John Wesley's body of work indicates that there are four things that inform our faith--Scripture, Tradition, Reason, and Experience. These four things all work together as we come to understand and believe in what God has done and is doing in Jesus, and how we are to respond. I would suggest that this is what we need to remember about the Church also.
Scripture tells us how the church got started--5000 people responding to Simon Peter explaining what Jesus' life and death meant--Acts chapter 2. Jesus had told Peter before the crucifixion and resurrection that faith like Peter's would be what Jesus' church would be built upon, and Peter's sermon kicked it off. The Acts of the Apostles tells the story of the faith spreading by the faith and proclamation of the Apostles, all over the known world--and the people who believed gathered in churches. Most of the rest of the New Testament is letters of advice and encouragement and "theology" sent to churches--some reminding the churches to which they are sent that there are other churches that need their prayers and financial assistance. From the beginning, it wasn't just "my" church. The Scriptures are a key foundation for the Church.
Tradition plays out in the various denominations we have--most of which started as "reforming" movements within other denominations that were seen as having lost their right behaviors, beliefs, and emphases. Our own Methodist heritage grew from a reforming movement to get the Church of England to pay attention to the people who weren't "respectable" and to encourage people to become more like Jesus. We honor our own tradition, and respect the traditions of the other denominations. Each has its key emphases, and we can all learn from those emphases. All denominations together make the Church--an individual church is part of the larger whole, historically and at present.
Reason is a piece of it too, and early in Acts that was made obvious as those who came from their Jewish background (all of the first disciples, like Jesus himself, were Jews) had to make sense of those who were not Jews being part of "The Way"--the Church. What was required of those who didn't have the practices of Jews--did they have to adopt them? Did the uncircumcised men have to get circumcised? Did they have to practice the same dietary laws? What made sense for those from different backgrounds? They prayed about it, of course, but they also "reasoned out" what mattered and what didn't. And throughout history, we have continued to do that. As James Russell Lowell said, “New occasions teach new duties; time makes ancient good uncouth. they must upward still and onward who would keep abreast of truth."
Experience is what we add from our lives, and the lives of others. We are part of a grand tradition, a grand heritage, and we are to make contributions to that in our own day, making the adjustments and innovations that the times call for. We have been forced to do some of that by the pandemic--needing to tell the "old old story" in new ways, since we can't do what we've been used to doing. But we don't do that in the vacuum of today--all of these other things--Scripture, Tradition, and Reason--are part of what we consider as we make those adjustments.
And in all of this, we are the Body of Christ as the Church--not just us, but everyone through time, and everyone everywhere in the world.
NEW TESTAMENT Colossians 1:15-20
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; 16 for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.
GOSPEL Matthew 18:15-22
15 ‘If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. 16 But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax-collector. 18 Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 19 Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.’
21 Then Peter came and said to him, ‘Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?’ 22 Jesus said to him, ‘Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.