Baptists and Methodists

 October 5, 2020

The bees I removed from a barn cupola this morning needed to be transferred from the cooler in which I had captured them to a regular beehive, and since the rest of the day was taken up with hanging drywall, I sandwiched the move in between worship team rehearsal at 6:00 and the Ready, Set, Dream class at 7:00. I knew I was playing it close, and I was late for the class, arriving just as Thomas was telling a story. Most of what happens in these groups stays there, but Thomas’ story is revealing.

While talking with a pastor in Dunkirk, Thomas had asked if him if his church had shut down during the pandemic. When the pastor said they had not, Thomas’ response was as classic as it was without guile: “Well, you must be Baptist!” 

Our entire group convulsed with laughter at this. Thomas had struck a nerve.

We are Methodists, and yes, we closed down in response to directives from higher up. There is an important lesson here: one’s own tribe doesn’t have a corner on the market of Truth. I was raised Baptist, and not just any old Baptist; we were fundamentalists, but not separatists. Baptist tradition, unlike Methodism, is independent and Calvinist; staunch rebels against religious and secular authority. Methodism began as a renewal movement within the Anglican Church, but was forced out, becoming its own denomination shortly after the death of its founder, John Wesley. In the fledgling United States, it grew with the frontier, scattering churches all across the country. It has been said that there isn’t a single county in the country that doesn’t have a Methodist church of one sort or another. 

But this history of growing with the frontier means Methodism often identified with the growth of the country itself, becoming in some ways, the religious soul of the nation, reflecting instead of challenging the national ethos. We are seeing this more and more, as the Mainline church echoes the cultural values of the progressive Left. Baptists are not immune to this, but the independent spirit inherent in Baptist theology doesn’t often make good bedfellows with the wider culture. Though a Methodist, I am grateful for my Baptist roots, and for my Baptist friends who stubbornly resist the steady encroachment of our decaying culture upon the Church. Yes, they were Baptist, and they stayed open.