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Andrew C. Thompson

Category Archives: Church History

Wesleyan Accent: The Word and The Spirit

10 Wednesday Aug 2016

Posted by Andrew C. Thompson in Church History, Ecclesiology, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, John Wesley, Wesleyan Accent, Wesleyan Theology

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“Whate’er his Spirit speaks in me, must with the written Word agree.”               –Charles Wesley

Many of the more contentious arguments in the church today are over social issues. That has certainly been the case for the United Methodist Church — the church I call home. Nowhere have the UMC’s internal debates over such issues been on clearer display than during its recent General Conference in Portland, Oregon.

The General Conference is the representative body of the 13+ million-member UMC. It meets once every four years. General Conference equips the general church for ministry by ordering its life and funding its ministries. It is also the body within the church that has the authority to write or alter canon law, which for Methodists is held in our Book of Discipline. So at least theoretically, the General Conference can vote to change everything from the church’s doctrinal understanding of the Trinity to how a local congregation handles estate bequests (though in the case of core Christian doctrine the bar on any substantive change is much higher and more complicated than a simple majority vote). Click here to continue reading…

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Wesleyan AccentWesleyan Accent provides free and subscription resources for Christian spiritual formation, catechesis, and discipleship in the Wesleyan way. By clearly articulating the Wesleyan understanding of Christian faith, WA seeks to strengthen discipleship, empower mission and evangelism, cultivate ministry gifts of young leaders, and nurture the professional and service life of young theologians.

Andrew C. Thompson joined the writing team of WA upon its launch in the Fall of 2013. For the full catalog of his articles on the WA site, click here.

Methodist House: Courses in Wesleyan Studies

20 Thursday Nov 2014

Posted by admin in Church History, Doctrine & Theology, Means of Grace, Memphis Theological Seminary, Methodist House, Theological Education, Wesleyan Theology

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Spring 2015 Courses in Wesleyan Studies_Methodist House at MTS

Click to enlarge

One of the ways that the Methodist House of Studies is expanding its work at MTS is through expanded course offerings in the area of Wesleyan Studies. I’m excited to be able to announce the following four courses on our Spring 2015 course schedule. (If you would like to inquire about enrolling or auditing courses at the seminary, find the contact information here.)

Here’s what we’ve got on tap for the upcoming semester:

Women in Methodist History  |  Dr. Andrew Thompson
Mondays, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Encounter the historic role of women’s leadership in Methodism. This course surveys the history of women in Methodism from the time of the late 18th century to the late 20th century. It will examine the role of women’s leadership in the Methodist and Wesleyan movement—from Mary Bosanquet Fletcher to Jarena Lee, and from Amanda Berry Smith to Mildred Bangs Wynkoop. The course focuses on themes of women’s leadership, the challenge of women responding to calls in ministry, the role of spiritual autobiography, and the contribution of women to the vitality of the Wesleyan tradition.

The Prophetic Rhetoric of Bishop Henry McNeal Turner  |  Dr. Andre Johnson
Mondays, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Engage the remarkable life, career, and prophetic rhetoric of Bishop Henry McNeal Turner (1834-1915) of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Bishop Turner was one of the most dynamic, influential, and eloquent African American church leaders of the post-Civil War period—yet today he is largely forgotten. This course highlights his historical importance and rhetorical power. By engaging in a careful reading of Turner’s writings and speeches, students in this class are able to examine the theoretical, methodical, and practical applications that make up Bishop Turner’s discourses.

American Methodism: History, Doctrine, & Polity  |  Dr. Andrew Thompson
Tuesdays, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
Prepare for ordained ministry in the United Methodist Church through an immersion in the history, doctrine, and polity of the Methodist Episcopal Church in America (MEC) and its successors from the time of its founding in 1784. This course follows the ecclesiastical line that leads to the United Methodist Church at the time of its formation in 1968. It is designed to fulfill the second half of the ordination requirements for history, doctrine, and polity as outlined in the United Methodist Book of Discipline (¶324.4, ¶330.3, & ¶335).

