1. FMCUSA History & Polity
for the network of undeniable blessing
FOR INSTRUCTORS…
These slides are completely amenable to your use and modification.
Many of the photographs specifically highly ministries of the Sierra Pacific Conference in order to invite and engage students from the SPC to grasp how FM principles are lived out in our reality. Instructors are encouraged to identify similar images that will instruct their regional participants.
FMCUSA History & Polity

2. What we all believe A brief review of doctrine
This is a very basic review of doctrine, not intended to replace Christian Theology, Wesleyan Theology, Systematic or Biblical Theology Courses.

3. Apostle’s Creed (Orthodox/Protestant)
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
We are ORTHODOX – adhere to the ancient creeds of the church
We are PROTESTANT – we fall in the tradition that splits from the papa – the pope.

4. FREE METHODIST SYNTHESIS
Anglican
Evangelical
Pentecostal
Anabaptist
Anglican – Sacramental/Creedal
Evangelical – Scripture/Evangelism
Anabaptist – Discipleship/Justice
Pentecostal – Gifting/Sanctification
The FM Seeks BALANCE in doctrine and practice.
Anglican (Catholic) – Sacramental, Creedal, Traditional, Historic Roots
Evangelical? Preach to lost, Bible Authority, Church on Mission, Church Growth?
Pentecostal? Spirit empowered, Sanctified, Experiential, Life of Love?
Anabaptist? Obedience, Gospel for Poor, Social Justice, Ethical Responsibility?
… Hoc est corpus meum "This is my body.“ was mocked as HOCUS POKUS -

5. Articles of Religion: GOD
Holy Trinity
Incarnation
Resurrection
Holy Spirit
Review the statements in Discipline.

6. Articles of Religion: BIBLE
Authority
Old Testament
New Testament
Note carefully authority and inerrancy are not the same thing.
We place primacy on the revelation of the living word – Jesus – but embrace WHOLE protestant Bible as the very word of God.
Wesley – A Man of One Book
I want to know one thing,—the way to heaven; how to land safe on that happy shore. God himself has condescended to teach me the way. For this very end He came from heaven. He hath written it down in a book. O give me that book! At any price, give me the book of God! I have it: here is knowledge enough for me. Let me be homo unius libri. Here then I am, far from the busy ways of men. I sit down alone; only God is here. In His presence I open, I read His book; for this end, to find the way to heaven. Is there a doubt concerning the meaning of what I read? Does anything appear dark or intricate? I lift up my heart to the Father of Lights:—“Lord, is it not Thy word, ‘if any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God?’ Thou givest liberally, and upbraidest not. Thou hast said, ‘if any be willing to do Thy will, he shall know.’ I am willing to do, let me know Thy will.” I then search after and consider parallel passages of Scripture, “comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” I meditate thereon with all the attention and earnestness of which my mind is capable.
We recommend everyone that everyone read systematically through the Bible at least once a year. You will find interest rising as you read in a way you cannot when you read at random. BT Roberts.

7. Articles of Religion: Humanity
Free Moral Agents
Law of Life and Love
Good Works
Review the discipline. (This picture is a national geographic image of what the average American will look like in 2025.)

8. Articles of Religion: Salvation
Christ’s Sacrifice
New Life in Jesus
Prevenient Grace
Justifying Grace
Sanctifying Grace
Glorifying Grace
Adoption
Prevenient grace is like a surprise party – you don’t know what’s being planned until the party (justification) but that doesn’t mean the party planner wasn’t at work.
Justification is lining up but not necessarily transformation (ransom, clothes in Christ, atonement a covering). Umbrella keeps off rain, cross keeps off wrath (propitiation) but doesn’t change the man under the umbrella
Sanctification – Changing the text, not merely justification; changing the man, not merely keeping the rain off.
Entire Sanctification (we’ll get to that)
We grow out of self only as we grow into Christ. Changes in any other direction are only changes from one from of depravity into another. Technicians can change iron into steel capable of receiving as high a polish as silver, but no one can turn iron into silver. Human nature may undergo honed refinement but only as it partakes of the divine nature can it undergo transformation truly holy. BT Roberts.

