David Donnan

As to be expected in the launch of a new denominations there is a substantial amount of information. In an effort to add value to your journey I have organized resources I know about on this website. Some of these are official Global Methodist Documents or resources. For those I tried to make that clear.

Important Documents

The Transitional book of Doctrine and Discipline of the Global Methodist Church

• The Transitional Book of Doctrine of the Global Methodist Church is the foundational document of the Global Methodist Church. There is an online PDF version of it HERE. I am not sure of any way to access a printed copy besides printing it for yourself.
• I suggest for pastors and church leaders to read it in its entirety. I suggest for church members to read at least the first twenty-one pages.
• I wrote a blog post about the document here: Ratification of the Doctrine and Discipline of the Global Methodist Church

The Global Methodist Church Catechism

• What is a Catechism? From the intro of the booklet: “A catechism is an educative and regulative formulation of church doctrine. It provides both a pedagogical tool for initiation into the full life of the church and a formal expression of the essential teachings that the church expects its members to understand and believe. Therefore, the learning of the catechism should be viewed, along with baptism and the profession of faith, as a necessary step in approving Christians for membership in the church body.”
• The catechism is a set of question and answers over the basics of the Christian faith with a Wesleyan emphasis.
• You can view the document HERE or order booklets HERE.
• We plan on using these booklets for our confirmation class.

Unofficial Documents of Note

• The Next Methodism: Theological, Social, and Missional Foundations for Global Methodism is a collaboration of essays about the hopes for the future of traditional Methodism. This book helped me fall in love with essay books after not being much of a fan of them. Authors are traditional Wesleyan Christian but not all are Global Methodist.
• Multiplying Methodism: A Bold Witness of Wesleyan Faith at the Dawn of the Global Methodist Church is a book by Rev. Dr. Jeff Greenway and Bishop Mike Lowery. It is a helpful resource about the hopes of the Global Methodist Church.
• The Faith Once Delivered: A Wesleyan Witness is a document by sixty-four Wesleyan scholars that Christianity Today described as an attempt to “define orthodox Wesleyanism, and ground more Christians in the story of sanctification and restoration through grace.”
• Our Great Redeemer’s Praise boasts to be the first major Wesleyan Hymnal in over 30 years. This is a great resource for churches looking for new hymnals. I have found their communion liturgy’s helpful.
• What is Pastor Parish relations in the Global Methodist Church? An abbreviated guide by myself.

Liturgy

There are not any official Global Methodist Liturgies I have got my hands on. Here are some helpful unofficial liturgies.

• Litany of New Beginnings – Renewal of Baptism and Membership by Rev. Tesia Mallory. Great for first Sunday in the Global Methodist Church
• An Order for Recognition of Ordination and Celebration of an Appointment in the Global Methodist Church by David Donnan
• Presentations of Stoles Liturgy by David Donnan
• The Standard Communion Liturgy for Asbury Theological Seminary Chapel. A beautiful communion liturgy. I am not sure who wrote this. Please leave a comment if you know.

Websites

The official website of the Global Methodist Church is: https://globalmethodist.org/

Other Websites for traditional Methodist:

• Wake Up Call – Free daily devotional by Seedbed Publishing
• Firebrand Magazine – Academic Wesleyan Articles
• Good News – Articles about tradtional Methodism
• Chris Ritter’s Blog – A much more detailed list of all things Methodist as well as articles by Chris.
• David Donnan’s Blog (That’s Me!)
  • My section on the future of Methodism: HERE
• Carolyn Moore’ Blog
• Tim Tennent’s Blog
• The Institute of Religion and Democracy Blog

Social Media

• Global Methodist Church Facebook Page
• Friends of GMC Facebook page is absolutely not a global Methodist Church Official account. This means some of the content is not endorsed by the GMC. However, it can be a helpful place to have some questions answered.

Podcasts

I have not found an official audio podcast for the Global Methodist Church. The best I have to offer are these excellent traditional Wesleyan podcasts.

• Firebrand Podcast
• The Podechesis Podcast
• David Donnan Podcast
• Art of Holiness Podcast
• Holy Conversations Podcast

Videos

The Thursday Night Live Show is interviews with leaders in the Global Methodist Church. Rev. Dr. Sterling Allen has done an amazing job working hard to make this an excellent resource. Check it out on Youtube and Facebook.

Seminaries and Course of Study

While the Global Methodist Church does not have their own seminaries they do have recommended educational institutions.

• Asbury Theological Seminary (Wilmore, KY)
• Ashland Theological Seminary (Ashland, OH)
• Beeson Divinity School at Samford University (Birmingham, AL)
• Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University (Waco, TX)
• United Theological Seminary (Dayton, OH)
• Wesley Biblical Seminary (Ridgeland, MS)

Course of study is an alternative path of study for individuals pursuing ministry. Approved programs for course of study are:

• Truett Theological Seminary (Waco, TX)
• United Theological Seminary (Dayton, OH). I do not see where it is designated as approved by the Global Methodist Church but I believe it is. They do have a course of study program.
• Wesley Biblical Seminary (Ridgeland, MS)

Final Advice

Ok, so where should I start? I think maybe the worse thing to do is try to consume all of this content at once. I would probably start with the Transitional Book of Doctrine and Discipline’s first 21 pages. Then I would watch a couple of Thursday Night Live Episodes that interested me. Then after that it is a choose your own adventure.

More From David

• The Future of Methodism
• The David Donnan Podcast
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