by Mary Lou Reece (happily, wife of Bishop Scott Jones)

What a grand adventure Scott Jones and I have been on! We have traveled around the world meeting with God’s people, most of whom belong in the fold of the Global Methodist Church. I have been privileged to witness many parts of this new movement that I already love. I call it a denomination for structural purposes only; I call it a movement because THAT is indeed what I’ve seen on the ground.  We have had the privilege to watch the budding of this movement, first in the United States and now around the world.  I’m sure Bishop Webb would testify to the same dynamics in the parts of the world for which he is responsible.  

I decided at this moment to weigh in, as a layperson with a bird’s eye view, on the discussion the exceedingly wise David Watson began, regarding our Mission Statement.  When I first read David’s article which calls for Scriptural Holiness to be a part of the mission statement, I was pleased!  In 1996, when the discussions were being held about trying to get a Mission Statement for our previous denomination into the Book of Discipline, my husband, Scott Jones, put into the first draft that started the conversation for Scriptural Holiness as the basis of that mission statement.  One of his friends said to the group, “Jones, not 10 people in the church understand what Scriptural Holiness is.”  So Scriptural Holiness was immediately nixed by that group.  Last fall, as we were traveling from conference to conference and I kept hearing Scriptural Holiness referred to, I said to Scott, “well at least in this new movement everybody knows what Scriptural Holiness is!”  So when David Watson proposed a change in our mission statement to include the emphasis on scriptural holiness, I thought, well, that makes sense, maybe I agree. 

However, after having been around the world, and dealing with language barriers and communication issues, I am going to weigh in to say I think we should leave it alone.  First, this mission statement has been fully embraced and is evident in all the communities around the world where we have been.  It’s already in the shared language and value. Second, who wants to argue about a mission statement? We are all about Jesus, everywhere and we want to be absolutely faithful to the Bible without question.  And finally, we are a group that is determined to make disciples of Jesus Christ who worship passionately, love extravagantly and witness boldly in the grand tradition of Scriptural Holiness. We are doing that in every place that I set foot!  We are, of course, doing it within the bounds of scripture, but a mission statement will need to translate easily and communicate well around the globe, for I now know we are truly a Global Church.  The Global movement loves this mission statement. I think that all too often Methodists have lost the ability to witness boldly, and I love that we say that explicitly in our mission statement.

One of the reasons I personally feel so confirmed in Scott’s and my decision to join this movement is that God is evident in these people, God is moving, and the Christian world is thankful.  Many Christian Communities around the world are applauding this Wesleyan movement of traditional Christian values that has sprung up and is spreading so rapidly with God’s grace. There are true Wesleyans everywhere who look to scripture for all things related to salvation and the mission statement as it is speaks to their desires for Scriptural Holiness and fire in the movement.

Thanks be to God!

Mary Lou Reece

Photo Credit

See also a May 2024 interview with Mary Lou on the Art of Holiness Podcast. This following biography is borrowed from that source: Mary Lou Reece has owned a successful construction company, raised three thriving kids, joined her husband in ministry, and then walked with him into the episcopacy when Scott Jones was consecrated Bishop in the United Methodist Church. They have since contended faithfully for orthodox Christianity both within and beyond their denomination. They now serve together in the Global Methodist Church and have recently returned from a nine-country tour of Methodists who are finding their way into the GMC.