Evangelical Methodist Church of America

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Evangelical Methodist Church of America
Classification Protestant (Methodist)
Orientation Evangelical, Fundamental Conservative Holiness
Polity Congregational
Associations American Council of Christian Churches
RegionWorldwide: North American Conference with several mission fields
Origin1946 (1953)
Separated from The Methodist Church, Evangelical Methodist Church
Congregations16 (U.S.)

The Evangelical Methodist Church of America (or Evangelical Methodist Conference) Christian denomination based in the United States. Ardently Fundamental, the denomination has its roots in a movement of churches that broke away from Mainline Methodism in the 1940s and 50s.

Contents

The small denomination comprised sixteen churches as of July 2018. It operates Breckbill Bible College in Virginia. Dr. James B. Fields is the general superintendent of this group, which claims mission work in Suriname, Jamaica, Chile, Nigeria, France, Kenya and Malawi. It is headquartered in Kingsport, Tennessee. Principal strength of the denomination is centered in the Northeastern and Southern United States.

The denomination publishes The Evangelical Methodist in conjunction with the likeminded Fundamental Methodist Church. [1]

History

Evangelical Methodism began as "a double protest against what were considered autocratic and undemocratic government on the one hand and a tendency toward modernism on the other in the Methodist Church." [2]

The 1938 merger of the three major Methodist bodies in the U.S. (and charges of growing authoritarianism in the new leadership structure), the Fundamentalist–Modernist Controversy (including perennial fights over evolution and scriptural reliability), Anti-Communist sentiment, and the success of the early Evangelical movement contributed to a series of small schisms from Mainline Methodism in the mid-Twentieth Century. [3]

A gathering of disaffected Methodist preachers and laymen in 1946 in Memphis, Tennessee, gave rise to the Evangelical Methodist Church (EMC) denomination. This first gathering was inspired by the withdrawal of the pastor of some of Methodism's largest churches of that era, Dr. J. H. Hamblen. Hamblen's exit from a large church in Texas generated significant press coverage, leading to this coalition of conservative preachers and laymen from various pockets of the Holiness movement and Fundamental Methodism. After some prayer and deliberation they began work forming a new denomination to rival what they saw as a liberal trend in the Methodist Church. Among the founders of this movement was W. W. Breckbill (1907–1974). [4]

By 1952 differences regarding key doctrines came to the forefront, especially in regard to the Wesleyan tenet of entire sanctification, the conditional security of the believer, and Congregationalism. According to Hamblen, about 20 clergy and laymen led by Breckbill walked out of the 1952 conference in Altoona, Pennsylvania when they could not agree on Wesleyan doctrine of Holiness. [5]

A formal conference was established by Breckbill's allies in 1953. The conference has gone by several names since organization: the Evangelical (Independent) Methodist Churches, the Fellowship of Evangelical Methodist Churches, the Evangelical Methodist Conference, the Evangelical Methodist Church of America, "the Fundamental EMC," or simply the Evangelical Methodist Church. [6] [7] The larger EMC pursued legal action against Breckbill's group regarding the name and other intellectual property. [5]

This Fundamental EMC formed Breckbill Bible College in 1957 [8] in Williamsburg, Pennsylvania, named for its preferred founding figure. It is a charter member of the American Council of Christian Churches, an answer to ecumenical bodies such as the World Council of Churches.

According to an observer, the development of a separate, fundamental EMC summarized the tensions between Holiness and non-Holiness conservatives present in many denominations in the wake of the Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy.

"The history of the Evangelical Methodist Church illustrates the tensions inherent in a Fundamentalist-Holiness relationship. Founded in 1946 as a protest against growing liberalism in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Methodist Church contained both Holiness and non-Holiness factions. Eventually, the tension grew too great, and in 1952 the denomination split over the issue of entire sanctification. The non-Holiness segment, led by W. W. (William Wallace) Breckbill, took the more ardently Fundamentalist position, aligning itself with the American Council of Christian Churches, a Fundamentalist alliance. In this case, mutual opposition to liberalism was not sufficient to make up for deep differences over the doctrine of sanctification. Once the split took place, those opposed to entire sanctification [as restricted to a crisis experience alone, rather than either a crisis experience or occurring after a gradual growth in grace] found themselves more comfortable in the Fundamentalist camp. This story reproduces in miniature the general outline of Fundamentalist-Holiness interaction. [3]

Mergers

On October 5, 1950, in Shelbyville, Indiana, the Evangelical Zion Methodist Church, founded by Rev. M. D. Opara, of Nigeria, West Africa, was received into the original EMC's General Conference along with about 10,000 members. [9] This body aligned with W.W. Breckbill's faction after 1952. [10]

A merger with the Southern Methodist Church failed in 1958 when Breckbill's EMC would not accept a condition that the name of the combined church be The Southern Methodist Church. [11]

