Integrating the 2019 Book of Common Prayer (BCP) with the Free Methodist Way offers a unique opportunity to blend the rich liturgical traditions of Anglicanism with the dynamic, mission-focused ethos of the Free Methodist Church. This integration can enhance spiritual formation, deepen worship experiences, and strengthen the church’s mission. I am going to use this same opening paragraph in this series of articles on the BCP and the Free Methodist Way. I will then end the series with my comprehensive case for those of us in the FMC to embrace that liturgical tradition and practice of the BCP in any number of ways as the foundation for our desire to see a Spirit fuelled movement.
The first aspect of the Free Methodist Way (FMW) is that of Life Giving Holiness. The short definition from fmcusa.org is, “GOD’S CALL TO HOLINESS was never meant to be a burden, but a gift that liberates us for life that is truly life by delivering us from the destructive power of sin.”
The FMW’s emphasis on Life-Giving Holiness aligns well with the BCP’s focus on spiritual discipline and formation. The BCP’s daily offices, such as Morning and Evening Prayer, provide a structured rhythm of prayer that can help Free Methodists cultivate a life of holiness. These offices include readings from Scripture, prayers of confession, and intercessions, all of which can deepen one’s relationship with God and foster a holy life.
In our culture we often hear the word holy, and automatically revert to thinking about rules, legalism, and towing the party line. But that is sadly an often-too accepted, myopic and perverted definition of holiness. At its simplest, to be holy means to be set apart or distinct. And that by definition is who God is. There is no one like Him, not even close. By any definition or classification it is impossible to be like God because He is perfectly unique. He transcends all boundaries that we could conceive.
God’s holiness is also unique and powerful. Just like anything that gets close to the sun is burned away, anything that is not like God would be destroyed. Not by some malevolence or desire for violence, but simply because it cannot withstand the power of his unique differentness. (This definition, while simple, gets the general just). And yet, God desires relationship, for His creation to be formed into a reflection of His character, so that we can have a deep intimate relationship with Him. And ultimately, this formation into His likeness is what it means to be truly human. As image bearers of God’s image, means that if we truly want to “be ourselves”, as is the mantra of this current age; then we in fact do it by looking like our creator.
It is ultimately out of the relationship that God desires holiness. Not just as a list of rules that we follow or we go to hell. But instead as the loving and caring instruction of the one who knows us best, and that to do anything other than that actually brings harm to ourselves and those around us.
This is the call of the Christian life. Living lives of repentance that transform us into His image. As Methodist’s we believe in entire sanctification. A teaching that simply means, through the work of the Holy Spirit, our affections can be fully aligned with God’s love and will. It does not mean we can’t sin, or won’t mess up. But what it does mean is that we become to the greatest extent possible in this life like Christ.
This call to holiness is not a curmudgeonly focus on the rules for the sake of it. But a call to an active life-giving relationship with our creator who desires us to live in the full potential of our humanity as we are transformed to be like Christ.
Now, here is where the Book of Common Prayer (BCP) fits into this. Public and regular confession is a regular part of the services and prayers contained in the BCP. In the modern evangelical imagination, we only think of confession when we have actively done something wrong or we think, “that’s something Catholics do!” In reality, the act of worship in corporate confession has been a part of the Protestant experience since the reformation, and sadly has been largely lost.
Something happens when we regularly confess our faults, foibles and ultimately our sin. It allows us to be humble, and circumspect in our lives. Remembering our need for God’s grace and forgiveness. This, in turn, if a part of a living relationship with Christ can be a major catalyst for the development of life giving holiness. We are reminded of His perfection and how it works our in our hearts.
From the Renewed Eucharist Liturgy in the 2019 BCP:
Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed,by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.We have not loved you with our whole heart;we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,have mercy on us and forgive us;that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways,to the glory of your Name. Amen.
This solemn prayer of acknowledging our sin is then followed by:
Almighty God, our heavenly Father, who in his great mercy has promised forgiveness of sins to all those who sincerely repent and with true faith turn to him, have mercy upon you, pardon and deliver you from all your sins, confirm and strengthen you in all goodness, and bring you to everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
We are not just left in our sin, but we are reminded of the forgiveness that we have in Christ! That is the power of regularly acknowledging our sin. Not dwelling and sitting in them, but understanding that we are in constant need and reminder of His saving and transforming work in our lives.
So for Life-giving Holiness, the BCP provides to us the tools, disciple and foundation for allowing the sanctifying work of Christ to not just take root, but thrive in our lives. I hope you will join me as we continue to look at the BCP and the Free Methodist Way, and how they can work together to ignite the Holy Spirit in us for the work He has for us!