The Means of Grace in Wesleyan Theology  |  Dr. Andrew Thompson
Wednesdays, 8:00 to 11:00 a.m.
Come and explore the theology of the means of grace in the Wesleyan tradition. As the “sacramental grammar” of Wesleyan theology, the means of grace are at the heart of the doctrine of sanctification and the practice of discipleship. This course engages both primary sources (from John and Charles Wesley) as well as secondary sources (from contemporary scholars). Half the course focuses on a study of the sacraments (i.e., Baptism and Holy Communion) and the other half considers the other means of grace in the categories of “instituted,” “prudential,” and “general.” Attention is also given to the practical implications of the means of grace for Christian ministry.

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Job Announcement: Church History position

18 Tuesday Nov 2014

Posted by admin in Church History, Memphis Theological Seminary, Theological Education

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Memphis Theological Seminary is seeking to fill an opening in church history. The position description can be found on our seminary website at this link.

The text of the announcement is below…


 

Faculty Position in Church HistoryMTS Logo_large copy

     Memphis Theological Seminary invites applications for a tenure-track position in Church History. Rank is open. Responsibilities include teaching introductory and elective courses in our M.Div, MAYM, and D.Min programs. An ability to teach from a global perspective is welcomed. Qualifications include a Ph.D. in the field and a commitment to diversity, collegiality, and the life of the church. We invite applications from all qualified candidates, especially those from traditionally under-represented populations.

     Applicants should send a letter of application, CV, graduate transcripts, and three letters of reference to Dean Stan Wood, Memphis Theological Seminary, 168 E Parkway South, Memphis, TN 38104.

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     Interested parties are encouraged to read the following description regarding teaching responsibilities, institutional expectations, and participation in the community life of Memphis Theological Seminary.

  • Our students are primarily ministerial students (rather than PhD candidates). They seek courses to help them do pastoral work in a variety of contexts, explore new avenues for ministry, and enable the people with whom they do ministry to fulfill their sense of mission.
  • The successful candidate for our position in Church History will have significant freedom to shape the course offerings in the area according to the needs of our students & her or his understanding of the field and areas of expertise.
  • Currently, all M.Div. students are required to take the introductory course in the field (CH—Introduction to Church History). The successful candidate will shape this course and teach it nearly every semester.
  • Our M.Div. students are currently required to take 2 electives in the area of History and Theology and may take more. The successful candidate will have the freedom and responsibility for creating elective courses which meet our students’ needs and interests.
  • We are interested in expanding our offerings in the area of global Christianity. Potential courses might highlight the history of a single religious tradition (e.g., Pentecostalism) in global perspective; focus on the history of religious diversity or contexts of a particular region (e.g., Christianity in South Asia); or the history of inter-religious encounters in global context (e.g., Christianity and Islam in Africa).
  • We are currently working on a curriculum revision which, when implemented, will significantly reshape the landscape of our curricular offerings across all the theological sub-disciplines. We are looking for input from a new voice in the field of Church History who can develop a portfolio of courses for that area that will both expose our students to diverse approaches to the subject matter and engage them in critical considerations of the latest scholarly views and arguments. It will be important for our new professor to endorse the curriculum revision that has already been completed, even while adding his or her voice in those areas of ongoing work.
  • The new curriculum includes attention to cross-disciplinary approaches aimed toward greater integration of subject matter for our students. Consequently, we envision creating a number of team-taught courses in our near future. Thus, the successful candidate will embrace collegiality & cooperation in working with his or her peers, including an openness to joint ventures in course instruction.

 

Preparing for the Lord's Prayer

11 Tuesday Mar 2014

Posted by admin in Church History, Prayers, Richard Day

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A Short Speech Before the Lord's PrayerMost of the time when we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we probably don’t think much about it. For many congregations it often comes in the context of Sunday morning worship, when the pastor invites the congregation to pray the prayer at the end of a longer pastoral prayer. We also pray the Lord’s Prayer as a part of the liturgy for Holy Communion. In fact, the Lord’s Prayer is so enmeshed in the liturgy of worship that I sometimes wonder if this causes us not to think seriously about what it is that we’re praying. This is the most important prayer we have—it’s the one Jesus taught us to pray!

