A Wesley Anglican: Navigating Faithfulness and Schism Online
Father Dan Hixon isn’t new to online ministry and evangelism. He began by publicly exploring the big ideas surrounding questions of “catholicity” and Christian living. His profile rose significantly after he created a YouTube video aimed at helping his Methodist congregation navigate the considerable divide within the United Methodist Church at that time.
Now, alongside his ministerial responsibilities, Father Hixon produces videos on a wide range of subjects, consistently reflecting his deep appreciation for both John Wesley’s teachings and the Anglican tradition. Notably, Wesley, who founded the Methodist movement, was an ordained Anglican priest. Father Hixon has elaborated extensively on the substantial connections between these two traditions on his YouTube channel.
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In many ways, Father Hixon’s journey illustrates his theological beliefs. Until recently, he led a Methodist congregation that had also separated from the UMC, but he is now an Anglican priest ordained in the ACNA. However, we should not rush ahead in this narrative. During a recent video call, Father Hixon shared the unique journey his life in Christ has taken.
A Winding Path to Ministry
Father Hixon’s journey into ministry and his exploration of liturgical traditions involved several twists and turns. He was initially raised in the UMC and confirmed as a Methodist around age 10 or 11 while also attending Catholic school during his elementary years. Later, however, Hixon’s family stopped attending the Methodist church. They began attending and eventually joined a Baptist church in North Louisiana, which required him to be baptized a second time.
During his first two years of college, Hixon started gravitating back towards “more liturgical expressions of Christianity.” He attended St. Alban’s Chapel, an Episcopal chapel on campus, and later the First Methodist Church in Baton Rouge, which he described as “a little more high-ish” as Methodists go. He transferred his membership back to the UMC from his childhood church, which had never bothered to remove him from the membership roll.
C.S. Lewis‘s writings and a deep engagement with the Eucharist encouraged this traditional turn. The intellectual and spiritual tension between Hixon’s growing convictions and his experiences in Baptist churches prompted him to explore other traditions, which “opened the door for me to really come back into a liturgical sacramental tradition and embrace it.”
A Call to Ministry
The call to ordained ministry solidified later. He was very active in campus ministries, including both the Episcopal and Baptist ministries at LSU, and someone suggested he might pursue ordination. His initial reaction was that he wasn’t the type—the expectation for pastors in Baptist churches was a “big flashy personality” and Hixon really couldn’t see himself in that role.
A turning point came during a retreat with St. Alban’s Episcopal campus ministry. Getting to know Father Patrick Smith better and having conversations with him allowed Father Hixon to see a different ministry model, one he could envision himself doing. He viewed this retreat as a “big turning point.” Father Hixon feels that having a “personified version” or an “embodied… incarnational experience” of what the vocation could look like was significant for him in beginning to visualize a future for himself in ordained ministry. He later applied to a seminary, viewing acceptance and a full scholarship as confirmation of the call.
Navigating Wesleyan Anglicanism and the UMC Split
Father Hixon’s blogging began during seminary (2004-2007) as a way to process questions about catholicity, ordination, and becoming a “Prayer Book Christian.” At that time, the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) did not exist. He considered ordination through the Episcopal Church but opted against it as issues within the denomination were “exploding.” He felt the UMC seemed “a lot healthier” then. Hixon believed he could retain many “treasures” from Anglicanism by choosing the UMC route.
The UMC Split
However, Hixon notes that the UMC was about “20 years behind” the Episcopal Church in sustaining liberalizing trends that would eventually lead to its split. The crisis began in 2016 when the Western Jurisdiction elected and consecrated a lesbian bishop, viewed by the orthodox as against church law. A special session of the General Conference in 2019 attempted to resolve the crisis by reaffirming traditional teaching and strengthening discipline for violating church law.
Within this context, a provision added in 2019 allowed churches to leave and keep their property. Seeing the likely progressive majority at the next General Conference, many evangelical and traditional-minded leaders and congregations began to leave. It was then that Father Hixon created and published his most viewed video today (“The UMC Split as I see it”), in an attempt to explain to his congregation and others what had led to this moment.
Leaving the UMC
By the time Father Hixon knew he was leaving the UMC, the ACNA had been established, and he already had a few friends in the denomination. That being so, the ACNA seemed the “obvious place to go knocking at the door.”
With such a diverse background, Father Hixon doesn’t fit “neatly into any boxes.” He identifies as “evangelical and a Wesleyan” theologically, but is “very comfortable with more elaborate vestments or incense.” Hixon sees himself as a Protestant but values Catholicity. He hopes that not fitting into “usual warring factions” is healthy and appreciates Anglicanism’s breadth in accommodating diverse perspectives.
Institutions and Reconquista
Two major themes in Father Hixon’s story are the presence of an Episcopal chapel when needed and his break from the liberal United Methodist Church. It occurred to me that these two themes—the usefulness of institutional strength and the trend of orthodox Christians to abandon the liberalizing mainlines—are at the core of a critique popularly held by the Operation Reconquista movement. Operation Reconquista holds that conservatives should reclaim the mainlines rather than flee and let go of valuable “goodies” too easily. Hixon agrees that institutions built over centuries can be influential forces for good and hopes to preserve some institutional treasures.
