everywhere with showing our hearers how fallen they are themselves" (Coke, Life of Wesley, p. 287). "Monday, June 25, and the five following days," says the leader of this little band, " we spent in conference with our preachers, seriously considering by what means we might the most effectually save our own souls and them that heard us, and the result of our consultations we set down to be the rule of our future practice." Already had the larger portion of England been divided into "circuits." to each of which several preachers, were sent for one or two years. A part of the work of each annual assembly was to arrange these appointments and changes. At the early Conferences various theological questions were discussed with reference to the agreement of all the parties in a common standard; and when this was settled, and the doctrinal discussions were discontinued, new regulations of another kind were from year to year adopted, as the state of the societies, and the enlarging opportunities of doing good, seemed to require. The first indication of a desire to see a separate establishment was given by John Wesley in 1784, when he ordained Coke (q.v.) bishop of the Methodist Church in this country. (See METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH).
On neither side of the ocean had adherents of Wesley hitherto organized as a Church. They were simply up to this time non-ecclesiastical religious societies, entirely voluntary on the part of the members, and all governed by a common discipline, of which their founder was the sole dictator and the chief executor. Yet even this step to provide for the Methodists in America a separate ecclesiastical organization does not clearly reveal whether Wesley changed his mind as to his former relation and that of his adherents within the Anglican rule to the Church of England. Says Dr. Curry, of the Christian Advocate (N. Y., May 25, 1871), "No fact respecting the history of John Wesley is more clearly manifest than that he was always a strenuous supporter of the authority of the Established Church of England. He jealously regarded the exclusive ecclesiastical authority of that Church in all that he did as an evangelist, and seemed always determined that while he lived and ruled-and it was always understood that he would rule as long as he lived-nothing should be tolerated in his societies at all repugnant to the sole and exclusive ecclesiastical authority of the Established Church. This rule was applied to his societies in America before the Revolution just as strictly as to those in England. But the political separation of America from Great Britain, as it also ended the authority of the English Church in this country, made it lawful, according to his theory of the case, for the Methodist societies in America to become regularly organized churches."
II. The theological doctrines of Wesleyan Methodism are, with perhaps two or three modifications, the same as those which, by common consent, are at present deemed evangelical. The articles of religion drawn up by Wesley for his immediate followers, and substantially adopted by all Methodist bodies since, are but slightly modified from those of the Established Church of England. They were originally prepared for the churches in the States. (See ARTICLES, TWENTY-FIVE).
The sermons of John Wesley, and his notes on the New Testament, are recognised by his followers in Great Britain and America as the. standard of Methodism, and as the basis of their theological creed. The unity of the Godhead, and the coequal divinity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; the death, resurrection, ascension, and intercession of Jesus Christ; salvation by faith; the sufficiency and divine inspiration of the Holy Scriptures; a final day of judgment, and the eternity of future rewards and punishments, are doctrines held in common with other evangelical branches of the Church of Christ. Maintaining man's total depravity through the fall of Adam, and his utter inability, unless aided by divine grace, to take one step towards his recovery, Methodists hold that this grace is free, extending itself equally, by virtue of the atonement, to all the children of men. Hence they deny the doctrine of special election, with its counterpart, reprobation, as taught in Calvinistic formularies, and maintain, in opposition to those who hold to a limited atonement, that Jesus Christ, "by his oblation of himself once offered, made a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world."
