THIS ONLINE DISCUSSION IS PROVIDED BY THE STUDY COMMISSION ON DOCTRINE – SCOD. In the life of the church there are three levels of authoritative documents. Within the Free Methodist Church we define the three levels in this way: First Level is the BOOK OF DISCIPLINE: Official documents approved by the delegates at the General Conference. Second Level is the STUDY COMMISSION ON DOCTRINE: Guidance provided to the church by those assigned the task. These are not personal opinions, but are vetted by scholars who have various expertise. Though not binding on the church, they are meant to be helpful scholarly works. Third Level is this FREE METHODIST CONVERSATIONS. This online discussion is where various individuals express their own opinions about a variety of issues. These are not authoritative, nor are they necessarily meant as guidance, but God may use them to do so. There are SCOD documents on this site and the members of the SCOD will be participants. We are inviting the entire church to join the discussion. Our intention is not to limit discussion but to elevate it by assuring that God’s love and respect is always expressed. We will therefore post those comments which further our mutual understanding and assure that every person is being treated with dignity even when disagreement is being voiced. Specifically: 1. The SCOD encourages respectful, intelligent and impassioned discussion and debate. 2. The SCOD encourages a Wesleyan method of looking at the topic from a Scriptural perspective as well as that of Reason, Tradition and Experience. We recognize the Revelation of God in Scripture is our primary source of truth, with Reason, Tradition and Experience serving as supportive resources. 3. Any personal attack will keep the entire comment from being posted. This includes not only attacking others within this SCOD conversation but anyone within the larger secular or Christian world. 4. Any libelous, defamatory, profane, vulgar, threatening, harassing abusive, hateful, racially or ethnically objectionable comments will not be posted. 5. Any invasion of another’s privacy or any post that emulates or pretends to be someone else will not be posted. 6. This online conversation is not to be used to solicit or advertise personal blogs. 12. The SCOD, in our sole discretion, retains the right to remove individual posts or to revoke the access privileges of anyone who we believe has violated any of these standards. For more informal conversations with Free Methodists: LIGHT AND LIFE CONVERSATIONS – Facebook page LIGHT AND LIFE MAGAZINE – Facebook page – Online Issues FM RADIO – Facebook page or iTune episodes If there are any questions contact our moderator, Dr. Denny Wayman: dwayman@fmcsb.org.
Our congregation on the Westside of Santa Barbara is blessed to be bi-cultural and bi-lingual. This congregation has resources for all churches during this time of fear and anxiety about immigration.
In a recent report to the conference leadership team,
There are those who think we should not assist our people who need legal help in their immigration. However, the love of Christ compels us to help those who are in need. It is explained this way by Larry Roberts:
“The Free Methodist Church – USA is joining 14 other evangelical denominations to form the Immigration Alliance —a national effort that equips local churches to provide legal services to under-resourced immigrants.
In the medical world the language of Cultural Humility is replacing Cultural Competence. Often Cultural Competence is seen as being an end point – where a person is assumed to now be competent in providing medical (pastoral) care for persons of a different culture.
The Junia Project is led by two Free Methodist women: Gail Wallace and Kate Nunnelly. It is a resource for great articles on Women in Leadership. You can find their website here.
Here is their greeting:
ABOUT THE JUNIA PROJECT
Welcome,
This is taken from the larger work published here: God’s Love Expressed and Experienced
“An important premise of Wesleyan Theology is that we have faith in God that is not driven by fear,
Annotated Bibliography of Select LGBT References
Rev. Bruce N. G. Cromwell, Ph.D.
SCOD 2013
Bell, Rob. Sex God: Exploring the Endless Connections between Sexuality and Spirituality.
HOMOSEXUALITY AND THE CHURCH HISTORIC – Complete document
What Does the Tradition Component of the Quadrilateral Have to Say Regarding the LGBT Debate?
Free Methodist Study Commission on Doctrine, 2014 Dr. Bruce N. G. Cromwell
Philipp Melanchthon,
A Sign of Solidarity and Support:
A Word from St Paul’s Free Methodist Church
Dear Editor:
After a recent conversation with Police Chief Lou Lorton and Sergeant Deb Keserauskis,
This address was given in the fall of 2016 when students at Greenville College led the way in protesting the injustice people of color experience in America. To provide theological understanding for the students’ call to action, Dr.
The research on Gender Dysphoria, which is the difficulty experienced in Gender identity is often a politically charged topic with various researchers being contested. This is one such source. The credentials of the researchers are not contested but the findings are not acceptable to some within the psychiatric community.