Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christian tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother Charles Wesley were also significant early leaders in the movement. They were named Methodists for "the methodical way in which they carried out their Christian faith". Methodism originated as a revival movement within Anglicanism with roots in the Church of England in the 18th century and became a separate denomination after Wesley's death. The movement spread throughout the British Empire, the United States and beyond because of vigorous missionary work, and today has about 80 million adherents worldwide.
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelicalism. The present denomination was founded in 1968 in Dallas, Texas, by union of the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church. The UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley in England, as well as the Great Awakening in the United States. As such, the church's theological orientation is decidedly Wesleyan. It embraces liturgical worship, holiness, and evangelical elements.
The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Methodist denomination based in the United States. It adheres to Wesleyan–Arminian theology and has a connexional polity. It cooperates with other Methodist bodies through the World Methodist Council and Wesleyan Holiness Connection.
Herbert George Welch was an American bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, The Methodist Church and the United Methodist Church. He was elected to the episcopacy in 1916. He also distinguished himself as a Methodist pastor, and as the fifth President of Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, Ohio.
The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church (C.M.E.C.) is a Methodist denomination that is based in the United States. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology. Though historically a part of the black church, the Christian Methodist Episcopal today has a church membership of people from all racial backgrounds.
Albert Cook Outler was a 20th-century American Methodist historian, theologian, and pastor. He was a professor at Duke University, Yale University, and Southern Methodist University. He was a key figure in the 20th-century ecumenical movement.
The Wesleyan Quadrilateral, or Methodist Quadrilateral, is a methodology for theological reflection that is credited to John Wesley, leader of the Methodist movement in the late 18th century. The term itself was coined by 20th century American Methodist scholar Albert C. Outler.
Charles Wesley Brashares (1891–1982) was an American bishop of The Methodist Church and the United Methodist Church, elected in 1944.
Woodie Walter White is an American bishop of the United Methodist Church, elected in 1984.
Kenneth Lee Carder is a retired American bishop of the United Methodist Church, elected in 1992. Carder distinguished himself as a pastor, a member of Annual Conference and General U.M. agencies, a bishop, seminary professor, and an author.
William Ragsdale Cannon was the dean of Candler School of Theology (1953-1968) and an American bishop of the United Methodist Church, elected in 1968.
Robert Tsugio Hoshibata is a bishop of The United Methodist Church (UMC), the second-largest Protestant denomination in the United States. He was elected to the episcopacy in 2004. His first assignment was as Bishop of the Oregon-Idaho Conference of the UMC. He currently serves as Bishop of the Phoenix Episcopal Area, Desert Southwest Conference for the UMC.
John Louis Nuelsen was a German-American Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church and The Methodist Church, elected in 1908. He also distinguished himself as a Methodist pastor, as a college and seminary professor and theologian, and as an author and editor.
Earl Gladstone Hunt Jr. (1918–2005) was an American who distinguished himself as a Methodist pastor and evangelist, as the president of Emory and Henry College, as an author and theologian, as a bishop of The Methodist Church and the United Methodist Church, and as a leader in World Methodism.
Robert Eric Hayes Jr. is a member and serves as Bishop Emeritus of the Global Methodist Church. At its May 22, 2023, weekly meeting, The Global Methodist Church's Transitional Leadership Council (TLC) received the Rev. Dr. Robert Hayes Jr. as a clergy member in the new denomination and then immediately voted to confer upon him the title bishop emeritus. Hayes joins Bishop Emeritus Mike Lowry as the only other bishop granted that status.
Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan–Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charles Wesley. More broadly it refers to the theological system inferred from the various sermons, theological treatises, letters, journals, diaries, hymns, and other spiritual writings of the Wesleys and their contemporary coadjutors such as John William Fletcher, Methodism's systematic theologian.
The history of Methodism in the United States dates back to the mid-18th century with the ministries of early Methodist preachers such as Laurence Coughlan and Robert Strawbridge. Following the American Revolution most of the Anglican clergy who had been in America came back to England. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, sent Thomas Coke to America where he and Francis Asbury founded the Methodist Episcopal Church, which was to later establish itself as the largest denomination in America during the 19th century.
Randy L. Maddox is an American theologian and ordained minister in the United Methodist Church. He served until 2020 as the William Kellon Quick Professor of Wesleyan and Methodist Studies at Duke University. Maddox also serves as the General Editor of the Wesley Works Project, a major scholarly project responsible for producing the first comprehensive and critical edition of the works of John Wesley. He is considered one of the leading authorities on both the theology of John Wesley (1703-1791) and the theological developments of later Methodism.
Thomas OsmondSummers was an English-born American Methodist theologian, clergyman, hymnist, editor, liturgist and university professor. He is considered one of the most prominent Methodist theologians of the nineteenth century.
Kenneth J. Collins is an American Wesleyan theologian and ordained minister in the Global Methodist Church. He is a professor of Historical Theology and Wesley Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary. He is a leader in Wesley Studies, and his work The Theology of John Wesley: Holy Love and the Shape of Grace has been translated into Portuguese and Korean. He is the Director of the Wesleyan Studies Summer Seminar.