I’ve written in the past about Richard Day’s 1578 collection, A Booke of Christian Prayers. In it, Day offers what he calls “A short speech before the Lord’s Prayer.” This little preface to the Lord’s Prayer strikes me as a wonderful way to center our hearts and focus our minds on what we are actually saying when we recite the Lord’s Prayer itself. Here’s what Day suggests:

O Heavenly Father, O most merciful God, I most wretched sinner am unworthy to lift up my hands and eyes unto thee, or to trouble thee with my prayers.
 
Nevertheless, forasmuch as thou hast commanded all men to pray and promised that thou wilt hear us: And moreover, prescribed us a form of prayer in express words, by thy well beloved Son Jesus Christ: being driven by thy commandment, and trusting to thy promises, I pray unto thee in the name of my Lord, with all the godly upon earth, saying as he hath taught us:
 
Our Father, who art in heaven,
   hallowed be thy name,
   thy kingdom come,
   thy will be done,
     on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
   as we forgive those who trespass against us.
Lead us not into temptation,
   but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
 

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[This post is part of a series on Richard Day’s 1578 publication, A Booke of Christian Prayers. Click here for other posts in the series]

 
 

On Ash Wednesday, a call to repentance

05 Wednesday Mar 2014

Posted by admin in Church History, Early Church Fathers, Jesus Christ, Lent, Liturgical Year

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St. Augustine of Hippo

St. Augustine of Hippo

“Why…will you wander farther and farther in these difficult and toilsome ways? There is no rest where you seek it. Seek what you seek; but it is not where you are seeking. You seek a blessed life in the land of death. It is not there. For how could a blessed life be where life itself is not?

“But our very Life came down to earth and bore our death, and slew it with the very abundance of his own life. And thundering, he called us to return to him into that secret place from which he came forth to us—coming first into the virginal womb, where the human creature, our mortal flesh, was married to him that it might not be forever mortal—and came “as a bridegroom coming out his chamber, rejoicing as a strong man to run a race.” For he did not delay, but ran through the world, crying out by words, deeds, death, life, descent, ascension—crying aloud to us to return to him. He departed from our sight, that we might return to our hearts and find him there. For he left us, and behold, he is here. He could not be with us long, yet he did not leave us. He went back to the place that he had never left, for ‘the world was made by him.’ And in this world he was, and into this world he came to save sinners.

“To him my soul does confess, that he may heal it, for it has sinned against him. O sons of men, how long will you be so slow of heart? Even now after Life itself has come down to you, will you not ascend and live? But where will you climb if you are already on a pinnacle and have set your mouth against the heavens? First come down that you may climb up, climb up to God.”

—St. Augustine, Confessions, Book IV, Chapter XII

Book Look: The Class Meeting

28 Friday Feb 2014

Posted by admin in Book Reviews, Church History, Discipleship, John Wesley, Practical Theology, United Methodist Church, Wesleyan Theology, Wesleyan Tradition

≈ 2 Comments

ClassMeeting Front CVR (1)We live in a culture that is addicted to all things new and innovative, and yet there is a growing desire amongst many Christians to dig deeply into the past for models of how to think and live faithfully. You can see that often in Methodism these days, where people are as hungry as they’ve ever been to look seriously at Wesleyan models of practical discipleship.

That means it is a fortuitous time for Kevin M. Watson’s new book, The Class Meeting: Reclaiming a Forgotten (and Essential) Small Group Experience (Seedbed, 2014). Watson is a pastor in the United Methodist Church, who writes a popular blog and has authored or co-authored a number of previous titles geared toward discipleship formation. Watson  is also on the faculty of Seattle Pacific University where he pursues a teaching ministry as Assistant Professor of Historical Theology & Wesleyan Studies.

Readers of Watson’s previous book, A Blueprint for Discipleship, will not be surprised to find that The Class Meeting offers a highly accessible treatment of one key part of the Wesleyan tradition, which balances historical interpretation with contemporary application through crisp, direct prose. Watson was a pastor before he became a professor, and that early experience shows in his ability to write well for a broad audience. The text of The Class Meeting balances a lucid presentation of historical and theological material about early Methodist discipleship with contemporary illustrations and a great deal of practical wisdom drawn from years of leading and participating in small group ministries. The result is a book that will serve as a vital resource for congregations interested in a fresh approach to Wesleyan ministry and discipleship.

