WHY METHODIST

I was born in Beloit, Kansas, Community Methodist Hospital. Both Grandfathers were Methodist ministers. My parents met and graduated from Wesley College at Cameron, Missouri, (a Methodist college). I was baptized and married in Methodist churches, and expect a final memorial in one. Margo and I became acquainted in a Methodist singles education program, and married there.

As a youth I almost earned the Eagle Scout award. (I was two badges short -- swimming and life saving -- prevented by a ruptured infected eardrum from pneumonia at four years old.) Troop, #13, met in the Methodist church basement.

Faith alone will save you, but good works will follow. Thus, we worked on over a dozen mission teams; as far away as Alaska and New Zealand. I always sought out a Methodist church as a solid foundation rock, wherever I was located. Methodists are protestant Christians who follow the teachings of John Wesley and who have their own branch of the Christian church and their own form of worship. Fortunately, I have studied through books, close friends and associations the Jewish background of Christianity with many branches: Catholic, Baptist, Presbytarian, Mormon, Evangelistic, and many others to a lesser degree. The sermons of Billy Graham held a big influence. The Methodist Cursillo movement had a great input.

Many significant organizations were either founded or seriously supported by the Methodist church worldwide. (I personally contributed to some.)

• Hospitals across the U.S.
• Universities across the U.S.
• The Salvation Army
• Rescue missions for the homeless and destitute
• Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA)
• Boy Scouts of America

Of course, one can study the founding of the Methodist church by John and Charles Wesley in a working class area of London in the 1800’s. They, and others, had a sizable influence as circuit riders in frontier U.S., and through the many missionaries in Africa and worldwide. Many well-known and admired historical men and women were Methodist -- too numerous to mention. But the Bible is the source of it all, and deserving of continuous study.

Maybe the better question is why would I be anything else? But everyone must seek their own destiny through life and eternity. I always felt I needed all the help I could find along the way, and each day I now read two devotionals: “The Upper Room,” a Methodist publication, and “Our Daily Bread,” Presbytarian. And, prior to Sunday school (Faith Meets Life) at Aldersgate United Methodist Church, we watch a Baptist preacher on TV.