Orlena Global Methodist Church

05/30/2026

The Character of a Christian: An article by Ryan N. Danker (for Juicy Ecumenism)

“A Methodist is one who has ‘the love of God shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Ghost given unto him.’” -John Wesley

One of Wesley’s finest works is a short piece that he wrote in 1742 toward the beginning of the revival in Britain called “The Character of a Methodist.” ( https://pages.uoregon.edu/sshoemak/323/texts/Wesley%20Character.htm ) I remember reading this as a teenager and even at that time it struck me that he was simply describing a Christian.

While Wesley spends some time at the beginning of the work trying to define the term “Methodist,” the meat of the piece can be seen when Wesley argues that a Christian is one who not only professes the faith but practices the faith.

When he gets to the question “Who is a Methodist, according to your account?” he writes:

A Methodist is one who has ‘the love of God shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Ghost given unto him’; one who ‘loves the Lord his God with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his mind, and with all his strength’. God is the joy of his heart, and the desire of his soul, which is constantly crying out, ‘Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee!’ My God and my all! Thou art the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever!

A Methodist, according to Wesley, “is therefore happy in God” meaning that he has contentment and purpose. Everlasting life springs up within him “overflowing his soul with peace and joy” and “‘Perfect love’ having now ‘cast out fear’, he rejoices evermore.”

He “cannot but rejoice whenever he looks upon the state wherein he now is,” having received the benefits of Christ’s atoning work by faith.

And out of this peace and joy, he “prays without ceasing” with “true prayer, the lifting up the heart to God.”

This life is marked by love, described by Wesley using the words of 1 John 4:21, “he who loveth God, loves his brother also” and echoing Mark 12:33, “And he accordingly ‘loves his neighbour as himself’; he loves every man as his own soul. His heart is full of love to all mankind, to every child of ‘the Father of the spirits of all flesh.’”

Wesley’s description of a Methodist, or a Christian rather, is full of grace-fueled hope in the transforming work of God, both in our lives and then flowing into the lives of others. Such a life has Christ at its center. In fact, borrowing from a more contemporary source, we could say that the life of a Christian only makes sense by looking at the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

What a beautiful hope! And a hope that we can experience now.

Ryan N. Danker is director of the John Wesley Institute, Washington, DC. This is adapted from a weekly JWI newsletter that can be subscribed to here: https://nextmethodism.org/subscribe/

05/30/2026

The Christian Year helps us remember that time itself belongs to Christ.

The first half of the year tells the Work of Christ — His coming, incarnation, revealing, suffering, death, resurrection, and the sending of the Holy Spirit.

The second half of the year tells the Work of the People of God — how the Church grows, witnesses, makes disciples, and lives in hope as we await Christ’s return.

This is more than a calendar. It is the story we live by:

Christ has come.
Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ has sent His Spirit.
Christ will come again.

May we order our lives around Him.

05/29/2026

05/28/2026

Seen our little white church on Rt. 219 North of Elkins, WV?
We're a growing traditional Methodist community that's big on welcome!
• Rooted in Scripture
• Guided by faith
• Connected through community

Looking for a place to belong? You're always welcome here!

05/26/2026

This is unfortunate. It is spiritually dangerous. And I believe it is one of the main problems Christians face today.

Some churches have taken the broad way because the broad way is easier for us to agree with. It appeals to our sinful nature by telling us that God simply wants to bless our plans, affirm every desire, and help us chase every dream.

But that is not the Christ of Scripture. That is a false christ — one shaped by self-love, selfish ambition, and the desires of the age. That kind of christ does not call us to repentance. It does not cleanse us from sin. It does not make us holy. It simply baptizes our desires and leaves us unchanged.

But Jesus did not come to leave us unchanged.

God wants to shape us by His love, not by our love for ourselves. His love is greater. His love is holy. His love is the only love that can make us whole.

Jesus did not come to bless every plan we make for ourselves. He came to invite us into God’s plan for us — a plan of salvation, holiness, healing, surrender, and eternal life.

The true Christ does not flatter the self; He calls the self to surrender. He does not bless what is destroying us; He cleanses us so that He may live in us. He does not affirm every desire; He restores our desires so that we may love what is holy, good, and true.

Jesus said, “Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Me.”

That may sound hard in a world that teaches us to love ourselves above all things. But Jesus is not trying to take life from us. He is calling us home to the only life that can truly set us free.