Watson opens The Class Meeting by describing three categories of small groups often found in churches. The first is the affinity group, which is made up of people who share a common interest and want to pursue it with other Christians. (Reading that part, I was reminded of a pastor who once told me excitedly about the Saturday morning motorcycle group in his church; I thought it sounded like a nice idea, but I wasn’t sure what exactly made it “Christian” other than the fact that it happened to be made up of guys who also worshiped together on Sundays.) The second type of group is the information-driven group, and this is the type of group probably most common within congregations. Bible studies and Sunday school classes are information-driven groups. Such groups are made up of people who get together and study some type of curriculum, in order to learn more about some aspect of the Christian faith. The third category of small group is the transformation-driven group, and this is the category Watson is truly interested in sharing. The book’s eponymous subject is the classic example of the transformation-driven group within the Methodism. In transformation-driven groups, the members are banded together to pursue spiritual growth. As Watson puts it, “These groups are organized around a common desire to support one another in their efforts to become increasingly faithful Christians who are growing in love of God and neighbor” (p.6). There is no curriculum in transformation-driven groups, because the only needed curriculum is the group members’ own lives.

Watson writes with a double aim in The Class Meeting, which is both to persuade his audience of the value of the transformation-driven small group approach, and to aid his readers in actually forming small groups on this model (pp.12-13). His strategy is to begin by telling the story of the class meeting in early Methodism and how it fit in with other Methodist developments under John Wesley’s leadership (chapter 2) as well as how spiritual transformation is understood in Wesleyan theology (chapter 3). (For those unfamiliar with the Wesleyan vocabulary around salvation, the third chapter will be especially helpful.) Following the historical background chapters, there is a transition chapter where Watson makes the case for reclaiming the class meeting in contemporary Methodist practice (chapter 4 on “Becoming Wesleyan Again”). Watson recognizes the differences in context between Wesley’s day and our own, but he argues that the transformation-driven approach is just as applicable today as ever—and he cites two examples (Munger Place UMC in Dallas and Christ UMC in Ft. Lauderdale) where it has been employed to great effect. The remaining chapters of The Class Meeting (chapters 5-8) are focused on contemporary application. Here Watson covers topics ranging from the implementation of the class meeting and the importance of the class leader’s role, to avoiding potential pitfalls and accenting key points that improve the odds of a ministry success.

Dr. Kevin Watson

Dr. Kevin Watson

As Watson tells it, the purpose of early Methodism was not to get people into class meetings. It was rather “to help them come to faith in Christ and grow in that faith” (p.35). The class meeting proved to be an effective instrument to that end, and that is why it became the cornerstone of Methodism’s communal discipleship. He’s not tied to the name “class meeting” but he is to the type of small group communal discipleship that the class meeting represents. As he says in the final chapter, “The goal of this book … is to introduce you to a practice that has the potential to strengthen your life in Christ, help you be delivered from temptation, and help those who are seeking Jesus to find new life in him” (p.130). In just that sense, it’s Watson’s hope that The Class Meeting will serve neither as a curriculum resource for Sunday school classes nor as a form of spiritual edification for an individual. There is an evangelistic edge to the whole project: Watson wants you to finish the book and jump headlong into a class meeting with fellow Christian believers.

This is a very solid and engaging piece of work. We have a need within Methodism to translate both the theology and the historical example of our tradition for contemporary audiences. Where that’s been done in recent years, it can often take on either a dry recital of shopworn Wesleyan shibboleths (e.g., the umpteenth description of the language of grace, or endearing items from Wesley’s own biography) or a monotonous re-telling of mainline Methodist “distinctives” (which, because they’re mainline, aren’t distinctive at all. They’re just bland). When you encounter Watson making a positive and enthusiastic argument for being exclusive and judgmental (as he does in chapter 4), you know you’re reading something different. Watson has the pastoral experience and the academic chops to present this material well, and he combines that with a writing style that draws the reader in.

