THE TIME IS RIGHT FOR A WESLEYAN RESURGENCE
MAIN IDEA:
Because of their intersections and abilities to engage with the spirtual mood of American society, John Wesley’s theology and Wesleyan practices are as relevant and potentially impactful as ever.
PREDESTINATION AND ARMINIANISM (QUICK & SIMPLE):
John Wesley challenged the Church’s historical emphasis on predestination. (See his “Predestination Calmly Considered.”) He, like the Dutch theologian Jacobus Arminius, whose writings influenced Wesley, found predestination to be an incorrect and spiritually harmful reading of the Bible.
Predestination maintains that before the beginning of time God unconditionally chose who and who will not be saved. If you are not saved, sorry about your luck, but God is sovereign and so cannot be questioned. This is what St. Augustine and Calvin taught.
Wesley disagreed with them, because unconditional election implied unconditional “rebrobation,” which Wesley could not locate in Scripture. Instead, Wesley found in the Scripture “conditonal” election, which must be acted upon by each person.
“even as he chose us in him [Christ] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.” (Ephesians 1:4)
“[God/Christ] who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4).
Instead of our salvation or lack thereof being unconditionally fixed, Wesley said the Scriptures show that the Holy Spirit is working in each of us, wooing us, if you will, toward God, the Father. Each of us has the ability to choose to open ourselves to the Spirit, repent and accept God through Jesus. God “prevenes” even when we are not aware that He is working to soften our hearts to receive him. “Prevenient Grace involves all of the preparatory work of the Spirit before a person accepts the Gospel.”
In other words, we have a role in choosing our future: Life or Death, God’s love or God’s wrath, Abundance or Destruction
Biblical References: Gen. 3:9, Gen. 12:4, Exod. 3:4, Luke 19:10, Rom. 5:6
WESLEY’S HOUSE OF HOLINESS
Okay. So we DO have a choice. The choice for God is manifest through repentance and faith. Jesus began his ministry with the proclamation: “Repent and believe!” (Mark 1:15)
Wesley spoke of “the Scripture way of salvation,” which includes repentance, faith and holiness. All three of these steps require us to consecrate ourselves (intentionally dedicate) ourselves to the Lord.
Wesley wrote in “Principles of a Methodist Farther Explained” (1746): “Our main doctrines, which include all the rest, are three: That of repentance, of faith, and of holiness. The first of these we account, as it were, the porch of religion; the next, the door; the third, religion itself.”
Wesleyan spirituality, which requires each person to be active and engaged in working out their salvation with fear and trembling, “empowers” us, so to speak, to overcome the modern scourge of nihilism.
NIHILISM AND AMERICA’S REFUSAL TO DISBELIEVE IN GOD
Nihilism is the belief that all values are baseless and that nothing can be known or communicated. It is often associated with extreme pessimism and a radical skepticism that condemns existence. Nihilism is a response to determinism (scientific eqivalent of predestination). Nihilism is born of the failures of modern “progress” (science, technology, secularism) to overcome human suffering. Nihilism is everywhere. Manifested in alcoholism, drug abuse, disintegration of community, isolation, virtual reality, rejection of Church. Nihilism says, “If nothing matters, why bother?” Nihilism is a painful, destructive existence, and it has crept into the latent worldview of young and old alike.
Yet, Americans continue to believe in something greater than themselves. According to a 2018 Pew Research Center Survey, eight in ten people in the U.S. believe in God or a “higher power” who has protected them. Fifty-six percent believe in the God of the Bible. I’ll take those numbers as a starter!
WE DON’T HAVE TO BE COOL…RATHER, AUTHENTIC AND DEEP
Wesleyan spirituality intersects with places and spaces where seekers find themselves today:
- SELF-HELP SECTION IF THE BOOSTORE: Wesley taught that we must be actively engaged in the salvation process. This intersects with the contemporary notion of “self-help”. (e.g., “Three Step Program of John Wesley” – Repentance, faith, and holiness).
- CONSECRATION: Wesley’s notion of consecration and getting out of the way to make room for God’s Spirit intersects with the language of Yoga and Mystical language that is popular today. For example, the discipline of yoga vis-a-vis the commitment to sanctification.
- TRADITION. Washington Post article entitled, “Want millennials back in the pews? Stop trying to make church ‘cool.’” Millennials desire tradition. Quoted in the article: “Millennials ‘are not disillusioned with tradition; they are frustrated with slick or shallow expressions of religion,’ argues David Kinnaman, who interviewed hundreds of them for Barna Group”
- DISCIPLESHIP GROUPS: Wesley’s model for discipleship and accountability (Societies, classes, bands) is more relevant than ever. Contemporary phrase: “my tribe.” Creating “third places” where the Church can connect and “get real.” Note to selves: Will likely be outside the walls of the church, at least initially.Wesleyan field preaching.
- Wesley’s “scripture way of salvation” is an antidote to nihilism. If the future is not predestined, if we have a choice, if the fates are not against, us, we are empowered. We are empowered in each step of our spiritual lives to choose, first, repentance and faith, and then continue to choose holiness. Wesley shows us the empowering nature of the Gospel. We can overcome. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
- CREATIVE APPROACHES: Using an historical analogy, it means taking on a Wesleyan mindset and not a Church of England mindset (in terms of our audience, venue, approach, work ethic)
It is a great time to be a Wesleyan, considering these intersections with society. If we take advantage of these intersections and are not ashamed of the Gospel, we could very well, with God’s leading, experience a Wesleyan revival.
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