God so loved the world that He sent His Son — not to leave us trapped in sin, confusion, fear, pride, and selfish ambition — but to save us, forgive us, restore us, and bring us back into the love and truth of God.

Before the beginning of creation, God was already love — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Triune God is not lonely, selfish, or divided. He is holy love, perfect truth, and eternal communion. And by grace, He invites us into that life.

Yes, His mercy is greater than our sin.
Yes, His grace is deeper than our failure.
Yes, His love reaches farther than we have wandered.

But His love also calls us to repent, to come home, to lay down what is destroying us, and to follow the One who gives real life.

Come hear the good news: you were not made to be ruled by sin, fear, or selfish ambition. You were made to be held by His perfect love, made whole by His grace, and brought home to God.

There is a Way! We'd Love to See you this Sunday

05/23/2026

"And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching." ~Hebrews 10:24-25

05/22/2026

There is a thirst in the human heart that the world cannot satisfy — a loneliness of the soul.

We can be surrounded by people and still feel like we are not truly known. We can stay busy and still feel empty. We can have responsibilities, conversations, family, work, and routines — and still wonder why something deep within us feels disconnected.

Jesus speaks to that thirst.

He says, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink.” He was speaking of the Holy Spirit — the Spirit God would pour into the hearts of His people.

This Sunday is Pentecost, the day Christians remember when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the followers of Jesus. Pentecost is a day to truly celebrate -- God has not left us alone. The Holy Spirit has come to live in us, to lead us, to comfort us, to strengthen us, and to send us into the world with the love of God.

The Spirit does not merely give us a feeling. The Spirit gives us what our hearts thirst for — a real relationship with God. The Spirit casts out all fear with perfect love. The Spirit joins us together in a blessed community as the Body of Christ. And the Spirit gives gifts so we can build up one another and help others shine and share.

Pentecost also asks something of us. Can we choose our own path and simply include God in it? Or is God calling us to something deeper — to be led by the Spirit, shaped by the love of God, and sent according to God’s will?

This Sunday, we’ll gather around the message:

“The Sweet Spirit”

If you are weary, come.
If you are thirsty, come.
If you feel alone, come.
If you are tired of trying to find your own way and simply asking God to bless it, come.

The Light has come into the world. The Spirit has been poured out. And God is still calling His people to love Him with heart, soul, mind, and strength — and to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Join us this Sunday as we celebrate Pentecost and seek the sweet Spirit of God who fills His Church for the work of love.

05/22/2026

Check out this interview. "People are not problems to be solved, but souls to be loved." -- I believe it speaks to much of what the Global Methodist's are called to do.

Jessica talks with Kyla Gillespie about her journey to be renewed and transformed from gender confusion, reassignment surgery, and detransitioning. https://kylagillespie.com/

05/15/2026

There are many things in the world that constantly try to pull our hearts away from Christ.
We often measure life by size, success, attention, comfort, approval, and influence. If something is bigger, louder, richer, or more popular, then it must be more important. And sadly, even the Church can begin to think that way.

But the Church does not become faithful by chasing size. The Church becomes faithful only by seeing Christ clearly. And when Christ is seen clearly, the Church becomes what it was always meant to be: a people of hope, a people of witness, a people of worship, a people walking with the saints until the King returns.

The world indeed offers many things, but it cannot give us the riches of His inheritance. It cannot open the eyes of our hearts. It cannot give us the hope to which we have been called. It cannot raise the dead, forgive sins, restore the soul, or seat Christ “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion.”

Some of us believe that death is our Savior. But, we are not waiting to die so that we can finally meet Jesus. Jesus is alive now. He reigns now. He is with us now. He gives hope now.

The Christian life is not an escape from the world because we are afraid of death. It is a journey through this world because we belong to the One who has conquered death.

We are sojourners with those of faith who are the saints. We walk with the faithful who have gone before us. We walk with those beside us now. We walk with opened minds and enlightened hearts, learning to love what Christ loves and let go of what the world keeps trying to sell us.

Jesus has gone into Heaven, but He has not abandoned His Church. He reigns. He intercedes. He sends His Spirit. And He will come again.

So the question is not, “Do we want a bigger church?”

The better question is: Do we want a faithful church?

A church that loves Christ more than the world.
A church that sees Him clearly.
A church that knows the hope of His calling.
A church that lives as His inheritance among the saints.
A church ready to worship, witness, and walk with Him until He returns.

Join us this Sunday as we consider “The Riches of His Inheritance” and the call to love Christ above all.