However, he finds the Reconquista view possibly “uninformed or even naïve” regarding the long-term renewal efforts within the UMC that started in the 1970s, which involved significant funding and planning from key leaders. Despite a conservative majority, the extensive effort to liberalize the denomination succeeded. For Hixon, continuing this fight indefinitely became unfeasible, as those resources could have created a new UMC without baggage. He believes ACNA should prioritize building new institutions and hopes to see the development of “gothic cathedrals or amazing colleges” when leadership and resources materialize, believing it “will come.”
Wesleyan Institution Building
He contrasts this institution-building with John Wesley’s impulse, which he sees as prioritizing meeting needs and planting new communities rapidly (“I see a need. Let’s go do it.”). While Wesley sometimes bent canonical rules, this “impulse toward church planting and let’s just start some new things” is something Father Hixon sees as “definitely part of the ACNA’s DNA right now.”
Online Ministry: Past, Present, and Future
Father Hixon’s YouTube channel has become a space for exploring themes and sharing his journey to bless others. He started it in 2019, just before COVID-19, which allowed him to use it as the primary interface with his congregation for several weeks. This jump-started his productivity, initially focusing on helpful books and thinkers.
Hixon’s audience has shifted over time. While early videos, especially during COVID, were primarily aimed at his congregation, most of his current audience consists of people he’s never met.
Father Hixon mentions that the feedback he receives on his videos is varied, but mostly positive. Many comments come from people on a similar journey, “kind of Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail.” He also gets inquiries about Wesleyan theology. Occasionally, he receives comments trying to proselytize him towards Rome or Orthodoxy. He notes he doesn’t get much negative feedback from progressives (who likely aren’t watching his videos). Father Hixon has observed that online forums, even in the ACNA, can foster contentious behavior, though he finds ACNA forums “not quite as bad” as those of the UMC. I must admit my own heart was “strangely warmed” by this revelation!
Showcase
Why, as a Methodist, I’m going Anglican
Father Hixon explains his reasons for seeking ordination in the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) after leaving the United Methodist Church (UMC). His motivations include a strong desire for Christian unity, viewing this transition as a way to “help repair one of these tears” in the Church’s fabric by returning to Methodism’s original Anglican roots, in line with John Wesley’s vision. He finds the ACNA’s “Biblical Evangelistic vision” exciting and growth-oriented, driven by a personal sense of God’s leading. He feels that he has been “shaping and preparing me for this since, like, I was a kid.”
Notre Dame and the “Quiet Revival”
Father Hixon examines Notre Dame Cathedral’s 2019 fire and restoration as a “symbol or even an icon of the spiritual state of Western civilization.” He suggests that the fire during Holy Week represented the decline of Christianity in the West, marking the collapse of the cross. Yet, its restoration, built back “exactly as it had been,” signifies a “quiet revival” of Christianity today.
Prayer Book History and my collection
This video explores the history of the Book of Common Prayer (BCP) as Father Hixon highlights his collection. He details key editions, including the 1662 BCP, the “gold standard” and official Prayer Book of the Church of England, and discusses John Wesley’s conservative revisions for American Methodists. The video concludes with the ACNA’s 2019 BCP, which he praises for balancing new liturgical scholarship with older traditions.
The Beauty of Holiness (Sermon)
In this sermon, Father Hixon challenges the idea that beauty is subjective, asserting it is an objective reality from God, stating that God is the ultimate “standard and source for all Beauty.” He argues that cultures rejecting God produce moral relativism and disregard for absolute truth, leading to “ugly buildings and ugly so-called works of art,” reflecting spiritual pathology. He urges viewers to surround themselves with and contribute to what is good, true, and beautiful, as beauty can be a “winsome” way to attract people to God and the Church.
What’s Next for a Wesleyan Anglican?
Father Hixon is married with four children, aged seven, five, two, and seven months. Having young kids has impacted his ability to create YouTube content, making his home study less available for filming than before. His wife is “extraordinarily supportive” and views her ministry partnership with him as part of her vocation. She joined him in the ACNA, confirmed by Bishop Clark, and is “on board for the move.” An essential aspect of Father Hixon’s ministry is her desire to support him in following God’s lead.
The family is now embarking on a new chapter by relocating to The Mission Anglican Church in Pensacola, Florida, within the Diocese of Gulf Atlantic. He anticipates that this move will facilitate the integration of his online ministry with the local community.
Father Hixon aims to focus on “here’s where I am and this is what I’m doing,” and encourages people to visit, especially since Pensacola is a popular tourist destination. His YouTube presence significantly influenced the congregation’s decision to call him. This marks a big transition, as this will be his first time serving in an Anglican parish since becoming an ACNA priest.
As he looks to the future of his online ministry, Hixon has numerous ideas for upcoming projects, including a series on the Anglican tradition, particularly the Prayer Book, and an examination of the Thirty-Nine Articles. In this series, he plans to discuss the articles and highlight which ones John Wesley retained, altered, or omitted. Hixon has long held a “fascination for and enthusiasm for the Thirty-Nine Articles,” which began during his college years when he stumbled upon a Prayer Book in the always-open St. Alban’s Chapel.
Please pray for God’s blessing on Father Hixon’s ministry as he and his family prepare for this new adventure!
Image: Collage of John Wesley statue, Savannah Georgia, photographed by David Dugan, courtesy of Wikipedia, and Christ Church Oxford, by stockcam from Getty Images Signature, courtesy of Canva. Digitally compiled and edited by Jacob Davis.
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