WESM610

Focuses on two concerns. The first enables the student to understand the nature, mission, and functioning of the United Methodist Church as the institutional expression of its historical development and theological assumptions, to affirm and explore the institutional structures as viable instruments for ministry, to understand the nature of authority and power as they relate to the United Methodist structure, and to contribute to the process of change in the church structure. Also, students will have the opportunity to study the origins of the United Methodist doctrinal heritage in the theology of John Wesley, Philip Otterbein, and Jacob Albright; the development of that heritage in the Methodist, Evangelical, and United Brethren families of churches; and the distinctive marks of that heritage.