January 2, 2024 (Part 1 of 3) Two months ago, I wrote a Tuesday Brief celebrating what would have been the 146 th birthday of the EMC’s founder and first General Superintendent, Dr. John Henry Hamblen. In my article, I referenced a short quotation from his autobiography, “A Look Into Life” as he gave reason for his exit from the “old Methodist Church” as he called it … “I could not conscientiously remain in a church where modernism predominated and where the leaders did not believe in and uphold the Articles of Religion of Methodism …”
The Evangelical Methodist Church is not the lone carrier of the torch of conservative Methodism, but we are certainly part of that company, and it is ever more important that we carry it well. The theological moorings that Dr. Hamblen felt were slipping have not been recovered by mainstream Methodism. I’m so glad to be a part of the EMC as we hold high the banner of genuine Christ-like Christianity, and indeed there is no true Christianity apart from Christ. For a variety of reasons, I have spent time reading most of Dr. Hamblen’s autobiography, and it has re-sparked something in me. We may be a somewhat humble faith family, but God is using the EMC across the USA and around the world for His glory. Dr. Hamblen was born into very humble beginnings but he was thankful for being laid “into the lap of an old-fashioned shouting Methodist mother who grounded me in the Word of God and the Christian faith.” As we begin this new year, I’m going to re-read his autobiography over again a time or two, and wonder if some of you would like to do so with me? We have two versions of his book available at headquarters and can offer you a year-end discount to acquire them. We have only a few hardback editions left, but have a great quantity of paperback editions. The hardbacks retail for $20/each, and while we cannot discount them, we can offer a 50% discount on the paperback version. For $7.50 plus shipping, you can order as many as you like from our HQ office. Either will make a great read for the last few days of the year!
$7.50 – Paperback $20 - Hardback
For the next few weeks, I will be sharing some excerpts in my Tuesday Brief … From “A Look Into Life”, p. 121 (Dr. Hamblen quoting his friend and Methodist pastor Dr. Robert Shuler):
“[There is no] doubt or question concerning the deity of Jesus Christ in any pulpit of Evangelical Methodism. His Virgin Birth, His Sinless Life, His glorious teachings, His sacrificial death, His resurrection and His coming again are great verities of the Evangelical family, just as they were pivotal truths, proclaimed by Wesley, his preachers and class leaders. Nor are these doctrines concerning Jesus Christ approached with crossed fingers or reservations. The Evangelical Methodists go all the way. The death of Jesus on Calvary was and is an atoning death, a substitutionary death, in which and by which He took our sins upon Himself and paid with His shed blood the terrible price for the redemption of all mankind. His resurrection from the grave was bodily. He went into the tomb dead. He came forth alive, and alive forevermore.”