A Call to Social Holiness for United Methodists

The founder of United Methodism, John Wesley, was clear that an authentic Christian Faith must combine Social Holiness with Personal Holiness. Practical Christianity, for Wesley, demanded a concern for, and an involvement in, the social issues of his day.

Wesley believed, and we affirm, that engagement in Social Holiness is an essential element of living the Christian life and that both the Scriptures and the writings of the Fathers [sic] demanded that Disciples live out this aspect of the Christian journey.

From time to time, in an effort to build an institution or in the sheer exuberance of evangelizing new Christians, the Church has neglected or downplayed this integral aspect of Christian living. We have done so to our peril, building on a sand foundation and leaving our members subject to the whims of culture or national allegiance, rather than strengthening them to Witness to the full Gospel message of Jesus Christ and the teachings of the Epistles.

It is imperative, especially in this era of emphasis on Church Growth and a personalized system of belief, reliant more on what "makes me feel good" than "what orients me/us to God," that we as United Methodists reclaim our understanding of social holiness and involvemnet in the life of the community.

The Church is meant to be a leader in the struggle for Social Justice, for equity in the economic sphere, for the inclusion of all people, and a critic of self-righteousness and self-justification on both a personal and national level.

Thus, we are bound by our commitment to Jesus Christ to look outward to the world, using the Church as a place of restoration, healing, teaching and re-energizing, not as a haven to hide from the needs of our brothers and sisters.

Guided by our Savior and Brother, Jesus Christ, we, as members of the United Methodist Church, declare our renewed dedication to the work of Christ, through the Church in the world. We offer ourselves humbly, but with confidence in the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, to declare the yearning of God for the well-being and wholeness of all God's Creation. We call all United Methodists to reignite the movement of Social Holiness in the life of our church and community as we act and speak for inclusiveness, for economic justice, for peace between nations and reconciliation between persons, and for responsible stewardship of God's creation.

Lent 2009

From Living Faith, Seeking Jusice Event 2009