What We Believe

What We Believe

(Used and adapted by permission from "Questions & Answers About The United Methodist Church" by Thomas S. McAnally, publised by Abingdon Press in 1995.)

What is required of me to become a United Methodist?

Baptism ushers you into the family of Christ. In baptism you affirm God’s affirmation of you. If you have not been baptized you will be asked “to repent of your sins and profess your faith in God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the Christian faith as contained in the Old and New Testaments.” While that is a statement that includes many words, it really says you accept God’s claim on your life. At Sharon, the pastor will meet with you before your baptism, to prepare you for receiving the sacrament.

When you enter a denomination and local church you are choosing to live out your connection to Christ in that particular faith community. To be received into the United Methodist membership, you will be asked to be loyal to the church and to strengthen its ministries. Then you will be received into our congregation by committing yourself to faithfully uphold Sharon United Methodist Church with your prayers, your presence, your gifts, and your service.

What do United Methodists believe about baptism?

Through baptism, we accept God’s gift of grace through Jesus Christ and yield our lives, as much as we are able, to the leading of the Holy Spirit. One can be baptized at any time after birth. When an infant is baptized, the parents promise to raise the child in a Christian home and the congregation recognizes its responsibility in the Christian nuture of the child. Those vows are reaffirmed by the child when he or she is confirmed as a church member.

Sprinkling is the most common method of baptism, but pouring and immersion are also permissible. United Methodists are more concerned with the symbolism and meaning of the event than the exact form that might have been used in early times. If the mode of baptism were essential to our Christian belief and practice, it is believed that the New Testament would be clear-cut in saying so.

If you have been baptized in another Christian denomination, you do not need to be “rebaptized” to be a United Methodist. Neither is a second baptism practiced. Even when we drift from active involvement in the community of faith, we remain baptized—nothing can separate us from God’s love.

Exactly what do United Methodists believe as far as basic Christian doctrines are concerned?

The United Methodist Church is not a creedal church that requires members to subscribe to a closely detailed system of beliefs. This does not mean, however, that United Methodists are not committed to basic Christian doctrines. We affirm core Christian doctrines such as:

• The Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—both in personal experience and in the community of believers,
• Salvation by grace through faith in Christ as Savior,
• The universal Church,
• The reign of God as both a present and future reality,
• The authority of Scripture in matters of faith, and
• The essential oneness of the Church in Jesus Christ.

These are beliefs we share with other denominations. We recognize the right of Christians to differ in doctrine, requiring only the essential belief that God is our Creator, that Jesus the Christ is our Lord and Savior, and that the Holy Spirit is ever present with us.

While we acknowledge the primacy of Scripture in theological reflection, our attempts to grasp its meaning always involve the tradition of the church, personal experience, and the ability to reason for ourselves.

What do United Methodists believe about Communion?

The bread and wine represent the body and blood of Jesus as he spoke of them at the last supper with his disciples before being crucified. We do not believe that the elements literally turn into the body and blood of Christ. All who profess, or who on their way to professing, Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are invited to take part in Communion, including children.

What is different or distinctive about being a United Methodist?

There are no exclusively United Methodist doctrines. Although we have distinctive emphases, we have no affirmations that are not also believed by other Christian groups. United Methodists have traditionally proclaimed the following emphases:

• The availability of God’s grace for all,
• The essential unity of faith and works,
• Salvation as personal and social,
• The church as a community of Christ’s disciples who seek to share in God’s mission,
• The inseparability of knowledge (intellect) and vital piety (devotion to religious duties and practices) as components of faith,
• Seeking holiness of heart and life both as individuals and in our society,
• A cooperative ministry and mission in the world (often referred to as “connectionalism”), and
• The link between Christian doctrine and Christian living.

These are beliefs we share with other denominations. We recognize the right of Christians to differ in doctrine, requiring only the essential belief that God is our Creator, that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior, and that the Holy Spirit is ever present with us.

While we acknowledge the primacy of Scripture in theological reflection, our attempts to grasp its meaning always involve the tradition of the church, personal experience, and the ability to reason for ourselves.

Where can I find the basic positions and regulations of The United Methodist Church?

Two books will be most helpful: The Book of Discipline, and The Book of Resolutions. Both are produced every four years following General Conference sessions. The Book of Discipline is our manual of procedures and regulations. It covers every phase of church life: doctrine, guidance for Christian behavior, procedure and ritual for becoming a church member or a minister, details for organizing and administering the church, and rules of church law. The Book of Resolutions includes statements on social concerns approved by General Conference delegates.

If you would like to know more, please click here to visit belief section of the United Methodist Church website.