Denominational discernment has raised many questions regarding the identity, calling and mission of The Woodlands Methodist Church. In many ways, the process has stirred a new state of awakening — a collective realization of the future opportunities we have for ministry as Christians, as Methodists and as a church in the 21st century.

What’s in a name? Our names convey not only a sense of identity, but of heritage and distinctiveness. As a community member of The Woodlands Methodist Church, you have likely spoken and written our church’s name countless times. But I wonder how many of us have paused to reflect on what it means to be a Methodist, how that name defines our church and why it even matters.

As traditionalists look to other conservative expressions of Methodism, there is a desire to retain the classic Wesleyan model of congregational connectionalism — that is, moving together in the direction of growth and renewal not as individual churches, but as a network of churches that are theologically and socially aligned.