They recognise two sacraments as ordained by Christ Baptism and the Lord's Supper. Infant children and believing adults have a right to the former; and penitent, seekers of salvation, as well as professing Christians, are invited to partake of the latter, both being regarded not only as "badges or tokens of Christian men's profession, but as certain signs of grace and God's good will towards us, by the which he doth work invisibly in us, and doth not only quicken, but also strengthen and confirm our faith in him." As to the mode of baptism, so that the ceremony be performed by an authorized minister in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, it is optional whether the water be applied by sprinkling or pouring, or by the immersion of the candidate; and although kneeling is the usual mode of receiving the elements at the Lord's table, those who prefer may partake of them in a standing or sitting posture. They deny the doctrine usually styled the "perseverance of the saints," believing that a true child of God may fall from grace and finally perish; but they hold the doctrine of assurance, in the sense that it is the privilege of the justified sinner now to know his sins forgiven. The Holy Spirit, they teach, bears witness of the fact of present pardon and acceptance; but this is deemed to be the privilege of believers, not the indispensable evidence of regeneration. "It does not follow," says Wesley, "that all who do not know their sins forgiven are children of the devil." Methodism teaches also that it is the privilege of believers in this life to reach that maturity of grace, and that conformity to the divine nature, which cleanses the heart from sin. and fills it with love to God and man-the being filled as Paul phrases it, with all the fulness of God. This they call Christian perfection, a state which they declare to be attainable through faith in Christ. Wesley says on this subject, and none of his authorized followers have gone beyond him, "Christian perfection implies the being so crucified with Christ as to be able to testify, ‘ I live not, but Christ liveth in me.' It does not imply an exemption from ignorance or mistake, infirmities or temptations. I believe," he adds, "there is no such perfection in this life as excludes these involuntary transgressions, which I apprehend to be naturally consequent on the ignorance and mistakes inseparable from mortality. Therefore ‘ sinless perfection' is' a phrase I never use, lest I should seem to contradict myself. I believe a person filled with the love of God is still liable to these involuntary transgressions. Such transgressions you may call sins, if you please: I do not, for the reasons above mentioned." This doctrine Wesley calls "the grand depositum which God has given to the people called Methodists;" and he gives it as his opinion that God raised them up chiefly to preach, and exemplify, and propagate it. (See WESLEYANISM).
II. As to the government and usages of ‘ Methodism they are similar, but not entirely uniform, in all its branches and divisions. In the parent body, the Wesleyan Methodists of England, the ecclesiastical government is entirely in the hands of the ministry. "The Conference," originally instituted, as we have seen, by Wesley, has the power of making rules and regulations for the government of the body. This power is, how, ever, restricted within certain limits prescribed in what is known as "the deed of declaration," executed by John Wesley a little while before his death, and enrolled in the archives of the high court of chancery in 1794. By the provisions of this deed, the Conference consists of one hundred ministers, who were originally named therein, and to whom and to their successors was committed the duty of filling vacancies as they occur. The Conference, by the deed of declaration, is to meet annually, and to continue in session not less than five days nor more than three weeks. Other ministers attend and take part in the discussions, but the legal body consists of the "hundred" only. Their first business, after filling vacancies, is the election from their own number of a president, who holds his office for one year, but is eligible to a reelection after an interval of eight years. Any member of the "legal hundred" absenting himself without leave from. two successive Conferences, and not appearing on the first day of the third, forfeits his seat. The Conference admits preachers on trial;' receives them into full membership by ordination; examines and scrutinizes the character of every minister in the connection, and has power ‘ to try those against whom any charge is brought, and to censure, suspend, or excommunicate, if necessary. By the Conference the proceedings of subordinate bodies are finally reviewed, and the state and prospects of the Church at large are considered, and regulations enacted for its increasing efficiency. The most important of these subordinate judicatories is "the district meeting," which is composed of ministers and laymen "residing within a district of country embracing from ten to twenty or more circuits" a circuit being the prescribed field of labor for two, three, or, in some cases, four ministers. The district meeting has authority:
1. To examine candidates for the ministry; and without their recommendation no candidate can come before the Annual Conference.
2. To try and suspend ministers who are found immoral, erroneous in doctrine, unfaithful to their ordination vows, or deficient in ability for the work they have undertaken.
3. To decide preliminary questions concerning the building of chapels.
4. To review the demands from the less wealthy churches, which draw upon the public funds of the connection for aid in supporting their ministers.
