The bishops of the United Methodist Church have issued a call for United Methodists to “live the United Methodist way.”  To encourage the church in this call Bishop Reuben Job has written Three Simple Rules: a Wesleyan Way of Living.  This small book has become, at least by U.M. standards, a best-seller.  This is a cause for rejoicing for several reasons:

   1) The book is an appeal to the General Rules of the Methodist Church, which are part of our doctrinal standards.  Since evangelicals refer frequently to the doctrinal standards and have urged others to do so also, any appeal to the General Rules by bishops must be viewed positively.  In a church culture obsessed with “freedom” (doing what you want to do when you want to do it) an emphasis on “rules” would take us in a new direction.

    2) Bishop Job’s book emphasizes prayer and spiritual disciplines.  Even the word “discipline” has to be a good sign, since current emphases on inclusivity, openness, tolerance, and diversity (basically anything goes) are at cross purposes with the concept of spiritual discipline.  

        Having said this, it must also be said that Bishop Job’s book must be seen mostly as an introduction to the General Rules.  It lacks specificity.  Anything controversial in terms of commitment is lacking.  From an evangelical perspective, the Three Simple Rules needs to go to another level.

    With this in mind, another look at how the General rules were intended to function might be helpful.  Wesley believed the General Rules are derived from Scripture and are written by the Spirit on truly awakened hearts.  If the rules were not observed, or were habitually broken, persons needed to be held accountable, and led to repentance.  Those who would then not repent would have no place among the Methodists (no mention of “inclusivity” there).

       While Wesley’s language may sound harsh today, the truth is that Methodism thrived under discipline and accountability.  Surely this is an emphasis needed in a mainline church culture that takes its religion far too casually.  

    The church historically has always made a distinction between the lost and the saved, between the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness.  Only in the last 100 years, with the rise of progressive (liberal) Christianity, have the lines been blurred between “saved” and “lost,” or between believers and non-believers.  In more extreme forms of progressive Christianity, the concept of salvation from sin and hell has simply been discarded.  In this approach, Christianity is reduced to a self-help philosophy or a form of social activism.

    For Wesley, and for historic United Methodism, entrance into the Methodist societies was based on a condition: “a desire to flee from the wrath to come, and to be saved from…sins.”  Those who found salvation lived by the rules not as a condition of salvation (which is by grace through faith) but in order to show evidence of their desire for salvation. 

    Out of this motivation we “do no harm” (avoid evil), “do good,” and “keep in touch with God” (“attend upon all the ordinances of God”). 

    The last “rule” is about commitment to the means of grace available through the church, through the Scriptures, and through personal prayer and devotion.  Surely all United Methodists can unite in the importance of this rule. 

     The question is whether we as United Methodists can hold each other accountable. 

     During the course of my ministry I have on several occasions used a program first called “Ten Brave Christians.”  Developed by Danny E. Morris, and promoted originally by the Board of Discipleship the program is based on John Wesley’s Great Experiment.  It is designed for Lent (or any six-weeks period) and closely follows the General Rules.   Some of the disciplines include a commitment to daily prayer and Bible study, doing a good deed daily, volunteering 10 hours of service a week, tithing, and meeting in a small group.  The revised book is currently entitled A Life That Really Matters.  It can be ordered through Cokesbury.  The ISPN number is 9781577361558.  

    The Ten Brave Christians program is just one example of a number of programs or emphases that can help our churches move toward something that can be identifiable as “The United Methodist Way.”  Let us reclaim our United Methodist heritage and our doctrinal standards.