Here's a very informative article regarding the beginnings of Methodism in America and our influence upon the formation of our nation's history.The reporter emphasizes one of the key reasons for the success of Methodism especially in the formative years when we became an official denomination here in America in 1784.
The key? We highlighted two aspects of the good news of the faith in our preaching and witnessing:
1) God's free gift of grace extended to every single person (as opposed to a theology which states that God's grace is available to some and not to others.)
2) Human free will in which God invites us to receive or not receive God's free gift of grace made possible by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (as opposed to a theology that says people have no role in receiving or not receiving God's grace.)
As a personal reflection on this article, when I was in the 6th grade, my home pastor took our confirmation class to Lovely Lane Chapel in Baltimore, Maryland, the place where we became an official denomination on Christmas Eve, 1784.
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