5. To elect a representative, who is thus made a member of a committee appointed to sit previously to the meeting of "the Conference," in order to prepare a draft of the stations of all the ministers for the ensuing year; regard being had to the wishes of the people in the allocation of individual pastors. The judgment of this " stationing committee" is conclusive until Conference, to which an appeal is allowed in all cases, either from ministers or people. But the appointments are made for one year only, and no preacher can be appointed to the same charge more than three years successive. In the District Conference laymen take part, equally with ministers, in all that affects the general welfare of the body; and the lay influence predominates still more in "the quarterly meeting," which is held, as its name indicates, every three months on every circuit. All local preachers, a numerous and influential body of men, who preach on Sundays, and follow some secular employments for a livelihood; stewards, whose duty it is to attend more especially to the temporalities of the society; class-leaders, of whom mention is made above in the general rules, are members of the quarterly meeting, at which candidates for the sacred office are first proposed, and, if rejected by their fellow-members, they have no appeal to- another tribunal. A similar balance of power is maintained in the "leaders-meeting," which is held monthly, in regard to various affairs of the particular society to which it belongs. Many of these meetings are attended by one minister only, or, at the most, by two or three, while the lay members are very numerous.
No leader, or other society officer, is appointed but with the concurrence of a leaders' meeting; no steward without that of the quarterly meeting. Among the usages peculiar to Methodism we have already noticed "the class-meeting," at which, although chiefly designed for spiritual instruction and improvement, it is expected that weekly contributions shall be made for the support of the ministry; and in which it is necessary for all who desire to become Methodists to undergo a period of probation of three among the Methodists of England, and of six months among those of the Methodist Episcopal Church (in the Church South there is no probationship), and attendance upon which thereafter is a term of membership. There is also in England what is known as the band-meeting, which differs from the class- meeting in that it is a voluntary association, and does not allow males and females to meet together, nor the married to belong to the same "band" with the single. The love-feast is a meeting held at the discretion of the preacher, quarterly or oftener; and the watchnight is a meeting for prayer, preaching, and mutual exhortation, held at first frequently, but now only on the last night of the year, and continuing until after midnight. John Wesley is claimed to have been the originator of religious tracts for gratuitous distribution, and of cheap volumes for the dissemination of the principles of Christianity. His followers have continued the system of publishing, and from " the Book-room" in London still emanate religious publications, tracts, and periodicals, the profits arising from the sale of which are applied to connectional purposes. For further details, (See WESLEYANS).
The duties of a Methodist minister were thus defined by Mr. Wesley, and they have since remained substantially in all branches of the denomination (see Discipline, etc., § 138 sq.):
"Q. What is the office of a Christian minister ?
A. To watch over souls, as he that must give an account. To feed and guide the flock.
Q. How shall he be fully qualified for his great work?
A. By walking closely with God, and having his work greatly at heart; by understanding and loving every branch of our discipline, and by carefully and constantly observing the twelve rules of a helper, viz.:
1. Be diligent; never be unemployed; never be triflingly employed; never WHILE away time, nor spend more time at any place than is strictly necessary. 2. Be serious; let your motto be, Holiness to the Lord; avoid all lightness, jesting, and foolish talking.
3. Converse sparingly and cautiously with women, particularly with young women.
4. Take no step towards marriage without solemn prayer to God, and consulting with your brethren.
5. Believe evil of no one; unless fully proved, take heed how you credit it: put the best construction you can on everything-you know the judge is always supposed to be on the prisoner's side.
6. Speak evil of no one. else your word especially would eat as doth a canker; keep your thoughts within your own breast till you come to the person concerned.
7. Tell every one what you think wrong in him, lovingly and plainly, and as soon as may be, else it will fester in your own heart; make all haste to cast the fire out of your bosom.
8. Do not affect the gentleman; a preacher of the Gospel is the servant of all.
9. Be ashamed of nothing but sin; no, not of cleaning your own shoes when necessary.
10. Be punctual; do everything exactly at the time; and do not mend our rules, but keep them, and that for conscience' sake.
11. You have nothing to do but to save souls, and therefore spend and be spent in this work; and go always, not only to those who want you, but to those who want you most.
