Smith 1

Jacob Smith

ENC 2135

Eleanor Boudreau

September 25th

Project 1: Investigative Field Essay

The way Christian communicate their ideas varies, a lot. Everyone interprets the Bible

differently, and people with similar interpretations generally come together to form a church. To

simplify this idea of discussing how Christians communicate their ideas I will take on the

viewpoint of a United Methodist Christian, a denomination I already associate myself with.

Taking on a viewpoint of a specific denomination of Christianity helps explain how I can better

teach myself to communicate within a field Im interested in. Through my research I hope to

create a sense that other denominations and their stances matter as well. What makes the United

Methodist denomination unique is how they make sure to enforce a system that relies on taking

time to evaluate past decisions to acknowledge the good done and mistakes made and how to

move forward from that. In this investigative essay, I will explore how scholars, specifically in

the Methodist church, are able to communicate their ideas and opinions to other clergy and

members of the Christian faith. I will not however focus on how scholars or clergy preach to

people about faith, instead highlight how Christians work to further their knowledge of theology

and other aspects of their faith. Im still unsure on what I want to pursue in life, but I know I

have faith in God and my work in life will work through him, so learning about the hiccups in

Christian history and how to explain and defend my faith is an important tool. If I am working

as a clergy later on in life than its great to know how to preach to an audience about faith and
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how we can learn from Christian history or current events to enable ourselves with the

knowledge to make a decision that is derived from Christs love and not our own selfish benefits.

As a pastors son Ive always been involved in the Methodist church. Ive been through

points in my life that I forget about my faith, and Ive had some incredibly moving experiences

that strengthen my faith. Today I understand that my faith is something that I constantly need to

work on to deepen, as my dad would say, Faith is a journey, not a destination. This research

gives me the opportunity to make an active step in exploring different ways I can involve myself

as a member of society as a Methodist. Whether I choose after my four years at Florida State to

pursue further education through the Methodist church or not, I want to say that I explored that

option and I have given myself the ability to show my faith in Christ through anything I do. All

sides of my family has been rooted in the Methodist faith as far back as we can find, and Im

very proud to admit that. I know, because Ive witnessed it through many influential people in

my life that, that the Methodist church works to be a positive influence in the life of as many

people as they can reach. William Winters who helped found a Methodist hospital in Houston

writes in his poem about that hospitals history, A few wise heads then foresaw a new need.

And decided they should take the lead (Lines 31-32). Through the research Ive done, my

viewpoint on the Methodist church has been strengthened. While the church has made their

mistakes in the past, they are constantly working to evaluate the past and move forward to make

decisions that highlight the love of Christ. I learned more about that evaluation the Methodist

church does through Woodie Whites Methodist review, "The United Methodist Church at 40:

How Have We Done?. Through other readings, Ive also acknowledged that Christians have

made many mistakes in the past in the way we choose to share our faith with others, and that is
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one thing I want to cover in the essay so I can explain to the reader and as well myself why it is

okay to move forward with a religion that has created some serious hatred and pain in this world.

To begin my research I started by searching for articles and published works that cover

how Christians are evaluating the past and using those evaluations to justify their actions, or

using those evaluations to enact change within their current strategies of showing love to this

growing world. In my research I made sure to focus on specific publishings by the Methodist

church, Methodist clergy, or about the Methodist Church. All of my research way by clergy, a

group of clergy, or a qualified individual working with a University of some sort. This was done

to ensure that the works I studied were as unbiased as you can get under the religious spectrum.

Neil Darragh, a Catholic theologian, writes, It is not primarily an argument for more theology

students in academic institutions. It is an argument for transparency in theological methodology.

(Darragh 392). Darragh explains that its important for theologians to be very clear in their

statements and whether or not it is the authors opinion, the churchs opinion, or a statement not

meant to take a side. I tried to find this type of work in my research so that I dont get confused

by the readings. I found what people are talking about in todays Christianity by looking up

certain denominations stances on current events. With this strategy I found a lot on what clergy

are focused on and I found that Methodist clergy are quick to evaluate past events and the

decisions made to make the best possible position on a polarizing topic. As well, the Pope is the

leader of the Christian faith whether you are Catholic or not, so I was able to use the issues he

focuses on to determine what clergy are focused on debating.

Finding people to interview to discuss these polarizing issues wasnt hard at all for me.

Being a pastors son I grew up around a lot of people that put themselves through Divinity

School to give themselves a higher education on Methodist theology. Since I still debating on
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what I want to major in and do after I graduate, I decided to interview an FSU religion major,

Trace Rudolph. Trace is a person I grew up with and currently amazes me with his love for

exploring his faith. Im interviewed him so I can see what he is focusing his studies on to

observe what that would be like. As well I interviewed a current graduate of Duke Divinity

School to learn what they are teaching as todays important issues and how they are discussing

them. Lastly I interviewed a FSU religion professor so I am able to learn about what I would be

focusing my studies on if I majored in Religion here at FSU.

Works Cited
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Darragh, Neil. "Doing Theology in Public: An Engagement with Economic Rationalism."

International Journal of Public Theology, vol. 4, no. 4, Oct. 2010, pp. 391-409.

EBSCOhost, doi:10.1163/156973210X526373.

Winters Jr., William L. "The Methodist Debakey Heart & Vascular Center a Poetic History

(Abridged)." Methodist Debakey Cardiovascular Journal, vol. 13, no. 1, Jan. 2017, pp.

42-44. EBSCOhost,