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From Dualism to Wholeness: A Spiritual Journey Through Many Traditions Toward Sacrament, Justice, and Love

The Curious PilgrimLeave a comment

Finding Unity in the Episcopal Church After a Lifetime of Seeking

My spiritual journey has never been a straight line. I began within the Free Will Baptist tradition, carrying with me the dualistic view of sacred and profane, and the heavy sense that humanity was broken and bound for judgment. Yet, as the years passed, my experiences, teachers, and encounters with different traditions began to weave together a richer tapestry of faith—one that ultimately led me to the Episcopal Church.

Learning That Life Is Relation

At Free Will Baptist Bible College, I sat under Professor Leroy Forlines, who wrote on Bible ethics and taught that life is essentially about relationships. He described four foundational ones: with God, with others, with ourselves, and with the universe. That idea—that life is relation—stuck with me. It gave me a framework that would shape how I interpreted every new encounter with spirituality.

Wesleyan Influence and the Methodist Way

After years in the Free Will Baptist Church, I had the opportunity to serve as a Church of the Nazarene pastor. Through that experience, I became acquainted with John Wesley. His teaching opened my eyes to a broader vision of Christian faith, one that emphasized holiness, grace, and practical living. Eventually, I found my way into the Methodist Church, where I discovered the Wesleyan Quadrilateral: truth is discerned through Scripture, Reason, Experience, and Tradition. This made so much sense to me—so different from the sola scriptura approach of the Free Will Baptist and Nazarene churches.

In 1997, I formally joined the United Methodist Church and went on to attend Memphis Theological Seminary. There, Dr. Barry Bryant, a Methodist professor, drilled into us the heart of the Gospel: love God and love your neighbor as yourself. From him I also learned the depth of sacrament and sacramentalism—seeing God’s grace in ordinary, tangible ways.

The Splitting of the UMC

In more recent years, I watched the United Methodist Church fracture over LGBTQ ordination. Many congregations left, and I felt the services lose some of the liturgical richness rooted in Anglican tradition. My heart longed for a worship that was more sacramental, more connected to the deep rhythms of Anglican and Catholic practice. I yearned for a place where my expanding spirituality—shaped by so many influences—could be fully lived.

Streams That Shaped Me

By this time, I had already been shaped by multiple streams of faith:

  • Native American spirituality taught me that everything is sacred and all life is interconnected.
  • Quaker spirituality taught me to listen for the Inner Light and to seek truth in silence and simplicity.
  • Progressive Christianity taught me that love and justice are the heart of the Gospel, and inclusivity is non-negotiable.
  • Taoism, through the teaching of Dr. Larry Campbell, showed me the wisdom of balance, harmony, and flow.

All of these formed within me a vision of faith that went beyond dogma—one that cherished relationship, inclusion, and sacrament.

Finding Home in the Episcopal Church

That longing found its home at St. James Episcopal Church in Springfield, Missouri. Here, I discovered a community where all the influences of my journey seemed to converge. The liturgy connects me to the ancient church, the sacraments bring depth and meaning, and the spirit of inclusion reflects the love I had discovered in Progressive Christianity. I can see the harmony of Native American spirituality, the silence and integrity of Quakerism, and the wisdom of Taoism alive in this community’s practices.

In Essence

I became an Episcopalian because it is the one place where all the streams of my journey flow together. It is where sacrament and justice meet, where ancient tradition embraces progressive inclusion, and where the beauty of worship reflects the sacredness of all creation. For me, the Episcopal Church is not just a denomination—it is the home where my faith, shaped by so many influences, has found its resting place.

A Scholarly Reflection on My Theological Progression

The Curious PilgrimLeave a comment

Introduction

Religious identity is never static; it evolves in conversation with scripture, tradition, personal experience, and the cultural context of one’s life. My own pilgrimage has carried me through three distinct traditions—Free Will Baptist, United Methodist, and Episcopal—each contributing to the shaping of my theological outlook. This progression illustrates a movement from a biblicist foundation, to a more holistic engagement of multiple sources of truth, to a sacramental and inclusive vision of the gospel.

Free Will Baptist Foundations

The Free Will Baptist tradition, in which I was nurtured and ordained, emphasizes sola scriptura—Scripture as the sole and sufficient authority in matters of faith. Its theology is Arminian, stressing human free will, the universal offer of salvation, and the possibility of apostasy. The ecclesial life of Free Will Baptists is marked by simplicity of worship, believer’s baptism by immersion, and a memorialist understanding of the Lord’s Supper.

This tradition provided me with a profound respect for Scripture and the importance of personal holiness. Yet its reliance on biblical literalism often curtailed theological inquiry and left limited space for the integration of broader human experience or historical tradition. My decades of ministry within this framework laid a firm foundation but also raised questions that could not be resolved within its narrow interpretive boundaries.

United Methodist Engagement

In 1997, I transitioned into the United Methodist Church, a move that corresponded to my growing appreciation for a more expansive theological method. The Wesleyan Quadrilateral—Scripture, tradition, reason, and experience—presented a more nuanced epistemology of faith. While Scripture retained primacy, Wesley’s framework acknowledged the essential role of history, rational reflection, and lived human experience in discerning God’s truth.

This broadened hermeneutic was complemented by the United Methodist commitment to both personal holiness and social holiness, balancing evangelical piety with social justice concerns. My studies at Memphis Theological Seminary (M.Div., 2003) reinforced this synthesis, exposing me to ecumenical theology and constructive dialogue with modern thought.

The United Methodist Church thus expanded my theological horizon, allowing me to embrace both the authority of Scripture and the legitimacy of critical reflection. Yet ongoing denominational tensions, particularly around human sexuality and inclusivity, left unresolved questions about the nature of the church as a fully hospitable community.

Episcopal Inclusivity and Sacramentality

In 2025, I formally entered the Episcopal Church, drawn by its sacramental depth and theological openness. The Anglican “three-legged stool” of Scripture, tradition, and reason offered a similar balance to Wesley’s Quadrilateral, yet with a stronger ecclesiological and sacramental grounding. Worship rooted in the Book of Common Prayer reoriented my spirituality toward liturgy and the Eucharist as the center of Christian life.

Perhaps most decisive was the Episcopal Church’s commitment to inclusivity, particularly in the ordination and affirmation of LGBT persons. This stance was not merely a social accommodation but a theological conviction: that the image of God is borne equally in all persons, and that baptism confers a full and irrevocable dignity. By embracing such inclusivity, the Episcopal Church embodied what I had come to believe about the wideness of God’s mercy and the radical hospitality of the gospel.

Conclusion

The progression from Free Will Baptist to United Methodist to Episcopal reflects a theological trajectory that mirrors broader currents in modern Christianity: from biblicism, to holistic hermeneutics, to inclusive sacramentality. Each step represented not a rejection of the previous tradition but an expansion of vision:

  • From a faith grounded in Scripture alone,
  • To a faith enriched by reason, tradition, and experience,
  • To a faith embodied in sacrament and radical inclusivity.

My journey underscores the truth that Christian identity is best understood as pilgrimage—ever faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ, yet always seeking deeper and wider expressions of God’s love in the world.