12. Act in all things, not according to your own will, but as a son in the Gospel, and in union with your brethren. As such, it is your part to employ your time as our rules direct; partly in preaching and visiting from house to house; partly in reading, meditation, and prayer. Above all, if you labor with us in our Lord's vineyard, it is needful that you should do that part of the work which the Conference shall advise, at those times and places which they shall judge most for his glory. Observe: It is not your business to preach so many times, and to take care merely of this and that society, but to save as many souls as you can; to bring as many sinners as you possibly can to repentance; and with all your power to build them up in that holiness without which they cannot see the Lord; and, remember, a Methodist preacher is to, mind every point, great and small, in the Methodist discipline; therefore you will need all the grace and all the sense you have, and to have all your wits about you." (See ITINERANCY).
The latest writer on Methodism (the Revelation L. Tyerman, Life and Times of John Wesley) who dares to hold that it is "the greatest fact in the history of the Church of Christ," thus comments upon the present condition of the parent body of Methodism, the Wesleyan Methodist Church (q.v.): "The ‘ Methodist,' or parent ‘ Conference,' employs in Great Britain and Ireland 1782 regular ministers. Besides these, there were, in 1864, in England only, 11,804 lay preachers, preaching 8754 sermons every Sabbath-day. In the same year, the number of preaching-places in England only was 6718, and the number of sermons preached weekly, by ministers and lay preachers combined, was 13,852. To these must be added the lay preachers, preaching-places, etc., in Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Shetland, and the Channel Islands. The number of Church members in Great Britain and Ireland is 365,285, with 21,223 on trial; and, calculating that the hearers are three times as numerous as the Church members, there are considerably more than a million persons in the United Kingdom who are attendants upon the religious services of the parent Conference of ‘ the people called Methodists.' Some idea of their chapel and school property may be formed from the fact that, during the last seven years, there has been expended, in Great Britain only, in new erections and in reducing debts on existing buildings, £1,672,541; and towards that amount of expenditure there has been actually raised and paid (exclusive of all connectional collections, loans, and drafts) the sum of £1,284,498. During the ten years from 1859 to 1868, inclusive, there was raised for the support of the foreign missions of the connection £1,408,235; and if to this there be added the amount of the Jubilee Fund, we find more than a million and a half-sterling contributed during the decade for the sustenance and extension of the Methodist work in foreign lands. The missions now referred to are carried on in Ireland, France, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Gibraltar, India, Ceylon, China, South and West Africa, the West Indies, Canada,. Eastern British America, Australia, and Polynesia. In these distant places the committee having the management of the missions employ 3798 paid agents, including 994 who are regularly ordained, and are wholly engaged in the work of the Christian ministry. Besides these, there are about 20,000 agents of the society (as lay preachers; etc.) who are rendering important service gratuitously, while the number of Church members is 154,187, and the number of attendants upon the religious services more than half a million. Space prevents a reference to the other institutions and funds of British Methodism, except to add that, besides 174,721 children in the mission schools, the parent connection has in Great Britain 698 day-schools, efficiently conducted by 1532 certificated, assistant, and pupil teachers, and containing 119,070 scholars; also 5328 Sunday schools, containing 601,801 scholars, taught by 103,441 persons who render their services gratuitously; and that the total number of publications printed and issued by the English Book Committee only, during the year ending June, 1866, was four millions one hundred and twenty-two thousand eight hundred, of which nearly two millions were periodicals, and more than a quarter of a million were hymn-books."
IV. Subdivisions.-The different branches of the great Methodistic body are as follows:
1. The WESLEYAN METHODISTS, or main and original body of the Methodists in Great Britain, often spoken of above. (See WESLEYANS).
2. The CALVINISTIC METHODISTS date from a dispute between Whitefield and the Wesleys on doctrinal points. The former, with his associates, under the special patronage of the countess of Huntingdon, and greatly aided by her liberal contributions, organized societies and built chapels in various parts of England, Scotland, and Wales. For their particular doctrinal tenets, (See CALVINISM). After the death of Whitefield they were divided into three separate sects.
