In July of 1968 when the United Missionary Church voted 96.3 percent in favor of merger and the Missionary Church Association voted 91.7 percent in favor of merger, no two men were happier then Rev. Tillman Habegger, president of the Missionary Church Association and Dr, Kenneth E. Geiger, General Superintendent of the United Missionary Church! Both leaders believed that this large majority vote clearly indicated it was the will of God to bring the two denominations together.1 In their exuberant hope for the future, they momentarily lost sight of the fact that God’s will is not determined by majority vote.
While the benefits touted for the merger included “more effective preaching of the Gospel, better coverage of the country with our message, and a greater effectiveness in administration”2 there was one underlying issue not publicly spoken that dually motivated these two good friends and leaders.
In a private conversation before his untimely death on July 20, 1984 in an automobile accident while enroute to the Nigerian Conference of the United Missionary Church of Africa, Dr. Geiger confided that a strong motivating factor for merger was the honest but mistaken belief of both men that the United Missionary Church was so soundly grounded in the doctrine of sanctification that it would succeed in drawing the Missionary Church Association back to its founding doctrinal position of 19053 i.e. “The enduement with the Holy Spirit as a definite crisis experience after the new birth, to guide us, to endue us for service, and to transform our life into Christ’s image, Jn. 16:13; Acts 1:8; 2Cor. 3:17,18.34
Given assurances that there were no significant theological differences, and that no core doctrines were at risk for either side of the new church family, those who had entered the ministry prior to merger, like frogs in a kettle, obediently fell in line, bought into the song of unity, never envisioning how quickly the new denomination would move away from its historic doctrinal moorings.
Indeed, as the twenty-fifth anniversary year approached Dr. Tim Erdel and Dr. Dennis Engbrecht in an article entitled: Marriage, Memory, and Mission: Reflections on the 25th Anniversary of the MCA/UMC Merger would write: “The Missionary Church has indeed forgotten much. We are no longer Anabaptists whose discipleship is expressed in the washing of feet and the willingness to suffer persecution rather than taking up the sword of self-preservation. We no longer shout in worship and linger night after night in protracted meetings like old-time Methodists. Healing and prophecy no longer take center stage at our church conferences. We no longer have a small army of socially active women in uniform, preaching in city missions, stalking streets and storming saloons, attacking the gates of hell with the gospel. The Wesleyan ideals of holy living and entire sanctification have for many been all but swept away by the incessant throbbing of pervasive secularism.”
How did we move so far away from our holiness heritage? I suggest at least two answers.
First, some of us remember that when we were candidates for ordination we were asked such questions as: a) Do you sense the urgency of Christians being entirely sanctified, and does your ministry result in the sanctification of believers? And b) If, after you have been ordained by the church, you find you cannot conform to the standards, doctrines and government of said church or wholeheartedly support the church and its institutions, will you voluntarily surrender your credentials and withdraw from the ministry without charges or trial?
Alas, many who now fill our pulpits either did not make that commitment or do not share that serious view of ordination. More than a few have maintained their credentials in the church long after they have ceased embracing its historic doctrines. Others gained credentials fully knowing that their core beliefs were not in harmony with the church but did so with a “wink and a nod” by both district and denominational officials whose quest to expand allowed doctrinal integrity to be either obscured or obliterated.
Second, though many of us accepted from our founders their doctrine of holiness, we did not catch their passion or embrace their conviction. When our old professors exhorted us to “preach holiness” at least once a month, we quietly dismissed their exhortations as being too legalistic and sought to preach more relevant, relational messages. We thought no one would notice, and tragically, they didn’t. Those of us who received the sixteen page, weekly denominational periodical called The Gospel Banner with its mast head that proclaimed “Holiness Unto the Lord” hardly blinked when we transitioned to less frequent issues, a less obtrusive identity, and less than an infrequent offering of articles addressing entire sanctification and heart purity. Little wonder the doctrine of holiness was reduced from being a conviction (i.e. a belief that is God ordered)5, to a preference, and finally to little more than an option.
Forty years have now passed since the UMC/MCA merger and the General Board of the Missionary Church now asks that we change our official position on Sanctification and the Filling with the Holy Spirit. They are recommending that we forsake our historic position that 1) “Sanctification is the will of God”; 2) that It is provided in the atonement”; 3) that sanctification is a “subsequent crisis experience” following repentance and regeneration; and 4) that a "believer is to be perfected in holiness."
We were frogs…are we still?
~ Bill McPhail
1Reflections, A Publication of the Missionary Church Historical Society, Summer 1993, Founding Issues of the Missionary Church, history of Merger Negotiations, Rev. Tillman Habegger, p.8 2 Ibid. p. 5 3Private conversation between Dr. Kenneth E. Geiger and Rev. Carlyle Wise as reported to Bill McPhail. 4 Reflections, op. cit. Founding Issues, The Missionary Church Association, Rev. Virgil Bixler, p. 19 5 See Let God Lead Us article by Dr. Dan Light entitled The Theology of the Supreme Court.
Note: They say that if you put a frog into a pot of boiling water, it will leap out right away to escape the danger. But, if you put a frog in a kettle that is filled with water that is cool and pleasant, and then you gradually heat the kettle until it starts boiling, the frog will not become aware of the threat until it is too late. The frog's survival instincts are geared towards detecting sudden changes
Constitutional Changes Recommended by General Board
Article IV.A.4.d. Salvation: Sanctification and Filling with the Holy Spirit
Current: d. Sanctification and Filling with the Holy Spirit. We believe that sanctification is the work of God in making people holy. It is the will of God. It is provided in the atonement, and is experienced through faith by the operation of the Holy Spirit through the Word and the blood. While the divine work of making people holy begins in repentance and regeneration, yet through a subsequent crisis experience the believer is to die to self, to be purified in heart, and to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that he may be separated wholly unto God to serve Him in righteousness and holiness. After the crisis experience, the believer is to be perfected in holiness in the fear of God and to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Ps. 4:3; John 17:17; Acts 15:8-9; Rom. 6:19 and 22, 12:1-2; 2 Cor. 7:1; Gal. 2:20, 6:14; Eph. 5:26; Col. 3:3, 1 Thess. 4:3, 5:23; 2 Thess. 2:13; Heb. 12:14; 1 Pet. 1:2 and 15-16; 2 Pet. 3:18; 1 John 5:6
Proposed: d. Sanctification and Filling with the Holy Spirit. While the divine work of making people holy begins at conversion, believers must surrender to the Holy Spirit’s sanctifying power in their lives as they battle the world, the flesh, and the Devil. Furthermore, through a decisive experience, believers are to deny self, be purified in heart, and be filled with the Holy Spirit that they may be separated wholly unto God to serve Him in righteousness and holiness. Their progressive growth in Christ-likeness will be accelerated and deepened through continually submitting to His Lordship in every aspect of life until they are called to heaven.
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