I DID NOT LEAVE BECAUSE:
First, I will state some of the reasons why I did not leave the Methodist church:
A. I was not made to live. There was no pressure from within the Methodist church for me to leave.
B. I did not leave because of the people in the Methodist church. There were some of the finest moral living people in the Methodist church that you would ever want to meet.
C. I did not leave the Methodist church because it was not a popular church. The majority
of people were Methodists in my home town.
After my discharge from the Navy in 1946, I had again made my home in Charlotte, Tennessee. In
1947, Grover Stevens moved to Charlotte. I was attending many of the services of the church of
Christ where he was preaching and became very angry at some of the remarks made by brother
Stevens. During this same time, brother Leonard Tyler conducted several meetings in this area
which I attended and at which I was made angry. I became so mad at some of their remarks that I
began to study my Bible to try to justify myself as a Methodist and at the same time to find error
in their teaching, which I would have been happy to expose. Finally, I saw that I was fighting a
losing battle and I either had to obey the gospel or stay with the Methodist church. I must say that
it was a very difficult battle, knowing that I would be leaving that which I had been taught from
childhood up, knowing that my personal friends would turn their backs on me, and knowing the
heartache that it would cause my mother to see her only child leave the family religion. I made up
my mind to put God first and obey His will.
ERROR EXPOSED...TRUTH TAUGHT
The results of my leaving the Methodist church was due to the fact that error was exposed and
truth was taught in a plain manner of speech and yet with love. I am deeply grateful to such
preachers.
A. NAME. The first impression that was made on my mind was that the Methodist church was
wrong in name. Such a name could not be found in the Bible. I was called a Methodist, but yet no
one in the Bible was ever called such. I was taught that they were called Christians (I Pet. 4:16;
Acts 11:26). I immediately saw that I could not scripturally justify the use of the name Methodist.
B. WESLEY, THE FOUNDER, NOT CHRIST. It was made clear that John Wesley was the
founder of the Methodist church and not Jesus Christ. If I wanted to be a member of the church
that Jesus built, then I could not be a Methodist. Such preaching stirred up my spirit to the extent
that I became dissatisfied with being a member of a church that John Wesley built.
C. FAITH ONLY -- SALVATION. I had always believed that one was saved by faith only. This
is exactly what the Methodist church teaches about salvation. However, when I was told to read
James 2:24, I was made to see in words that none could misunderstand that "faith only" was
wrong. I began to read more and found out that Jesus required faith and baptism. (Mk. 16:16)
D. CHOICE OF BAPTISM. I had always been taught in the Methodist church that there are
three ways to be baptized: 1. Sprinkling; 2. Pouring; and 3. Immersion. I was led to believe by
Methodist preaching that it was up to the individual to select his own choice. To become a
member I had selected sprinkling. The preaching that I heard exposed this error. I was told to
read Col. 2:12 and then Eph. 4:5. Even with a mind as weak as mine, I could see that according to
God's teaching there was but one baptism, but by Methodist teaching there were three. I believed
God.
E. INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC. We had the instrument of music in the services of the Methodist
church and were led to believe that it was only an aid in the worship. It was plainly proven to me
that such was not an aid but an addition to the word of God. I then was reminded of John 4:24
that one must worship God in truth. I was told that my worship would be in vain if done by the
doctrine of men. (Matt. 15:9)
F. HOW TO RAISE MONEY. In the Methodist church we would have ice cream suppers,
rummage sales, etc., to raise money for the church. The preaching that I heard by brother Stevens
and others brought to my attention I Cor. 16:1-2. This was God's plan of having the church
members raise its money, and the pie suppers, etc., were ways of men.
These are a few of the things that caused me to see the way of my error. Of course, since that
time I have studied and found out many other errors within the Methodist church. I have never
regretted leaving the Methodist church. I wish all would see their errors.
THANK GOD FOR CHRIST, HIS GOSPEL, HIS CHURCH.