(1.) The first was known as Lady Huntingdon's Connection, which observed strictly the liturgical forms of the English Established Church, with a settled pastorate instead of an itinerant ministry. They have not increased with much rapidity since her death, having at the present time less than a hundred ministers, and between sixty and seventy chapels. They have maintained from the beginning a theological school for the education of ministers, now known as Cheshunt College, in Hertfordshire, England. (See HUNTINGDON). Although the name " connection" continues to be used, the Congregational polity is practically adopted; and, of late years, several of the congregations have become, in name as well as virtually, Congregational Churches. The number of chapels, mentioned in the census of 1851, as belonging to this connection, was 109, containing accommodations for 38,727 persons, and the attendance on the census Saturday was 19,151.
(2.) The second of these divisions was called the Tabernacle Connection, or Whitefield Methodists. They had no connectional bond after the death of their founder, and each separate society regarding itself as independent, they are now lost as a distinctive sect, and found only among the churches known as Congregationalist or Independent.
(3.) The Welsh Calvinistic Methodists, the third of these branches, was organized in 1743. They have continued to increase and prosper until the present day, being confined, however, mostly to the principality of Wales, where they at present number about 60,000 communicants. In the United States there are about 4000 members of this denomination, with four annual Conferences, one in each of the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The members are mostly Welsh, or of Welsh descent, and their religious services are generally celebrated in the Welsh language.
3. The WESLEYAN METHODIST NEW CONNECTION was the result of the first secession from the parent body after the death of Wesley. It originated in 1797, under the leadership of Alexander Kilham, after whom they are sometimes called Kilhamites (q.v.). He had been a preacher among the Wesleyans, and was expelled from the Conference in 1796. His offence was a publication in Which he-criticised severely the then present order of things, and submitted proposals for what he deemed reform. In accordance with his sentiments a secession Church was organized, and the New Connection sprang into existence with about 5000 members. Their Conference is constituted upon the representative system, laymen having an equal voice with the clergy in -the government of the Church, while in doctrine and general usage they differ not at all from the old connection. Their history has not been marked by any great success. They have a few chapels in Ireland, and in Canada there are from 8000 to 10,000 members. Of late years they have decreased in the number of membership. In 1890 the body contained about 35,000 members.
4. THE BAND-ROOM METHODISTS originated in Manchester in 1806. The name is derived from the Band Room in North Street, Manchester, where a class of overzealous revivalists used to gather, and, contrary to the rules of the Connection, admitted parties not members. They were also guilty of acting independently of leaders' meetings, and when remonstrated with, withdrew and formed an independent body. The Band-Room Methodists still exist; but are now called The United Free Gospel Churches. They differ from the "parent" body in having no paid ministers. They have, however, annual conferences.
5. The PRIMITIVE METHODISTS are, next to the Wesleyans, the largest Methodist body in England. They date from the year 1810. A few regular Wesleyan preachers introduced, on their circuits, the American practice of holding camp-meetings. These were disapproved by the Conference, and denounced as "highly improper." Other questions entered into the controversy, and the result was the formation of the new sect. Their discipline and theology are strictly Wesleyan, but they go beyond any other denomination in committing the duty of Church government to the laity. Their Conference is composed of one third preachers and two thirds laymen. From the stir they make in their religious services, they have been called Ranters. They allow women to preach. They have several missions in foreign lands, and in England and Wales, according to the last official report of 1890, the connection had 193,658 members. In the United States, also, they have secured a footing; they here coun 'a membership of 5639. (See PRIMITIVE METIODISTS).
6. The BRYANITES, or BIBLE CHRISTIANS, are a sect of Methodists very similar to the preceding. They date from 1815. Their leader was a Wesleyan local preacher of considerable talent, by the name of O'Bryan (q.v.). Among them, as among the Primitive Methodists, females are regularly licensed to preach in public. They principally exist in Cornwall and the West of England, but also have mission stations in the Channel Islands, the United States, Canada, Prince Edward's Island, and Australia. They had, according to their report of 1873, 26,427 full and accredited Church members.
