Do I have to believe all the beliefs in Methodism to be a Methodist?
You do not have to agree with all of the beliefs and positions of The United Methodist Church to be a United Methodist. However, you do need to agree upon some of the central issues of Christian faith. The founder of Methodist movement, John Wesley, preached a sermon titled, Catholic Spirit, in which he addresses this question. He asserts that if believers are of one mind about a few things, there is room for disagreement in others. Beliefs that are to be held in common include:
Belief in Jesus Christ, his life, death and resurrection.
Love of God with heart, soul, mind and strength
Desire to do God’s will
Service to others out as a result of one’s love of God.
Love of one’s neighbor as oneself.
One of the hallmarks of being a United Methodist is that we seek the good on both sides of any number of issues that face the church and world today. United Methodists are of one mind about the above list and hold in tension those more trivial idea about which there are disagreement.