The Bethel Methodist Church is a Methodist denomination aligned with the

Wesleyan 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 Charle ...

Holiness movement The Holiness movement is a Christianity, Christian movement that emerged chiefly within 19th-century Methodism, and to a lesser extent influenced other traditions such as Quakers, Quakerism, Anabaptism, and Restorationism. Churches aligned with ...

. It consists of five congregations in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

History

The Bethel Methodist Church separated from the

Evangelical Methodist Church 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, Philippine ...

after a church trial called into question the theological stances of a handful of ministers. The small denomination's ''Book of Discipline'' traces this theological dispute to the mid-1970s when "a widening tolerance of many different beliefs regarding the nature of God, man, angels, sin, salvation, sanctification and heaven" began to emerge. After Rev. Arthur Slye Jr. was elected Mid-States District Superintendent in the 1980s, he "chose to preach some of his deepest-held truths to the District Conference at Irving." This raised many objections, which resulted in a "heresy trial" followed by repeated "attempts to clarify" by Slye and his supporters. On August 16, 1988, five

ministers met in

Hico, Texas Hico (, ) is a small city located in Hamilton County in central Texas, United States. The population was 1,335 at the time of the 2020 census, down from 1,341 in the 2010 census. Over the years, it became a cattle and cotton market. Today, ra ...

to determine a course of action. Their three churches in Irving,

Port Neches, Texas Port Neches is a city in Jefferson County, Texas, Jefferson County, Texas, United States. The population was 13,692 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, an increase over the figure of 13,040 tabulated in 2010. It is part of the Beaumont� ...

, and

Robinson, Texas Robinson is a city in McLennan County, Texas, United States. The population was 12,443 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Waco Metropolitan Statistical Area. Demographics As of the 2020 United States census, there were 12,443 people, 3,86 ...

would pull away from their parent denomination and form an Interchurch Council. Articles of Incorporation for the Bethel Methodist Church were filed with the State of Texas on February 27, 1989. Slye, pastor of the Irving church, was elected the new denomination's first General Superintendent. The first services were held on Easter Sunday, March 24, 1989. The denomination maintains congregations in Port Neches and Robinson, as well as

Colleyville, Texas Colleyville is a city in northeastern Tarrant County, Texas, United States, centrally located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. A wealthy suburb of the Dallas/Fort Worth area, Colleyville was originally a small farm town in the 19th century. ...

New Braunfels, Texas New Braunfels ( ) is a city in Comal County, Texas, Comal and Guadalupe County, Texas, Guadalupe counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Comal County. The city covers and had a population of 90,403 as of the 2020 United Sta ...

, and

Aubrey, Texas Aubrey is a city in Denton County, Texas, United States. Its population was 5,006 at the 2020 census. History Aubrey, the town, was officially founded in 1867, when Civil War veteran Lemuel Noah Edwards (1838–1910) built the second frame hous ...

Beliefs

Bethel Methodist Church is for the most part

Holiness Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

in doctrine—lamenting a

Modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

trend in American Methodism. Emphases include the possibility of a Christian "backsliding" as well as man's free will to choose or reject God. The Bethel Methodists take these

Arminian Arminianism is a movement of Protestantism initiated in the early 17th century, based on the Christian theology, theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed Church, Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius and his historic supporters known as Remo ...

positions an uncommon step further by teaching God's free will. From its online catechism: The denomination prefers

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

by sprinkling and pouring, rather than allowing for immersion as did the parent body. It does not practice

infant baptism Infant baptism, also known as christening or paedobaptism, is a Christian sacramental practice of Baptism, baptizing infants and young children. Such practice is done in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches, va ...

Polity

Church government is largely

congregational Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christianity, Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice Congregationalist polity, congregational ...

, though bound by a denominational constitution and bylaws.

References

{{reflist

External links

Official web site
Christian organizations established in 1989 Methodist denominations in North America Methodist denominations established in the 20th century Holiness denominations Christian denominations founded in the United States

History

Beliefs

Polity

See also

References

External links