7. The PRIMITIVE METHODISTS OF IRELAND. This body of Primitive Methodists is of later origin than that of England, and is entirely independent of the other organization of like name, The Primitive Methodists of Ireland date from 1816. The English Conference in 1795 granted to the members the privilege of receiving from their own ministers, under certain guards and restrictions, the sacraments. The Irish Conference thereupon, in the following year; came to the conclusion that among them "it was not expedient;" but in 1816, after the subject had been freely discussed by the people, and numerous petitions asking that it might be administered were brought before the Conference, the request was granted by a majority of sixty-two against twenty-six. The minority, with the Revelation Adam Averell, one of their most influential ministers, at their head, separated, and took with them about ten thousand members, full one third of the whole. (It is worthy of remark that the secession in 1797 [see 3] was the result of the non-compliance of the English Conference with the wishes of the people to have the sacrament from their own ministers.) The only difference between the Irish Primitive Methodists and the Wesleyans remains to this day the liberty of members in the former body to partake of the sacraments in the churches. The preachers are regarded simply as laymen, because of the failure of this secession among them.- The real lay members, however, have also a voice in the government of the societies. In 1861 the Irish Primitive Methodists numbered 14,247 members. (See PRIMITIVE METHODISTS).
8. The UNITED METHODIST FREE CHURCH is a union, recently formed, of three different divisions of seceders from Wesleyan Methodism.
(a) The PROTESTANT METHODISTS, who organized into a distinct body in 1828, then counting 28 local preachers, 56 leaders, and upwards of 1000 members, seceders from the Leeds societies, because of the opposition to the introduction of an organ.
(b) The WESLEYAN METHODIST ASSOCIATION, which was organized in 1835, under the leadership of Samuel Warren, one of the opponents (in 1834) to the proposed establishment of a theological institution, to be presided over by Dr. Jabez Bunting. The Leeds seceders joined the Associationists in 1828; both amalgamated with the Free Methodists in 1857. (See UNITED METHODIST FREE CHURCH).
(c) The REFORMERS, who were organized into a body in 1849. At the Manchester Conference held in that year, six members, suspected of private intrigue with members of the Wesleyan Methodist Association (see b), were placed at the bar, without having received any regular notice of the charges to be preferred against them, as required by the standing laws and usages of the connection, and without a trial, without any evidence that they had violated any law, human or divine, three of them were reprimanded and three were expelled. The act excited the astonishment of the nation, convulsed the connection, and led to the loss of one hundred thousand members. Many of them, after a while, for want of ministers and suitable places of worship, returned to the old body, but others formed themselves into a distinctive body styled the Reformed Methodists. These amalgamated bodies differ from the "parent" body only in Church government and usages. One of their professed objects is the reformation of the body from which they are separated. Their annual assembly admits lay representatives, circuits with less than 500 members sending one; less than 1000, two; and more than 1000, three delegates. Each circuit governs itself by its local courts, without any interference as to the management of its internal affairs. At their Annual Assembly, held at Bristol, England, in August, 1890, they reported 85,461 members.
9. The WESLEYAN REFORM UNION is a body composed of those of the seceders of 1849 (see 7 [c]) who refused to amalgamate with the United Methodist Free Church. In 1868 it numbered nearly a thousand Church members.
The above comprise all the Methodist branches now existing in Great Britain and Ireland. Some others have occasionally sprung up, such as the Tent Methodists, the Independent Methodists, etc., but they are now either extinct or incorporated with other churches.
10. In the United States, the main body of Wesley's followers are incorporated in the METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, which was formally organized in 1784. Previous to that time local preachers from England, prominent among whom were Philip Embury and an officer in the British army by the name of Webb, had preached in New York and other places, and organized societies on the English model. In 1769 the first regular itinerant Methodist preachers, Boardman and Pilmoor, were sent over by Mr. Wesley. The former took his station in New York, the latter in Philadelphia-occasionally changing with each other, and often making short excursions into the country. They were very successful in their labors; and, by their instrumentality, not only were multitudes converted, but quite a number of lay preachers were received and employed. At the English Wesleyan Conference of 1771, Francis Asbury and Richard Wright volunteered to come to America as missionaries. They landed in Philadelphia in the month of October of that year, and were received by the societies with great cordiality.