Let me conclude with a couple of random points…

I. My colleague at Memphis Theological Seminary, Dr. Lee Ramsey, and I recently used The Class Meeting in a seminar course we are teaching this semester on “Pastoral Care in the Wesleyan Tradition.” Following a lively discussion about the book in our seminar just this past week, a number of our students (many of whom are student pastors serving local churches) indicated that they intended to use it in their congregations as a way to either initiate or revitalize small group ministries. Why we chose this book for a course on pastoral care is another subject—suffice it to say that pastoral care in early Methodism typically happened within small group structures like the class meeting (though that was not their primary purpose for being).

II. Readers familiar with David Lowes Watson’s work on the class meeting will likely be surprised at the way the issue of accountability is treated here. D.L. Watson (no relation to K. Watson) coined the term “mutual accountability” to describe the purpose of the class meeting. Yet, K. Watson is very adamant in The Class Meeting that accountability is not what class meetings are about. He writes, “Class meetings are not accountability groups; they are not where people confess their deepest sins to one another” (p.117). There are, it should be noted, distinct differences between the way D.L. Watson and K. Watson interpret the class meeting historically (as well as what ought to be emphasized in present-day versions of it). While the issue is too complicated to get into here, I believe that the difference of opinion between the two Watsons on the purpose of the class meeting may at least partly hinge on the quite different way that each of them understands the term “accountability.”

In sum, if you believe the Wesleyan tradition has anything at all to offer to the practice discipleship today, you’ll greatly benefit by reading The Class Meeting. But follow the author’s advice: Don’t get it if you only intend to use it for personal edification or as a curriculum piece in your Sunday school class. Get it instead because you intend to put into practice what Watson is advocating—a transformation-driven small group that can nurture a deeper faith by the dynamic process of conversation and fellowship among committed Christians.

To Purchase:

  • Click here to get the print edition of The Class Meeting from Seedbed Publishing
  • Click here to get the Kindle edition of The Class Meeting from Amazon

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[Disclosure: Seebed Publishing provided me a review copy of The Class Meeting with a request to write a book review on this website. I gladly accepted the book and agreed to write the review, which I had already hoped to do since I was considering it for teaching purposes. Other than the book itself, I have received no other goods or services in exchange for this review.]

Faculty Opening at Memphis Theological Seminary

28 Friday Feb 2014

Posted by admin in Church History, Memphis Theological Seminary, Theological Education

≈ 2 Comments

Church HistoryWe are in the midst of a faculty search at Memphis Theological Seminary for a professor in the area of church history. Rank is open, and the position is tenure-track. If you know of anyone who might be interested, please feel free to forward this information. Our search committee will begin reviewing applications in March.

The advertisement for the position reads as follows:

Memphis Theological Seminary invites applications for a tenure-track position in Church History. Rank is open. Responsibilities include teaching introductory and elective courses in our M.A., M.Div, and D.Min programs. An ability to teach from a global perspective is welcomed. Qualifications include a Ph.D. in the field and a commitment to diversity, collegiality, and the life of the church. We invite applications from all qualified candidates, especially those from traditionally under-represented populations.

Applicants should send a letter of application, CV, graduate transcripts, and three letters of reference to Dean Stan Wood, Memphis Theological Seminary, 168 E Parkway South, Memphis, TN 38104.

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For a more detailed description regarding teaching responsibilities, institutional expectations, and participation in the community life of the seminary, click on this link.

"True and harty prayer through Christ Jesus"

07 Friday Feb 2014

Posted by admin in Church History, Prayers, Richard Day

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Image_Introduction 1Richard Day’s Booke of Christian Prayers opens with this salutation:

To the Christian Reader, zeale and knowledge in true and harty prayer through Christ Jesus.”

Day signals from the first sentence the context that his work will take: a robust devotional attitude that is committed to the life of prayer and centered on Jesus Christ. He believes that prayer really does draw us close to the heart of God, and he cites the words of Jesus in Matthew 11:28—“Come unto me all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

In answer to that call, Day answers boldly: “I come, Lord Jesu, I come. I come, and will pay my vows, promised to thee in the presence of all thy people, even in the courts of thy house, when I was received into the household of faith.”

