Top Ten Things I Like about the Wesleyan Church

I know I said I'd probably post these sorts of things on Facebook, but because I'm busy vacationing (and working on vacation ;-) this quick post came to mind.  I will not be posting a follow-up on the top ten things that frustrate me ;-)  These are not in any particular order.

1. Joanne Lyon - here's a leader that understands the mission of the church and is a good lateral thinker (as opposed to letting procedure and structure trump objectives and purpose)
2. Empowerment of the laity (in our decisions, an equal number of lay and ministerial represent the church; we have a small top -- a nice mid-point between a powerful hierarchy and completely local power)
3. Balance in worship (you can do it late 1900s, you can do it 21st century, you can do it liturgical)
4. Not ideologically rigid (on the things that are outside the creeds - a lot of freedom when it comes to things like baptism and communion)
5. Women in ministry, Empowerment of minorities (we are reclaiming our heritage as one of the first churches to ordain women, we have an incredibly strong Hispanic church network and are expanding in these areas--we're doing it with the right heart rather than with bullying)
6. Arminian - the only coherent version of Christianity ;-)
7. Innovative - we have a host of pastors and educators that make me smile all the time with their creativity
8. Lets its scholars be scholars - As long as your heart is in the right place, the WC pretty much lets its experts do their thing without the Salem Witch Trials of other churches
9. Crazy Church Planters - the fever to start new churches is going gang-busters right now
10. Headed in the right direction - Let's face it, a lot of the last century we were in the Dark Ages as a denomination, full of legalism, a vastly uneducated denomination with almost no competent biblical experts, theologians, worship experts, etc (in the 80s when I was at seminary, it seemed like half the Wesleyans there were thinking of jumping ship), we sat on our hands during civil rights and then pursued some of the more shallow versions of the church growth movement in the decades that followed.  Now we are missional, have started a seminary, and are finding lots and lots of ministers from other denominations come our way because our spirit is attractive.  No promise for the future, but right now it's looking good.