Are (Global) Methodists Confessional?

What role do doctrinal standards play in the life of the church? In this episode, Dr. Joel Chopp explains why confessions matter, how the proposed Articles of Faith would function in the Global Methodist Church, and what faithful Wesleyan confessionalism looks like.

The discussion develops from Joel’s brand new article “Wesleyan Confessionalism and Theological Education,” which was just published in the most recent edition of the Asbury Herald. We discuss:

* What doctrinal standards are

* Who doctrinal standards are for

* Why some Methodists reject confessionalism

* Why other Methodists are committed to normative doctrines

* What we can learn about confessions from other Protestants

* Why not all the articles in the proposed Articles of faith should not be distinctly Wesleyan

* The guardrail function of doctrine

* How we know what Scripture affirms

* And more!

At the end of our conversation, Joel recommended two books for anyone who wants to dig in deeper to the way doctrine functions in the church. Here they are:

* Doctrine, Spirit, and Discipline: A History of the Wesleyan Tradition in the United States by Kevin Watson

* Doctrinal Standards in the Wesleyan Tradition by Thomas Oden

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Theme music: “Steps” by Anno Domini Beats. Used with permission.