He goes on, “I come, and will pray and praise thee for all thy benefits. I come, and will hearken to thy blessed word, and keep the same. I come, and will receive the cup of salvation, at thy holy table, in remembrance of thy death, with thanksgiving. In this sort, and so many ways, by Baptism, by prayer, by hearing his blessed word, by frequenting his table, must we come unto him, and that with a lively faith. The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak; come unto him therefore, especially by prayer. Pray that he would strengthen both flesh and spirit.”

Day words “I come” are intended to be all of our words. Prayer is a means of grace that can be used at all times, in every waking minute of the day. By it, we too can come into the presence of our Lord and Christ.

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[This post is part of a series on Richard Day’s 1578 publication, A Booke of Christian Prayers. Click here for other posts in the series.]

Richard Day and "A Booke of Christian Prayers"

30 Thursday Jan 2014

Posted by admin in Church History, Prayers, Richard Day

≈ 1 Comment

Image_Title Page_A Booke of Christian Prayers

The title page of Day’s 1578 Booke of Christian Prayers

Richard Day (1552-c.1606) briefly served as a priest in the Church of England in the latter part of the 16th century. Prior to his ordination in 1580, Day worked with his father John Day in the printing business. After serving as a parish priest for about four years, Day left clerical ministry around the time of his father’s death in 1584.

The father and son apparently had many disputes over their personal and professional lives, and Richard Day may have entered the ministry as an attempt to please his father John after he had been punished for violating the rules of the printing guild known as the Stationers’ Company. John Day was so alienated from his son that he attempted to disinherit him, although Richard successfully sued for his inheritance rights upon his father’s death. Little is known of Richard Day’s later life, although he seems to have done nothing significant either in the church or the printing trade.

Day’s biography is one that is criss-crossed with disappointment and family dysfunction. Even so, beauty can come out of such a life. In 1578, Day published a collection of prayers entitled, A Booke of Christian Prayers, collected out of the auncie[n]t writers, and best learned in our tyme, worthy to be read with an earnest mynde of all Christians, in these daungerous and troublesome dayes, that God for Christes sake will yet still be mercyfull vnto vs.

This work is typically referred to as simply A Booke of Christian Prayers or Queen Elizabeth’s Prayer Book.

Day’s collection is remarkable for a number of reasons. The Elizabethan language of the prayers is wonderful for those willing to sit with it and allow it to seep into your mind and heart. From an historical point of view, I think Day’s collection also shows what was happening to English Protestant religion, as the Book of Common Prayer was slowly but surely beginning to etch its distinctive pattern of liturgy and worship on the English people. The tradition of the Church of England since the mid-16th century has been a liturgical form of worship committed to the spiritual power of word. You get the sense of that from Day, even as early as 1578.

I have been reading through Day’s Booke of Christian Prayers and will be sharing some individual prayers from it in the coming days. I will modernize the spelling of words to keep it from being distracting, but otherwise I’ll let the Elizabethan cadences stand on their own.

Let me close this opening post on Day by sharing the words he offers as “The Preface, or preparation to prayer”–

O Lord, my good God, and Father, 
blessed be thy name forever:
dispose my heart, open my lips, and guide me by thy Holy Spirit,
to a true acknowledgement of all my sins, 
that my prayer may be heard of thee,
in the name of thy Son Jesus Christ,
So be it.
 
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[For another look at Day’s Booke of Christian Prayers, see this review on the Book Tryst blog.]

The Rise of Methodism

23 Wednesday Oct 2013

Posted by admin in Church History, John Wesley, Wesleyan Tradition

≈ 5 Comments

John Wesley_Painted in Tewkesbury England in 1771Ask your average Methodist what the turning point was in the history of the Methodist movement, and you’ll likely get the response that it was John Wesley’s Aldersgate experience in 1738. It was there that Wesley felt his heart strangely warmed and received the assurance of his salvation. Methodism couldn’t have grown and expanded in the years following had it not been for Wesley’s own encounter with Christ that fateful evening, right?

Wesley clearly saw Aldersgate as important. The entry in his Journal for May 24, 1738, is long and richly detailed. He is presenting what happened to him in a very particular way. Aldersgate gave him the experiential understanding of faith as gift, as well as of the assurance that can only come by the witness of the Spirit.

