Background

To begin this series on my "theology," I think it's fair to tell a little of my denominational background. Today, I consider myself a "Wesleyan." I haven't always been a Wesleyan. In fact, I didn't really know what a Wesleyan was until a few years ago when I joined a Wesleyan Church in Wisconsin.

Growing up in northwest Iowa, I attended the local United Methodist Church through high school. When I went to college, I attended a Non-denominational church for a couple years as well as a local Baptist church for a few years. So, in a word, I guess you could say that I'm sort of a denominational "mut". Throughout the years of my life, I've never been a part of just one tradition.

And as I already mentioned, I now consider myself more firmly aligned with the Wesleyan denomination; however, in an interesting twist of theology, I attend a Reformed seminary. I have one foot in one tradition and the other foot in another. So, I'm at a point in my seminary education where I have to put words on paper as to what I believe theologically. And the purpose of these posts is to help sort out what I believe. Historically, Wesleyanism has been aligned with Arminianism. In my life, I've attended churches which also have been historically tied to some form of Arminianism. Are my beliefs today shaped by my background? Am I Arminian because I did not grow up in the Reformed tradition? So, what does it mean to be Arminian, theologically speaking? What does it mean, for that matter, to be Wesleyan? These are some of the questions that I must find a way to put in to words. These are the kinds of questions I'll do my best to address over the upcoming weeks and months. Up next...what is Arminianism? Stay tuned...