9. Articles of Religion: Church
The Church
Language of Worship
Holy Sacraments
Baptism
Lord’s Supper
In the language of worship, note that we do seek to be a spirit filled group, and we believe in full exercise of all spiritual gifts – healing, miracles, service, administration, speaking in tongues, words of knowledge… But we believe the Bible instructs us to speak in a language understandable in public worship. Keep tongues to prayer groups.
We’ll drill down on sacraments in the next lecture.

10. Articles of Religion: Last Things
Kingdom of God
Return of Christ
Resurrection
Judgement
Final Destiny
Historic Christianity believes in the bodily resurrection of Jesus, so do Free Methodists.
We believe our eternal destiny without Jesus is a hellish reality. Preach the gospel!

11. Apostle’s Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

12. What we distinctively believe
A brief review of unique center
Discipline:
We shall make no doctrine nor require any practice that cannot proved by Scripture.

13. The FMC Seeks Balance Not Doctrine without Action
Piety
Liturgy
Doctrine
Ethics
Not Doctrine without Action
Not Action without Prayer
Not Prayer without Doctrine
Not Worship without Obedience

14. Wesleyan Quadrilateral
Second Base
Third Base
First Base
Home Plate
Bible
Tradition
Reason
Experience
Start with BIBLE
Consider Theologians
Think & Apply Logic
What Is Your Experience
End with Bible
THESE NOT ARE EQUAL – Scripture is Primary
Wesley -1745
The whole demand, common as it is, of probing our doctrine by miracles proceeds from a double mistake. 1) A supposition that what we preach is not provable by Scripture (for if it be, what need of further witness? To the law and to the testimony!) and 2) an imagination that doctrine not provable by scripture might nevertheless be proved by miracles. I believe not! I receive the written word as whole and as sole rule of my faith.

15. Four Sometimes Controversial Beliefs
Sanctification
Episcopal
Women
Sacraments
Arminian – Wesleyan View of Salvation
Modified Episcopal View of Church
Flexible View of Sacraments
View Gifting Not Gender-Specific

16. Wesleyan – Arminian Vs. Calvinism
FACTS - Arminian
TULIP - Calvin
Free by Grace (to believe)
Atonement for All
Conditional Election
Total Depravity
Security in Christ
Total Depravity
Unconditional Election
Limited Atonement
Irresistible Grace
Perseverance of Saint
To the reformed Church – Arminians are heretics. But most reformed / Baptist etc. preach as if Arminian.
Sadly, many Arminians don’t evangelize as if there were predestination.
The Synod of Dort in 1618 – Dutch Calvinists wrote in condemnation of Arminians. And across Holland Arminians were banished, removed from office, imprisoned and worse. But hardly a universal rejection.

17. Sanctifying Grace ¶3108
Sanctification cleanses Christians from sin and delivers from the idolatry of self. When they are cleansed, they are not made perfect in performance, but in love.
“Perfection” as outlined in Plain Account of Christian Perfection should be understood as a maturity in love, that can grow as we further mature.
Read the Discipline statement on Entire Sanctification and process with the grop.
Sanctification, Like justification, is equally received by faith.

18. Modified Episcopal Episkopos – Overseers/Bishop Presbyteros – Elders
Pastors called ELDERS & are appointed by BISHOPS to COMMUNITIES
Pictured – board of bishops 2014
Mark 3:14 – Jesus calls and ordains 12
1Cor God appoints people to positions for the good of the church
Titus 1:5 – Apostles appointed elders and overseers in towns
Pictured are Bishops Kendall, Thomas and Roller (2016)

