William Abraham recounts a conversation at a United Methodist
church between one of his friends and a couple who had
transferred in from the Southern Baptist Church. The former-
Baptists shared that where “before, as Southern Baptists, they
had to accept a whole system of doctrine, they were now free, as
United Methodists, to believe anything they liked.” This
conversation isn’t unusual. There is a pervasive view that
United Methodists do not have particular doctrinal standards.
Instead, the UMC is known more for its polity—episcopal
structure and itinerant pastors—than its theology. United
Methodists do have defined doctrinal beliefs, though. As Abraham
notes, “By appropriate legislation, our standards are clearly
constituted by the Articles of Religion, the Confession of
Faith, Wesley’s Sermons, and Wesley’s Notes.” From the beginning
we have claimed these standards of doctrine. Though these
standards have always been formally defined, they have not been
communicated well across the Church. The most pressing