[Article XII, continued from Page 1]

On motion, the following recommendations were approved:

• Each committee of the general conference may further consider the proposal and offer suggestions and concerns to the Theological Issues Ministry Committee.
• The proposed draft is approved in principle, which will allow for participation from the worldwide FMC as the referendum process continues.
• Members of the general conference may submit to the Board of Bishops proposals for amendments to the draft (until August 1, 2003).

The following recommendations were approved by acclamation:

• The Board of Bishops will appoint a task force from SCOD to confer with members of the Canadian SCOD in light of the input from the U.S. General Conference, and make any appropriate amendments to the proposal.
• The amended (or un-amended) draft will proceed to the World Conference for information, discussion and suggestions.
• The World Conference will discuss the proposal, which will have been distributed to world conference delegates shortly after GC 2003, and if there is consensus, they can vote to put the proposal to referendum directly as prescribed in the World Conference constitution. If there is not consensus, the World Conference input will come once again to the Canadian and FMCNA SCODs for review/amendment. That proposal will go to the FMCiC for action at their 2005 General Conference. If adopted, it would then proceed to worldwide referendum.

It was further recommended that Paragraphs A/300 and A/309 be referred to SCOD for review and possible amendment as part of its report to General Conference 2007.

The proposed draft (approved in principle) is as follows:
"Sanctification is that work of God whereby the Holy Spirit recreates His people after the likeness of God, changing them from one degree of glory to another, and conforming them to the image of Christ. As believers surrender to God and die to self, the Spirit fills them with love and purifies them from sin, through both moments of consecration and a process of growth.

"This sanctifying relationship with God remedies the divided mind, redirects the heart's affections to the love of God, and empowers believers to please God in their daily lives. Thus, God sets His people free to love Him with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love their neighbors as themselves."

Healthy Discussions Precedes Vote

Theological Issues Ministry Committee Chairman David Kendall

Prior to the vote, Theological Issues Ministry Committee Chairman David Kendall summed up the committee's recommendation for passage of the SCOD proposal in principle: "I believe with my whole heart in 'crisis' and 'process.' The Free Methodist Church has a major problem when it comes to sanctification in that our younger generation has failed to understand, buy into, embrace and share the passion for holiness as we've articulated it. I don't believe this is due to lack of education or explanation, but instead, the fact that the focus of our present article has dealt only with 'entire sanctification' and not the whole of God's sanctifying work.

"And, we've used non-mainline biblical terminology so that moving from Article XII to Scripture is difficult, if not impossible," Kendall added. "We believe that the new version of Article XII recommended to this general conference will allow believers to journey as the Spirit leads — uniquely and individually."

Wes King, denominational instructor in Wesleyan Theology

From the floor, Wes King, denominational instructor in Wesleyan Theology, presented his objections to the SCOD-proposed re-write of Article XII, stating that the proposed draft (change) overcompensates on the side of process/growth in sanctification and downplays the biblical role and importance of a believer being sanctified wholly (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24) in a moment of time (crisis), which frees the believer from a divided mind/heart and misdirected affections, and prepares him or her for more rapid growth in Christlikeness.

King said he welcomes the addition of the statement, "Sanctification is the work of God whereby the Holy Spirit recreates His people after the likeness of God, changing them from one degree of glory to another and conforming them to the image of Christ." But he sees no need to weaken our biblical understanding of the reality of a thorough and instantaneous cleansing of the inner nature from sin, which has been a part of historic Wesleyan teaching from the beginning and which we share as a common bond with other denominations in the holiness tradition.

King added that he believes that the broader picture of God's sanctifying work in a believer's life involves both crisis/event and process/growth and that this sanctifying relationship with God through the Holy Spirit is illustrated in the wedding/marriage analogy. The wedding is a once-for-all event that occurs at a definite time and place in which the bride and groom pledge their love and total commitment to each other for the rest of their lives. "The wedding is the gateway into an ongoing relationship of marriage in which their love for each other grows ever deeper and they become more and more like each other," he explained. "So it is with entire sanctification which initially involves death to self and sin, complete commitment (consecration) to the Lordship of Christ, purification of the heart by faith (Acts 15:8-9) and the infilling and empowerment of the Holy Spirit. This, too, is the gateway into the more abundant life that Christ came to provide, and into the life of perfect love for God and neighbor and the exciting journey of daily becoming more and more like Christ in our attitudes and actions."

The Process Continues
"The body affirmed the value and significance of the process by voting overwhelmingly (89 percent in favor) to affirm the direction indicated by the proposal," said Kendall. "Our hope is to encourage a more comprehensive understanding of God's sanctifying work in the believer's life, and that Free Methodists will embrace and embody a continuing process that will allow for additional input and possible amendment."