I find it interesting, though, that Wesley does not point to Aldersgate when he tells the story of the pivotal moments in the rise of the Methodist movement. He points to three “rises” of Methodism, in fact, and Aldersgate isn’t one of them.

The key text for what I’m talking about here is Wesley’s “A Short History of the People Called Methodists,” which he published in 1781. How he describes the three rises of Methodism says a lot about what he thought lay at the heart of the revival. Here’s the relevant passage:

       “On Monday, May 1, [1738,] our little society began in London. But it may be observed, the first rise of Methodism (so-called) was in November 1729, when four of us met together at Oxford: the second was at Savannah, in April 1736, when twenty or thirty persons met at my house: the last, was at London, on this day, when forty or fifty of us agreed to meet together every Wednesday evening, in order to a free conversation, begun and ended with singing and prayer. In all our steps we were greatly assisted by the advice and exhortations of Peter Boehler, an excellent young man, belonging to the society commonly called Moravians.”

Take note of the three locations Wesley mentions: Oxford, Savannah [GA], and London. The locations were personally significant for Wesley, because each place marked a significant point in his spiritual development from his late 20s to his mid-30s. More significant, though, is the characteristic activity that Wesley describes as taking place in each circumstance. It has to do with Christians gathering together in small groups in order to better practice their faith—a handful in Oxford, a couple of dozen in Savannah, and a few more than that in London.

The form of organization to which Wesley is referring is what he called a “Society.” He defines it in the General Rules of the United Societies as “a company of men ‘having the form, and seeking the power of godliness’, united in order to pray together, to receive the word of exhortation, and to watch over one another in love, that they may help each other to work out their salvation’.” It is with the creation of Societies at pivotal points that Wesley identifies the three rises of Methodism. It’s a way of him saying that, at its heart, this is what Methodism is. We might also note what he’s not identifying as lying at the heart of the Methodist revival: it is not his Aldersgate experience, the advent of field preaching, the first Conference in 1744, or any other significant event in early Methodist history. It is the formation of Societies—where men and women could come together and by their common practice encourage one another to receive God’s grace for their own salvation.

John Wesley monogramI find this commitment by Wesley to be very important. Partly this is because when we tend to wax nostalgic about the early Methodists, it is to charismatic images that we tend to gravitate. Daring instances of field preaching in the presence of hostile mobs, or the American circuit rider with his shoulders braced against the rain as he rides alone on the frontier, or (of course) Wesley at that meeting in Aldersgate street. These and others are beloved images of the Methodist past. They’re important. They aren’t the most important images, though, if by that we mean the images connected to the very heart of what the Methodist revival was really about. Instead, our image should be of the English (or American) artisan or farm laborer or clerk, meeting faithfully with his or her fellows once per week to share their common faith and partake of the means of grace that can only come about in an intimate Christian community. Dramatic conversions happened, to be sure, but most growth came slowly by degrees. And yet, in this setting Christian believers came to know themselves as accepted by God in Christ Jesus and experienced real growth in holiness of heart and life. This is, in a real sense, what Methodism is all about.

The primary substructure of a Methodist Society was called the class meeting. Everybody had to belong to one, and your membership had to be renewed quarterly by the issuance of a ticket. Weekly attendance in the class meeting was required. If it sounds too rigid or organized or even boring, then at least hear Wesley’s testimony about what happened in the class meetings:

       “It can scarce be conceived what advantages have been reaped from this little prudential regulation. Many now happily experience that Christian fellowship of which they had not so much as an idea before. They began to ‘bear one another’s burdens’, and ‘naturally’ to ‘care for each other’. As they had daily a more intimate acquaintance with, so they had a more endeared affection for each other. And ‘speaking the truth in love, they grew up into him in all things which is the head, even Christ; from whom the whole body, fitly joined together, and compacted by that which every joint supplied, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, increased unto the edifying itself in love.”

Those words come from A Plain Account of the People Called Methodists, a treatise Wesley wrote in 1749 to explain the Methodist revival and its organization to the larger British public. Here, as elsewhere, Wesley’s message is clear: If you want to know the love of Christ for you and how that love can transform you entirely, join together with other Christian believers in a small group fellowship and begin living as God has called you to do.

It’s that simple, in the 18th century or in the 21st.

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