A Connexion of Friends

by Ruth Gee.

In the fourth gospel we read that Jesus called his disciples friends (John 15:12-17).

In a report to the Methodist Conference we read, “In its eighteenth-century usage, ‘connexion’ referred both to the circle of those connected to some person or group and to the relationship itself.”[1]

In this short piece, I suggest that connexionalism can be viewed through the lens of the call to be friends of Jesus and of one another. I further suggest that, when viewed in this way, the distinctive Methodist understanding and outworking of Connexionalism predisposes and commits the Methodist Church to ecumenism.

The argument cannot be fully developed in this space, and in any case it is a work in progress. What I offer here is an outline and I would love to receive comments on it as such.

Much has been written about the nature of friendship from the earliest poets and philosophers to contemporary theologians, philosophers, poets and others. Among these, Thomas Aquinas, responding to Aristotle and others, argues that friendship is possible between those who are not equal in authority when it is rooted in God and routed through God. It is by grace that we are called to be friends of God through Christ, as friends of God we are friends of one another. Such friendship, rooted in God’s grace allows for disagreement between friends because, even where their understanding of the will of God differs, they accept each other as friends of God.[2]

Jesus calls the disciples friends and goes on to say, “I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.” (John 15:15) They are Jesus’ friends because they are invited into a relationship with him that enables them to glimpse and to participate in the relationship of Jesus with the Father. This call into friendship is a call into deep knowledge and mutuality, it is a call to share a common vision and to respect one another, even to be prepared to lay down one’s life for the other. Such friendship is transformative. 

Elizabeth Stuart powerfully describes the transformative effect of friendship. “When two bits of clay meet they impress their image on each other, each is changed, their encounter remains with them for ever.”[3] Stuart refers to the importance of the word, menein, in the fourth gospel, meaning to abide. Abiding describes the relationship of Jesus with the Father and of the disciples with Jesus. Abiding is a mutual encounter which transforms relationships and behaviour, this, says Stuart, is the language of befriending which is “the forming of mutual, equal, loving, accepting and transforming relationships.”[4]

In his commentary on the fourth gospel, David Ford points to the importance of the friends of Jesus sharing his knowledge of God and being known by name:

“…how Jesus knows his friends, and potentially all for whom he lays down his life, is that his friends can trust in being known by name by Jesus; being loved wisely, with joy and delight; being understood completely; and having their wholehearted response desired so that there can be complete mutuality, as between Jesus and his Father; and more.”[5]

On the basis of this very brief consideration of the friendship into which we are called by Jesus, we might describe such friendship as participation in mutual and abiding love which is always grounded in and springs from the love of God. Such friendship exists within and extends from the trinitarian relationship and we are invited to participate in it through the prevenient grace of God.

In The Gift of Connexionalism in the 21^st century it is noted both that in Called to Love and Praise[6], the essence of connexionalism is defined in terms of belonging, mutuality and interdependence, and that this understanding is grounded in the New Testament.[7] The references to texts in the New Testament focus on the image of the body of Christ but do not include the Johannine text in which Jesus calls his disciples friends in the context of the recurring themes in the gospel of abiding and of knowledge of God. I believe the Johannine texts are also important and persuasive.

The Gift of Connexionalism in the 21^st century argues convincingly for the continuing value of Connexionalism in the life of the Methodist Church, challenging us to recognise our interdependence, the value of belonging and increasing our connection with other people and with the world. These broader connections must surely include our ecumenical relationships (although this is not explicit in the report).

An understanding of friendship as described above, involving mutuality, understanding, respect and transformation, which is rooted in and routed through God, thus allowing for disagreement, is surely lived out in connexionalism.

One final but important point. Such friendship is not exclusive because it is rooted in the love of God which is inclusive. Ecumenism is rooted in the understanding that God’s love is inclusive and that we are called to love one another. This mutual love must include recognition of belonging, mutuality and interdependence, the three key characteristics of Connexionalism.

Is it too much to suggest that the ethos of the Methodist Church as connexional should predispose us to be ecumenical?

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[1] The Gift of Connexionalism in the 21^st century (Methodist Conference 2017) §1

[2] Here I am grateful to Gabrielle Thomas and her references to the thought of Aquinas in ” ‘Mutual Flourishing’ in the Church of England, Learning from St Thomas Aquinas”, ecclesiology 15 (2019) 302-321

[3] Stuart, Elizabeth. Just Good Friends : Towards a Lesbian and Gay Theology of Relationships. London: Mowbray, 1995. p169

[4] ibid. 168

[5] Ford, David F. The Gospel of John. A theological commentary. Baker academic, 2021. 209

[6] Called to Love and Praise. The Nature of the Christian Church in Methodist Experience and Practice (Methodist Conference, 1999)

[7] The Gift of Connexionalism in the 21^st century (Methodist Conference 2017) §5