Alpena Free Methodist Church
AI summary — doctrinal positions on this page are inferred by AI from this church's own public statements and may be inaccurate.
Inherited from denomination
What The Wesleyan Church teaches
Positions bound by the denomination's confessional standards. This is what the tradition teaches; whether this specific congregation publicly holds each is a separate question — see Statements below.
Affirms
- Infant BaptismSTRONGWestminster XXVIII; Book of Concord SC IV; Council of Trent Session VII; Wesleyan Articles Art. XVII
- Marriage as one man and one womanSTRONGGenesis 2:24; Matthew 19:4–6; historic universal Christian teaching.
- Permissibility of divorce and remarriagestandardMatthew 19:9 (adultery ground); 1 Corinthians 7:15 (abandonment ground). Practice varies.
- Women in pastoral / ordained officestandardVarious denominational actions (TEC 1976, ELCA 1970s, PC(USA) 1956, AG 1935, CofE 1994 priests / 2014 bishops, etc.)
Denies
- Apostolic SuccessionstandardCongregational and presbyterian polity reject the necessity of tactile episcopal succession.
- Assumption of MarystandardUniversal Protestant rejection — not attested in Scripture; not received as dogma.
- Homosexual practice and biblical sexual ethicsSTRONGRomans 1:26–27; 1 Corinthians 6:9–10; historic universal Christian teaching.
- Immaculate ConceptionSTRONGUniversal Protestant + Orthodox rejection. Orthodox reject on the grounds that they hold prepurification at the Annunciation, not conception.
- Perpetual Virginity of MarystandardNatural reading of Matthew 13:55–56 (brothers of Jesus); typical modern Baptist / evangelical position.
- Real PresencestandardMemorialist / Zwinglian view; typical Baptist and Free Church position
- TransubstantiationSTRONGOrthodox reject the Aristotelian metaphysics; Lutherans use 'sacramental union'; 39 Articles Art. XXVIII rejects explicitly; Reformed/Baptist reject substance-change.
Wrestles with
- Believer's BaptismstandardPaedobaptist bodies practice adult baptism on credible profession where infant baptism was omitted, but do not consider it normative.
- Pacifism vs. just-warweakDefault just-war framework — usually unwritten. Inheriting at weak confidence.
In their own words
Statements
about_us
<!DOCTYPE html> About Us | Alpena FMC top of page Advent Joy: The Gift of God's Son Pastor Rich George 00:00 The Kingdom of Me or the Kingdom of God Pastor Rich George 00:00 Home About Us Blog Events Missions Sermon Serve Visit Us More Use tab to navigate through the menu items. About us MISSION: To love God, love people and make disciples. VISION: To bring wholeness to the world through healthy biblical communities of holy people multiplying disciples, leaders, groups and churches. Everything excellent. That’s the way it was once, in the beginning. Nothing broken. Source ↗
about
--> About Us | Alpena FMC top of page Advent Joy: The Gift of God's Son Pastor Rich George 00:00 The Kingdom of Me or the Kingdom of God Pastor Rich George 00:00 Home About Us Blog Events Missions Sermon Serve Visit Us More Use tab to navigate through the menu items. About us MISSION: To love God, love people and make disciples. VISION: To bring wholeness to the world through healthy biblical communities of holy people multiplying disciples, leaders, groups and churches. Everything excellent. That’s the way it was once, in the beginning. Nothing broken. Right now, God is workiSource ↗
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