Beliefs

This wing of the Evangelical Methodist movement is more into cultural separatism than the larger EMC body, preferring modesty in clothing and refraining from "worldly amusements." It does not teach the doctrine of Entire Sanctification as a second, crisis experience as do many Methodist offshoots but prefers a progressivist view. It is congregationalist in polity. The denomination has more beliefs in common with the distinctly Fundamental Conservative Holiness Movement than what is often called the Evangelical-Holiness movement. As recently as 2011, a resolution stated: [7]

Evangelical Methodists call upon God's people to separate from churches or other religious groups that advocate modernism, new evangelicalism, the modern charismatic movement, ecumenism, Roman Catholicism, cultism and other theological theories which question, add to, subtract from, or twist the Word of God. Evangelical Methodists believe that there is only one true and living God of the Scriptures, and therefore reject all other religious persuasions.

A prior resolution by the body from the 1990s decried the men's parachurch organization Promise Keepers as "an admixture of New Evangelicals, Cultists, Roman Catholics and others forming an unbiblical amalgamation that is anti-Scriptural." [12]

Relation to other Evangelical Methodist groups

There are many denominations internationally that are unrelated to the U.S. EMCs, including Evangelical Methodist Church in Bolivia, Evangelical Methodist Church in the Philippine Islands, and others.

Related Research Articles

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 originating out of 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.

Christian fundamentalism, also known as fundamental Christianity or fundamentalist Christianity, is a religious movement emphasizing biblical literalism. In its modern form, it began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among British and American Protestants as a reaction to theological liberalism and cultural modernism. Fundamentalists argued that 19th-century modernist theologians had misunderstood or rejected certain doctrines, especially biblical inerrancy, which they considered the fundamentals of the Christian faith.

The Holiness movement is a Christian movement that emerged chiefly within 19th-century Methodism, and to a lesser extent influenced other traditions such as Quakerism, Anabaptism, and Restorationism. The movement is historically distinguished by its emphasis on the doctrine of a second work of grace, which is called entire sanctification or Christian perfection. Churches aligned with the holiness movement additionally teach that the Christian life should be free of sin. For the Holiness movement, "the term 'perfection' signifies completeness of Christian character; its freedom from all sin, and possession of all the graces of the Spirit, complete in kind." A number of evangelical Christian denominations, parachurch organizations, and movements emphasize those beliefs as central doctrine.

The Confessing Movement is a largely lay-led theologically conservative Christian movement that opposes the influence of theological liberalism and theological progressivism currently within several mainline Protestant denominations and seeks to return them to its view of orthodox doctrine, or form a new denomination and disfellowship (excommunicate) them if the situation becomes untenable. Those who eventually deem dealing with theological liberalism and theological progressivism within their churches and denominations as not being tenable anymore would later join or start Confessional Churches and/or Evangelical Churches that continue with the traditions of their respective denominations and maintaining orthodox doctrine while being ecclesiastically separate from the Mainline Protestant denominations.

Christian perfection is the name given to the process or the event of achieving spiritual maturity or perfection; it is a theological concept that exists within many denominations of Christianity. The ultimate goal of this process is union with God characterized by pure love of God and other people as well as personal holiness or sanctification. Other terms used for this or similar concepts include entire sanctification, perfect love, the baptism with the Holy Spirit, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, baptism by fire, the second blessing, and the second work of grace.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conservative holiness movement</span>

The conservative holiness movement is a loosely defined group of theologically conservative Christian denominations with the majority being Methodists whose teachings are rooted in the theology of John Wesley, and a minority being Quakers (Friends) that emphasize the doctrine of George Fox, as well as River Brethren who emerged out of the Radical Pietist revival, and Holiness Restorationists in the tradition of Daniel Sidney Warner. Schisms began to occur in the 19th century and this movement became distinct from parent Holiness bodies in the mid-20th century amid disagreements over modesty in dress, entertainment, and other "old holiness standards" reflective of the related emphases on the Wesleyan–Arminian doctrine of outward holiness or the Quaker teaching on the testimony of simplicity or the River Brethren and Restorationist teachings on nonconformity to the world, depending on the denomination. Christian denominations aligned with the conservative holiness movement share a belief in Christian perfection, though they differ on various doctrines, such as the celebration of the sacraments and observance of ordinances, which is related to the denominational tradition—Methodist, Quaker, Anabaptist or Restorationist. Many denominations identifying with the conservative holiness movement, though not all, are represented in the Interchurch Holiness Convention; while some denominations have full communion with one another, other bodies choose to be isolationist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evangelical Methodist Church</span> Methodist denomination in the US

The Evangelical Methodist Church (EMC) is a Christian denomination in the Wesleyan-Holiness tradition headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The denomination reported 399 churches in the United States, Mexico, Burma/Myanmar, Canada, Philippines and several European and African nations in 2018, and a total of 34,656 members worldwide.

