In March of 2023, the recently formed Global Methodist Church (GMC) announced that Wesley Biblical Seminary (WBS), located in Ridgeland, Mississippi, was approved as a seminary entrusted to prepare future ministry leaders for the new and rapidly growing denomination.
Although it had been faithfully training and equipping ministry leaders in the Wesleyan tradition for nearly 50 years, WBS had never been an approved institution by the largest Wesleyan denomination in the world, the United Methodist Church (UMC). That exclusion was not because of a lack of fidelity to Scripture or weakened doctrinal standards. Dr. Andy Miller III, the newly elected president of WBS, stated that the opposite was true.
The cost of faithfulness
Miller explained that two distinctives have marked WBS since its inception in 1974: the doctrines of biblical inerrancy and scriptural holiness.
“Because of those two doctrines, I think we were marginalized by the UMC,” Miller told The Stand, “despite the fact that the UMC approved a number of schools that were non-Methodist and explicitly non-Christian.”
Miller noted that it would have been easy for WBS to soften its public stance on inerrancy and holiness in order to gain approval to educate future UMC clergy and leaders, while internally maintaining its convictions.
“But we never violated or moved against our theological standards,” he said, “and that is key to our identity as an institution.”
The reward for faithfulness
WBS’s commitment to faithfulness and its refusal to compromise positioned it to become the first of six seminaries approved to fulfill educational requirements for ordination candidates by the GMC.
Miller pointed out that the core biblical doctrines that prevented WBS from being approved by the UMC are the very ones at the heart of the GMC’s mission statement, which proclaims: “The GMC exists to make disciples of Jesus Christ and spread scriptural holiness across the globe.”
“Those two words – scriptural and holiness – kept us out of the UMC,” Miller said. “Now, they are the exact things that have set us up to serve the GMC. It’s a really beautiful moment for us at WBS.
“We were unwilling to settle and compromise for 50 years,” Miller continued. “And I believe that’s part of why we are thriving now.”
The importance of theological training
Dr. Scott Jones, a former bishop of the United Methodist Church (UMC), joined the transitional leadership council of the GMC shortly after its formation. He was tasked with assisting congregations that wanted to disaffiliate from the UMC, helping them get organized, choose leaders, and make the transition from their former denomination to the GMC.
Jones recently spoke with The Stand about the promising growth of the GMC and its future direction, as well as the role of WBS in training GMC clergy and leaders.
Currently serving eight conferences within the GMC, Jones said, “The growth has just been phenomenal.” He explained that most of the growth has been by transfer, meaning congregations leaving the UMC or other denominations to join the GMC. However, in addition, many GMC churches are experiencing “phenomenal evangelistic growth” as well.
“Evangelistic growth is really what we’re after,” Jones said. “When people change denominations, it’s not a net gain for the kingdom of God. Really, we are interested in leading congregations that are making disciples of people who don’t yet know Jesus.”
Jones emphasizes that educating and training future leaders are integral to bringing that about.
“One of the values of Methodist Christianity is that our clergy are expected to have an education,” Jones said. “We expect them to have studied the Bible, to have studied church history and theology, and to have prepared to be the best preachers possible.” Jones explained that this expectation led to the development of schools of theology and universities with Methodist roots dating back through the 19th century.
“Over the 20th century, however, many of those schools drifted and became more and more liberal and progressive,” Jones continued. “And that lack of orthodox teaching caused problems for our former denomination, the UMC.”
Jones said the GMC’s aim to avoid unorthodox teaching and liberal and progressive theology led to a small group of seminaries being approved to train its future leaders, with WBS being one.
“WBS has a long tradition of orthodox teaching and a focus on the authority of Scripture,” Jones said, “and we are grateful for the opportunity to be in partnership with them.”
WBS options
WBS offers various degree options but specifically provides two paths for those who feel called to prepare for future leadership roles in the GMC.“The GMC’s recommended path is the Master of Divinity (MDiv) degree,” Miller said. “But it also recognized the need for alternative educational pathways, so at WBS, we developed a program for both.”
WBS’s alternative route, or Global Methodist Church Course of Study, is a noncredit program that meets the GMC’s requirements for licensing and ordination.
“Oftentimes, pastors serving bi-vocationally or in rural areas simply don’t have the time or aren’t able to move away to attend seminary, but still want to meet their ordination requirements,” Miller said. “So, we developed our GMC Course of Study program for them.
“The Course of Study is essentially our basic curriculum and same opportunities, but offered in a pass/fail modality, and in a much more accessible format,” said Miller.
Commitment to remaining faithful
With the rapid growth of the GMC, coupled with WBS’s status as an approved institution for training GMC leaders, Miller is “incredibly encouraged” by what he is witnessing.
“It’s a sign of a fresh wave of the Spirit across the country,” Miller said. “It’s exciting to see orthodox Wesleyanism growing.”
Moreover, Miller believes the future is bright for WBS.
“As liberal seminaries continue to move in an even more liberal direction, they’ll eventually die out and become mere think tanks talking to themselves,” Miller said. “But those who are looking for the transformative message in the gospel will go to faithful seminaries like WBS.”
Despite his enthusiasm, Miller acknowledges the reality of the pervasive evil in the world and is committed to remaining faithful, regardless of the cost. “Even if being faithful means we go back to where we started – in a doublewide trailer on borrowed land with 12 students – we’ll do it,” Miller added. “That was faithful, and faithfulness was, and still is, more important than success.”
