Methodist Protestant Church
Encyclopedia
The Methodist Protestant Church (MPC) is a regional Church body which was officially formed in 1828 by former members of the Methodist Episcopal Church
, remaining Wesleyan
in doctrine and worship, but adopting congregational
governance.
A majority of the Methodist Protestants were reunited with their fellow Methodists in 1939, and for that reason, the historic Methodist Protestant Church is regarded as one of the predecessors of the present-day United Methodist Church
.
The Mississippi MPC delegation to the 1939 Uniting Conference withdrew from the proceedings, and the Conference was reorganized to continue as the Methodist Protestant Church in name, doctrine and practice. As of 2008, the MPC consists of 42 churches in the United States
, located in Alabama
, Arkansas
, Louisiana
, Mississippi
, and Oklahoma
and a mission conference in the country of Belize
.
. Dissatisfaction among some Methodists with regard to the increasingly exclusive power of clergy, particularly bishops, and the exclusion of laymen from the councils of the Church, including the Annual (regional) and General (national) Conferences.
, November 12, 1828, an initial organization was formed with the provisional name of "The Associated Methodist Churches," temporary Articles of Association adopted, and its first General Conference scheduled for 1830. The intervening time was used to form local churches and organized into annual (regional) conferences. Fourteen Annual Conferences were represented by one hundred and fourteen delegates at the first General Conference, called to order on November 2, 1830. The delegates adopted the permanent name "Methodist Protestant Church" to denote its connection to the reform movement, adopted a Constitution and Discipline reflecting the representative form the reformers had sought within the Methodist Episcopal Church. Unlike the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Methodist Protestant Church rejected the use of bishops. In the MEC, the bishops had the power to appoint pastors to local churches. The Methodist Protestant Church appointed pastors by a president of the conference. The conference then affirmed the appointment.
had become further fractured by the corresponding division of the nation during the American Civil War
. At the conclusion of that military conflict, the corresponding division between Northern and Southern Methodist Episcopal Churches remained. While discussion toward reunification went forward slowly, many of the democratic reforms of church governance were adopted which had led to a separate Methodist Protestant Church. Consequently, the reunification process was broadened to include all three major "streams" of American Methodism, and resulted in a Uniting Convention being convened in 1939 with representatives of the General and Annual Conferences of the three separate bodies as delegates.
Some of the original differences between Methodist Protestant Church and the Methodist Episcopal Church remained unresolved. Additionally, many Methodist Protestants objected to what they perceived as a liberalization on the part of the Methodist Episcopal Church with respect to the inspiration and authority of the Scriptures, the deity of Christ and Wesley's teachings on the work of the Holy Spirit. This opinion was the minority view in most Methodist Episcopal Annual Conferences, the Mississippi Conference being the sole exception. The Uniting Convention proceeded to effect the merger, which formed The Methodist Church, which in 1968 merged with the Evangelical United Brethren to form the United Methodist Church
.
The Louisiana
historian
Hubert D. Humphreys
engaged in research on the history of the Methodist Protestant Church.
Methodist Episcopal Church
The Methodist Episcopal Church, sometimes referred to as the M.E. Church, was a development of the first expression of Methodism in the United States. It officially began at the Baltimore Christmas Conference in 1784, with Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke as the first bishops. Through a series of...
, remaining Wesleyan
Wesleyanism
Wesleyanism or Wesleyan theology refers, respectively, to either the eponymous movement of Protestant Christians who have historically sought to follow the methods or theology of the eighteenth-century evangelical reformers, John Wesley and his brother Charles Wesley, or to the likewise eponymous...
in doctrine and worship, but adopting congregational
Congregational church
Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
governance.
A majority of the Methodist Protestants were reunited with their fellow Methodists in 1939, and for that reason, the historic Methodist Protestant Church is regarded as one of the predecessors of the present-day United Methodist Church
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the 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...
.
The Mississippi MPC delegation to the 1939 Uniting Conference withdrew from the proceedings, and the Conference was reorganized to continue as the Methodist Protestant Church in name, doctrine and practice. As of 2008, the MPC consists of 42 churches in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, located in Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, and Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
and a mission conference in the country of Belize
Belize
Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
.
A Methodist reform movement begins
The particular issue which would eventually give rise to the organization of the Methodist Protestant Church was one of Church governance rather than doctrineDoctrine
Doctrine is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the body of teachings in a branch of knowledge or belief system...
. Dissatisfaction among some Methodists with regard to the increasingly exclusive power of clergy, particularly bishops, and the exclusion of laymen from the councils of the Church, including the Annual (regional) and General (national) Conferences.
Establishment
In response to actual and threatened expulsions, a convention was held in BaltimoreBaltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, November 12, 1828, an initial organization was formed with the provisional name of "The Associated Methodist Churches," temporary Articles of Association adopted, and its first General Conference scheduled for 1830. The intervening time was used to form local churches and organized into annual (regional) conferences. Fourteen Annual Conferences were represented by one hundred and fourteen delegates at the first General Conference, called to order on November 2, 1830. The delegates adopted the permanent name "Methodist Protestant Church" to denote its connection to the reform movement, adopted a Constitution and Discipline reflecting the representative form the reformers had sought within the Methodist Episcopal Church. Unlike the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Methodist Protestant Church rejected the use of bishops. In the MEC, the bishops had the power to appoint pastors to local churches. The Methodist Protestant Church appointed pastors by a president of the conference. The conference then affirmed the appointment.
Methodist reunification
After the formation of the Methodist Protestant Church, the Methodist Episcopal ChurchMethodist Episcopal Church
The Methodist Episcopal Church, sometimes referred to as the M.E. Church, was a development of the first expression of Methodism in the United States. It officially began at the Baltimore Christmas Conference in 1784, with Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke as the first bishops. Through a series of...
had become further fractured by the corresponding division of the nation during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. At the conclusion of that military conflict, the corresponding division between Northern and Southern Methodist Episcopal Churches remained. While discussion toward reunification went forward slowly, many of the democratic reforms of church governance were adopted which had led to a separate Methodist Protestant Church. Consequently, the reunification process was broadened to include all three major "streams" of American Methodism, and resulted in a Uniting Convention being convened in 1939 with representatives of the General and Annual Conferences of the three separate bodies as delegates.
Some of the original differences between Methodist Protestant Church and the Methodist Episcopal Church remained unresolved. Additionally, many Methodist Protestants objected to what they perceived as a liberalization on the part of the Methodist Episcopal Church with respect to the inspiration and authority of the Scriptures, the deity of Christ and Wesley's teachings on the work of the Holy Spirit. This opinion was the minority view in most Methodist Episcopal Annual Conferences, the Mississippi Conference being the sole exception. The Uniting Convention proceeded to effect the merger, which formed The Methodist Church, which in 1968 merged with the Evangelical United Brethren to form the United Methodist Church
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the 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...
.
The Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
Hubert D. Humphreys
Hubert D. Humphreys
Hubert Davis Humphreys was an historian formerly affiliated with Louisiana State University in Shreveport who specialized in archives, oral history, and studies of his native North Louisiana....
engaged in research on the history of the Methodist Protestant Church.