Are the Bishops/Pastors/Ministers (not sure of the title) within the A.M.E. church, of the apostolic lineage? If so, then why is this necessary? Where can I find this in the Bible?

Also, with the word Methodist used in describing the A.M.E. church, is one to assume that a particular method is to be practiced to achieve a closer relationship (desired results) with God?

Shalom

-- Anonymous, January 06, 2004

Answers

You bet!\

-- Anonymous, January 06, 2004

The Doctrine of "Apostolic Succession" is largely one born of strife over the episcopacy and the special priesthood.

According to Methodist beliefs, The Priesthood is ONE, All Believers are Priests--both the ordained and unordained. This has its basis in several passages of Scripture such as Exodus 19: 6, I Peter 2: 9 and Revelation 1: 6.

In Methodist beliefs the term "Apostles" applies solely to those who had a personal and physical encounter with the Resurrected Christ and received a mission and dispensation from Him to establish His Church. In effect this means they saw Him following His Resurrection and talked to Him. Namely, these are The Twelve (which include Matthias, not Judas) and Paul.

While Methodist acknowledge that there is an uninterrupted succession of ministers which divine eye can trace to Apostolic times, it is erroneous to try and trace its orders back to them.

Finally, Methodists hold that:

"The Apostles had and could have no successors from the fact that their authority, indicated in two ways, was first to teach Christianity by word and writing, for which they had the gift of inspiration in a special sense; and secondly, to found the Church, for which they had special powers of the keys of binding and loosing, that is, of uttering unchangeable decrees of ecclesiastical government; that a succession of such men would not have been in harmony with the known will of Christ."

Thus, the teaching of "Apostolic Succession" in a Methodist Church is a breach of Methodist Doctrine and Discipline--an impeachable offense.

-- Anonymous, January 06, 2004