The Evangelical Church of North America (ECNA) is a Wesleyan-Holiness, Protestant Christian denomination headquartered in Clackamas, Oregon. As of 2000, the Church had 12,475 members in 133 local churches. The Church sponsors missionaries in seven countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. H. Hamblen</span>

Dr. James Henry Hamblen was an American pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South in Texas, an evangelist and revivalist preacher, and subsequent to 1946, was the founder of the Evangelical Methodist Church. He was the father of performer and songwriter Stuart Hamblen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wesleyan theology</span> Protestant Christian theological tradition

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.

The People's Methodist Church was a Wesleyan-Holiness denomination in the Southern United States from 1938–1962 founded by revivalist Jim H. Green.

Finished Work Pentecostalism is a major branch of Pentecostalism that locates sanctification at the time of conversion; afterward the converted Christian progressively grows in grace. On the other hand, the other branch of Pentecostalism—Holiness Pentecostalism teaches the Wesleyan doctrine of entire sanctification as a definite second work of grace, which is a necessary prerequisite to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Finished Work Pentecostals are generally known to have retained the doctrine of progressive sanctification from their earlier Reformed roots, while Holiness Pentecostals retained their doctrine of entire sanctification from their earlier Wesleyan roots.

The Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection (AWMC), originally the Wesleyan Methodist Church (Allegheny Conference), and also known as the Wesleyan Methodist Church (WMC), is a Methodist denomination within the conservative holiness movement primarily based in the United States, with missions in Peru, Ghana, and Haiti. The connection is currently led by Rev. David Blowers (President) and Rev. Joseph Smith (Vice President).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second work of grace</span> Christian belief of interaction with God

According to some Christian traditions, a second work of grace is a transforming interaction with God which may occur in the life of an individual Christian. The defining characteristics of the second work of grace are that it is separate from and subsequent to the New Birth, and that it brings about significant changes in the life of the believer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Methodism in the United States</span>

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.

The Evangel Church was a Wesleyan-Holiness Evangelical Christian denomination from 1933 to 1960.

The National Association of Wesleyan Evangelicals is a Wesleyan-Holiness Christian network of churches and ministers concentrated mostly in the Southern United States.

The Interchurch Holiness Convention (IHC), formerly the Interdenominational Holiness Convention, is an ecumenical organization of denominations and congregations within the conservative holiness movement. Aligned with the conservative holiness movement, the majority of these IHC members are Methodist, though others have a Quaker, Anabaptist or Restorationist background. There are a number of denominations aligned with the conservative holiness movement, however, that are not affiliated with the Interchurch Holiness Convention. The IHC was founded in 1952 during the post-World War II era. Thousands of individuals are present at the Interchurch Holiness Convention's annual international meeting that is usually held in Dayton, Ohio or in Gatlinburg, Tennessee; in addition the Interchurch Holiness Convention hosts regional meetings at local churches in different parts of the world throughout the year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evangelical Wesleyan Church</span>

The Evangelical Wesleyan Church, formerly known as the Evangelical Wesleyan Church of North America, is a Methodist denomination in the conservative holiness movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Immanuel Missionary Church</span> Methodist denomination

The Immanuel Missionary Church (IMC) is a Methodist denomination within the conservative holiness movement.

References

  1. The Evangelical Methodist, Vol. 92, No. 4, May/June 2014 (retrieved 8 Sept. 2016). http://nebula.wsimg.com/e1d62c9e7e5018c4560c7787a2b28ee7?AccessKeyId=7360966F3618BE473E71&disposition=0&alloworigin=1
  2. https://archive.org/stream/handbookofdenomi009472mbp/handbookofdenomi009472mbp_djvu.txt Mead, Frank S., "Handbook of Denominations in the United States," Abingdon Press, 1961, pg. 159
  3. 1 2 Sidwell, Mark. "The Conservative Holiness Movement". BJU.edu. Archived from the original on April 21, 2005. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  4. "John Wesley and What he Believed".
  5. 1 2 J. H. Hamblen, "A Look into Life: An Autobiography," pg. 162, (Abliene, Tex.: J.H. Hamblen, 1969)
  6. "Links". NB.net. Archived from the original on January 27, 2010. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
  7. 1 2 "Cedar View IMC - Our History". cedarviewimc.org. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
  8. "Home". Breckbill Bible College.
  9. http://www.cap-press.com/pdf/2096.pdf Ekechi, Felix K., "Pioneer, Patriot, and Nigerian Nationalist : a Biography of the Reverend M.D. Opara, 1915–1965," Carolina Academic Press, 2010.
  10. "Moses Diala Opara, Nigeria, A.M.E. Zion Church". Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2016-09-08.
  11. Interview with W.W. Breckbill, June 24, 1961: Bucke, Emory Stevens, "The History of American Methodism, Volume III," Abingdon Press, 1964
  12. "Promise Keepers". Evangelicalmethodistch.org. Archived from the original on May 22, 2007. Retrieved August 7, 2021.