19. Baptism & Communion Dedication and Baptism
We Dedicate OR Baptize infants.
Baptism is NOT Salvation but a symbol thereof
Method of Baptism flexible, prefer immersion
Pictured, Free Methodist Pastor Jim Johsnon baptizing Juanita Ramirez in ‘living water’
Dedication Verses Baptism of Infants (Colossians 2:11-12 – baptism/circumcision for infants)
Immersion Verses Sprinkling
Wesely on baptism: All of England is Baptized, none of England is saved.
BT Roberts believed that church worship should be simple, not following the same liturgy as the formal church but required that communion be retained in the liturgy of the church as a way of keeping us rooted in our ancient traditions.
Early Free Methodist Report on Worship…
Old School FMC…
"We have in many cases surrendered [worship] to the exclusive control of the
vain and frivolous among us, to those for the most part whose voice is never
heard in our prayer meetings, our class meetings, our love feasts, whose only
religious service in which they ever deign to engage in is that of performing in
solemn burlesque the praises of God for us, whenever their fancy or pride
prompts them to do so. . . This departure [from our spiritual roots] has had a
great tendency not only to impair the spirituality of our worship, by banishing from
it a vital element, but it has also ever been a prolific source of petty strife, . . .
pride, formality and confusion. It is a common thing for a choir to die and revive
several times a year. A petty jealousy among its members, then a pout, then a
roar, then a dissolution, then a reconciliation, to be followed by successive pouts,
roars and dissolutions, meanwhile the solemn worship of God in this vital
department is left subject to all the disgusting and scandalous influences of these
orchestral vicissitudes. And the worst of the matter is, if the choir see fit to
become defunct at any time, or to be absent, we are left blankly at their mercy,
from our having lost the general habit of singing. We have neglected this gift,
having surrendered all occasion and opportunity for its exercise... It has
"improved" our singing from a hundred voices down to ten. It has "improved" it
from the lusty, spiritual out-gushing melody of a hundred living hearts, "full of
glory and of God," down to the dry, mechanical, artistic squeal of a dozen lifeless
souls full of pride and the devil."

20. Baptism & Communion Mystical Remembrance Communion is not mere memory
Christ is present in faith
We embrace OPEN Communion
Method of Communion flexible
Pictures is Jaymes Lackey in Oroville CA with communion chalice
Duty of Constant Communion. As often as we can.
Wesley referred to Communion as Converting Sacrament. It was his version of an altar call.
BT Roberts believed that church worship should be simple, not following the same liturgy as the formal church but required that communion be retained in the liturgy of the church as a way of keeping us rooted in our ancient traditions.
Early Free Methodist Report on Worship…
Old School FMC…
"We have in many cases surrendered [worship] to the exclusive control of the
vain and frivolous among us, to those for the most part whose voice is never
heard in our prayer meetings, our class meetings, our love feasts, whose only
religious service in which they ever deign to engage in is that of performing in
solemn burlesque the praises of God for us, whenever their fancy or pride
prompts them to do so. . . This departure [from our spiritual roots] has had a
great tendency not only to impair the spirituality of our worship, by banishing from
it a vital element, but it has also ever been a prolific source of petty strife, . . .
pride, formality and confusion. It is a common thing for a choir to die and revive
several times a year. A petty jealousy among its members, then a pout, then a
roar, then a dissolution, then a reconciliation, to be followed by successive pouts,
roars and dissolutions, meanwhile the solemn worship of God in this vital
department is left subject to all the disgusting and scandalous influences of these
orchestral vicissitudes. And the worst of the matter is, if the choir see fit to
become defunct at any time, or to be absent, we are left blankly at their mercy,
from our having lost the general habit of singing. We have neglected this gift,
having surrendered all occasion and opportunity for its exercise... It has
"improved" our singing from a hundred voices down to ten. It has "improved" it
from the lusty, spiritual out-gushing melody of a hundred living hearts, "full of
glory and of God," down to the dry, mechanical, artistic squeal of a dozen lifeless
souls full of pride and the devil."

21. Ordain Women Gen 1.27-29 – in God’s image Gen 3.16,17 – the curse
1Cor – reverse curse
Gal.3.28 – no difference
1Cor.14.33ff/1Tim.2.8 – silence for order’s sake
Romans 16 – women leader’s hall of fame
If Junias can be an apostle with Paul, why can’t Jane be an overseer today?
Pictured are three women being ordained in 2015 by Bishop Kendall in the North Central Conference.
1974 is women were first granted right within the fmcusa.
Women were evangelists and prophets prior
Roberts ordain women, but when he retired was taken out of mix (motion to do so defeated 37 to 41, 1890)

22. Current Debate (SCOD) Christian Marriage (¶3311) Immigration Islam
Human Trafficking
Etc.
fmcusa.org/scod
What questions do you have on the beliefs of the Free Methodist Church as they apply to social issues?