(Ir)religiosity

To finish off my United Methodist History/Doctrine course last semester the entire class particpated in a “semester conference.  As students we were required to offer a few things we would change about the church (theology, polity, etc.) and a few things we’d like to see retained and passed on to the next generation.  I won’t mention my “changes” because frankly those took up too much of my floor time and I feel like a could write a book about them.  And I tend to be deconstructive by nature, which means it is good for me to talk about what I am for from time to time.

I mentioned two things that I felt should be kept in the Methodist tradition, two things I think have been abandoned for the sake of institutionalization and bureaucracy and two things that I believe lie at the heart of John Wesley‘s legacy:  Christian perfection and the General Rules.  Christian perfection seemed to get a lot of airtime that day so I chose to talk primarily about the General Rules which are 1) to do no harm, 2) to do all the good possible, and 3) to attend to all the ordinances of God (prayer, corporate worship, Eucharist, etc.).  Sadly, most Methodists haven’t the faintest idea of what these are and have probably never heard of them.  Which is unfortunate because I think they provide one of the best and most concise guides for following in the Way of Jesus.

So I was thrilled when I saw the title of Kevin Watson’s new book A Blue Print for Discipleship: Wesley’s General Rules as a Guide for Christian Living. Not only does Kevin share my admiration for the General Rules, he is also interested in discipleship, another area in which Wesley was a true innovator, and, unfortunately, an area where the UMC seems to be failing (at least in the US) given its recent decline.

Like any good Wesleyan, Kevin notes the primacy of grace in all stages of ones Christian life, the goal of which is to participate in the divine life for the sake and transformation of the world.  This divine grace permeates Kevin’s appropriation all three of the rules as well as his understanding of Wesley’s strategy for implementing them in practice, in community.  For Kevin, Wesley’s model, which he describes wonderfully in way that is very accessible, is the most effective way to empower persons to transition from “nominal Christians” to “deeply committed Christians” — those who live the radical way of Jesus in their own contexts and communities.  To me, this blueprint for discipleship, as Kevin calls it, is the real genius of Wesley’s legacy.  But unfortunately many Methodists and Wesleyans are unaware of that gift. Kevin’s work is a wonderful contribution toward the endeavor of recovering and reclaiming Wesley’s robust understanding of discipleship.

The real strength of the book is its attention toward Christian practice and affection for the local church.  Like I said, it is very accessible, short (just over 100 pages), complete with discussion questions at the end of each chapter and an appendix guide for small group study.  The book is full of helpful examples and anecdotes that situate the General Rules and Wesley’s ethos within the life of the church as well as Kevin’s own personal journey.  To that end, I think the book is an excellent resource for local churches that are seeking to revitalize or even implement for the first time, a serious discipleship program that takes seriously Wesley’s robust theological legacy.

Much ink has been spilled with the purpose of exploring Wesley’s theology.  And that’s wonderful.  But unfortunately, books like Kevin’s, books that explore the practical ramifications of Wesley’s blueprint for discipleship, are a rarity (in my estimation at least).  Folks tend to forget that that area was Wesley’s speciality.  It is my deep hope that his legacy can be recovered.   I think Kevin’s book represents and important and helpful effort to do so. An effort that indicates a robust understanding of Wesley’s theology at a theoretical level, but is very much rooted in the life of the local church as the most significant arena in which discipleship takes place.

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In 1786, near the end of his life, John Wesley wrote a retrospective essay on the Methodist movement he founded. In it, he admitted his fear that Methodists would “…only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power.”¹

Many have interpreted this to mean a loss of “evangelical fervor,” that is a failure to “win souls” or “convert new people” to Christiniaty.  I’ve read a fair amount of Wesley’s work and I can’t help but wonder if he was speaking of something much more pressing than escape from present problems, something much more important than the possibility of an orgy of eternal bliss.

In chapter called “Good News to the Poor,” in Theology and Evangelism in the Wesleyan Heritage, Ted Jennings suggests the same.

When do we have the form without the power of religion?

When we develop church growth strategies that target the middle class instead of the poor and marginalized, then we have the form without the power.

When we spend more of our resources on constructing and maintaining Church buildings and property than we do on feeding the hungry, then we have the form without the power.

When we spend more on pastor’s salaries, benefits, and pensions, than we do on clothing the naked and sheltering the homeless, then we have the form without the power.

When we turn stewardship into financial campaigns for the Church, rather than sacrifice for the poor, then we have the form but not the power.

When we blame poverty on the sloth of the poor rather than the avarice of the prosperous and the indifference of the comfortable, then we have the form but not the power.

When we furnish our sanctuaries and social halls in such a way as to make the prosperous comfortable rather than make the indigent welcome, then we have the form but not the power.

When we dedicate Methodist institutions like universities and hospitals and retirement homes to the needs of the affluent rather than the needs of the impoverished, then we have the form but not the power.

When we preach a grace which saves us without changing us, then we have the form but not the power.

Above all whenever and however we make of Methodism a preferential option for the middle class, we have the form but not the power of religion.

As the financial institutions in which have, until now, placed all our trust and hope are crumbling around us and as we see the effects of unrestrained consumer-capitalism unfold before our very eyes, I find these words to be especially poignant.  And convicting.

1. http://deeplycommitted.wordpress.com/2007/06/26/john-wesleys-thoughts-upon-methodism/ [↩]

Another guy who wanted to spread the wealth around:

Contemporary application of Wesley’s advice would suggest that the U.S. Congress should reduce taxes on the poor and middle class, add taxes to luxury items, eliminate taxes upon necessities, introduce laws that govern the use of natural resources, and take steps to reduce the $10 trillion national debt—a debt that has increased by 71.9 percent over the last eight years.

Interestingly, it seems that most Methodists today have completely reversed John Wesley’s “Make all you can, save all you can, give all you can,” statement into a much more destructive axiom: make all you can, invest all you can, consume all you can.

I’m planning on liveblogging the Montana and South Dakota primaries later this evening. Mainly because I’m hoping to hear some big news on what might otherwise be an uneventful day (during any other election cycle that is).  We’ll see.