I want the whole Christ for my Savior, the whole Bible for my book, the whole Church for my fellowship, and the whole world for my mission field.-John Wesley, Founder of the Methodist denomination ¹
My mother and I moved to Knoxville TN in spring of 1984 during my junior year of high school. I had only been a Christian for a few months and we eventually started attending the Methodist Church where my sister had been a long time member. It would become my spiritual home for the next four years.
Being in a new school, this provided me with a chance to get to know some of my classmates better. My Sunday school teacher, Mrs Whitaker and the youth director, Mr Hatcher were among my first spiritual mentors. Their encouragement made a huge difference in my formative years. Eventually, I was given a part time job working security as the church building had been troubled by break-ins.
This was my first exposure to a more liturgical type of worship. Young children known as acolytes would “bring in the light,” ie light the candles on the altar to begin the service, followed by a large choir doing a musical call to worship. It was a very uplifting experience.
The teaching tended toward practical application. Previously I had heard mainly evangelistic type preaching, yet the Methodist sermons did help me to understand that the Bible was relevant for this life as well as the next one. I remember one sermon series on worry, stress and loneliness. Another bit of advice the pastor gave that has always stuck with me is “No one ever became an alcoholic who didn’t take the first drink.” Still, we need both doctrinal AND practical teaching. It isn’t either/or.
I enjoyed the youth group tremendously. Sunday evenings consisted of youth choir practice, a snack supper, youth group meeting and finally, the evening church service where we would all sit together. Although I was still very much a beginner in studying the Bible, I had learned enough to get picked first for Bible trivia during the youth meetings. After years of being picked last for sports I have to admit that felt pretty good!
There were mischievous times as well. On a youth choir beach trip, someone poured artificial sweetener on the coffee table, shaped it into “lines,” and we took turns posing with a straw as if we were snorting cocaine! For a brief moment we even joked about putting a photo of it on the youth group bulletin board at church, but thankfully, wisdom prevailed!
The aforementioned choir was truly amazing. Their annual Christmas concert was featured on local television and drew visitors from all around. They also did an annual concert of hymns by John and Charles Wesley to commemorate John’s life changing encounter with God on Aldersgate Street in London. Those hymns remain cherished favorites of mine after all these years.
Unfortunately, the liberal theology that would eventually split the denomination was beginning to show even then. In subsequent years I observed the developments with a great deal of interest. Watching the eventual split was painful but I believe it was both inevitable and necessary, as this video series explains in detail:
Sometimes truth divides before it unites. Imagine a dam with a small crack forming at its base. The townspeople want peace and calm, so they ignore it, pretending everything is fine. For a while, they enjoy the illusion of unity—until the dam bursts and destroys them all. In the same way, a unity built on error or denial is dangerous. Truth may cause discomfort, disagreement, or even division for a time, but it is the only foundation strong enough to endure. It is always better to stand on the solid ground of truth than to cling to the false security of error. In the wake of the split, I commend the work of the recently formed Global Methodist Church as well as Aldersgate Renewal Ministries for providing a home for Evangelical and charismatic Methodists.
While doctrinal concerns were certainly a contributing factor in my decision to leave, it was not the only one. Through a number of avenues, I was becoming increasingly interested in the Pentecostal and Charismatic branches of Christianity. While I went back and forth a few times, once I received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit I knew there was no going back to “church as usual.”
In retrospect, however, my 1988 jump from Methodist to Pentecostal might not have been as radical as it might appear on the surface. In fact, the two traditions both spring from the same Wesleyan heritage. John Wesley’s pioneering insights into the present day work of the Holy Spirit were key in the development of the Pentecostal message. In fact, he has been called the “Grandfather of Pentecostalism.”
Still I have many fond memories of my Methodist years. I learned much, made some wonderful friends and developed a tremendous respect for the Wesleyan legacy. No matter how conservative I became, the Methodist emphasis on charity and social justice always stayed with me and I will always be grateful for that.
Keep It Real,
James
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Wesley, John. “I want the whole Christ for my Savior, the whole Bible for my book, the whole Church for my fellowship, and the whole world for my mission field.”
Top 160 John Wesley Quotes (2025 Update) – QuoteFancy https://share.google/y99nm8TBOShuZsYpX
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