In the year 1773 two additional missionaries, Rankin and Shadford, were sent over, and the first American " Conference" was held at Philadelphia in July of that year. The number of members in the society was stated to be 1160; and resolutions were adopted recommending continued conformity to the discipline and doctrines of the English Methodists. From that time, all through the stormy season of the Revolutionary War, success seems to have attended their efforts, so that, at the Conference of 1784, there were reported to be about 15,000 members in the connection. In this year Wesley, for the first time, performed the solemn rite of ordination by setting apart two men as elders for the flock in America, and by consecrating to the episcopal office Dr. Thomas Coke, at that time a presbyter in the Church of England. The doctor and his two associates immediately thereafter sailed for America, and were present at the Conference in Baltimore, at which the Methodist Episcopal Church was organized. The first act of that Conference was the ratification with entire unanimity of Coke's ordination, and the election of one of their own number, Francis Asbury, to the same office. The Conference also received Wesley's abridgment of the Articles of the Church of England, which continue to be their standard of doctrine to the present day, and also an abridgment of the Book of Common Prayer, prepared by the same hand, and sent over with the recommendation that it should be used in the Methodist chapels. This was done in some of the large cities for a season, but soon fell into disuse, with the exception of the sacramental services and the forms of ordinations, which are still. retained and used. The bishops are elected by a General Conference, which meets every four years, and is composed of delegates from the several Annual Conferences in the ratio of one delegate for a certain number of members, which has been changed from time to time according to the increase of the general body.
The ratio fixed by the General Conference of 1872 as a basis of future representation is one delegate for every forty-five members of an Annual Conference. At the same Conference lay members, in the ratio of two for every Annual Conference, were also admitted. The bishops, like the preachers, are itinerant; and it is specially enacted that if one of them ceases from travelling without the consent of the General Conference, he shall not thereafter exercise the episcopal office. His powers are similar to those of the president of the English Conference, with the additional duty of fixing the appointments of the preachers, deciding all questions of law in an Annual Conference, and ordaining bishops, elders, and deacons. The limit of three years, beyond which the preachers of the British Wesleyan Connection may not continue in the same place, is now also the rule of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States; and to this is added the regulation that they may not be returned to the same place more than three years in six. Presiding elders in this branch of the Church occupy a position very similar to that of the chairmen of districts in England, except that they have no separate pastoral charge. They are appointed by the bishops, and may remain four years on the same district. They form a kind of advisory' committee in assisting the bishops to fix the appointments-of the preachers. The "Book Concern," situated in New York, with a branch at Cincinnati, and depositories in various other cities, has a capital of more than a million of dollars, and is one of the largest publishing houses in the world. Under the patronage and control of the Church are weekly papers published in New York, Syracuse (N. Y.). Pittsburgh (Pa.), Cincinnati (O.), Chicago (Il.), St. Louis (Rio.), San Francisco (Cal.), Portland (Oregon), and Atlanta (Ga.). They publish also several illustrated papers for Sunday-schools, one of a similar kind for the Tract' Society, a monthly Sunday-school journal, a monthly magazine in English, another in German, and a quarterly review. (See METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH).
11. The METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SOUTH, projected at Louisville, Ky., in 1845, was formally organized by delegates from Conferences within the slaveholding states in May, 1846. In doctrine, discipline, and general usages, it is the same as the preceding. The same is true of its forms of worship and usages. But while the Church North made open declaration against the institution of slavery, the Church South ignored the subject. Now that the institution is abolished in the United States, the two bodies can hardly be said to differ. The Methodist Episcopal Church, South, has a flourishing publishing house (at Nashville, Tenn.), and issues several periodicals. (See METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SOUTH).
12. The METHODIST PROTESTANT CHURCH was organized in the city of Baltimore, Md., in the year 1830, by a convention composed of an equal number of clerical and lay delegates from various states of the Union. The convention continued in session three weeks, and adopted a "Constitution" for the new association. Its fundamental doctrines, and most of its usages, are the same as those of the Episcopal Methodists, the body from which it seceded. Following the example of the British Wesleyans, the episcopal office is denied, and a president called to rule over each Annual Conference, elected by the ballot of that body. The laity is admitted to an equal participation with the clergy in all Church legislation and government. The General Conference, which meets every four years, consists of an equal number of ministers and laymen, who are elected by the Annual Conferences. The slavery question divided the Methodist Protestant Church into two bodies the Methodist Protestant Church of the North-western States and the Methodist Protestants of the Southern States. The head-quarters of the former were established at Springfield, Ohio; those of the latter at Baltimore, Md. Their members were found only in certain parts of the United States. Their greatest strength is in Virginia, Maryland, and in some portions of Ohio and Pennsylvania. Of late years, a union of all nonepiscopal Methodists having been proposed, the Protestant Methodists North changed their official name to The Methodist Church. The Wesleyan Methodist Church was one of the churches expected to be merged into this newly-constituted body, but hitherto all efforts at union have failed, and there seems to be no immediate prospect of their amalgamation. The Methodist Church numbers about 75,000 members; altogether the Methodist Protestants count about 148,000. The head- quarters of the Church South remain at Baltimore, Md.; those of The Methodist Church have been removed from Springfield, Ohio, to Pittsburgh, Pa. (See METHODIST PROTESTANT CHURCH); (See METHODISTS). THE.
13. The WESLEYAN METHODIST CHURCH was formed by a convention of clerical and lay delegates which met in the city of Utica, NY., in 1843. The principal part of the delegates in attendance were ministers or members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and the main' reason for the establishment of the new body was their hostility to slavery. At their organization as a Church they adopted a Discipline and plan of Church government, and divided the connection into six Annual Conferences, having about 600 ministers and preachers(mostly local), and a reported membership of about 20.000. Their Articles of Faith are the same as those of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and their General Rules are similar, with the exception that they are more stringent on the subject of slavery. They discard episcopacy and presiding elders, but, like the English Wesleyans, they have chairmen of districts, and elect the presidents of their Annual Conferences at each successive session. Ministers are appointed to their respective fields of labor by a stationing committee, the decisions of said committee being subject to approval by the Conference. Societies and churches are permitted to negotiate beforehand with any minister for his services; but such engagements, if made, must receive the sanction of the Conference. Both General and Annual Conferences are composed of ministers and lay delegates, the local preachers also having a representation.,
14. The AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH was formed by a party of colored members, under the leadership of Richard Alien, hence sometimes called Allenites, who seceded from their white brethren at Philadelphia in 1816. They adopted, in the main, the doctrines and usages of the body from which they seceded. Mr. Allen was elected to the office of bishop, and ordained by four elders of their Church, assisted by a colored presbyter of the Protestant Episcopal denomination. They are found in various parts of the states of Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland. There are also some in the Western States, and a few in Upper Canada, their congregations being largest and most influential in the city of Philadelphia. The Methodist Almanac of 1189 assigns them 7 bishops, 3000 preachers, and( 400,000 members.
15. The AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL (Zion) CHURCH was formed by another secession of colored members in the city of New York in 1819. They elect annually one of their elders as general superintendent but do not ordain or set him apart to that office by the imposition of hands. The Methodist Almanac of 1891 credits them with 7 bishops, 3000 preachers, and 412,513 members.
16. The UNITED BRETHREN IN CHRIST is the designation of a body of Christians, sometimes called German Methodists. They must not be confounded with the Moravians, or Unitas Fratrum, who are sometimes called the United Brethren. " The United Brethren in Christ," although mostly consisting of Germans and their immediate descendants, are of American origin, and date as a distinct sect from the year 1800, when their first Annual Conference was held. From that time they have continued to increase in Pennsylvania, Maryland,Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, and other portions of the United States. They have four bishops, nine Annual Conferences, and a General Conference, which meets every fourth year. In doctrines and ‘ Church government they are, with few unimportant variations, the same as the Methodist Episcopalians.
17. The. EVANGELICAL ASSOCIATION are in doctrine and Church government nearly allied to the Episcopal Methodists. They date from the year 1800, and are sometimes called Copyright Statement
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