John Wesley and the History of Methodism — Unit 10: The Wesleyan Family Today and Its Future

Key Verse

"And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also." (2 Timothy 2:2, NKJV)

Learning Objectives

When you finish this unit, you should be able to:

1. Name the main bodies of the Wesleyan family today and distinguish the Wesleyan-Holiness churches from the larger Methodist churches.

2. Describe the World Methodist Council and explain how a conservative Wesleyan can take part in wider fellowship without giving up doctrine.

3. List the marks that hold the Wesleyan family together, whatever its organization.

4. State three dangers that the tradition faces, and explain how historians account for decline in some places and growth in others.

5. Describe five commitments that can guide a Wesleyan pastor in the years ahead.

The Voice of This Course

This course is written from inside the Wesleyan tradition, for students who belong to it. It is conservative and evangelical. When it says "we" or "our tradition," it means the Methodist and Wesleyan-Holiness churches that hold the Bible to be the Word of God, teach salvation for all by grace through faith, and call every believer to holiness. Other Christians and many historians see some matters differently. We state their views fairly and then give our answer. In this last unit we look at where the family stands and where it may go. We speak with hope, and also with honesty about our weaknesses.

Looking Back

Before we look ahead, let us recall the road we have traveled. In Unit 1 we asked who the people called Methodists are. In Units 2 and 3 we followed the Wesley family, the Holy Club, and the experience of 1738 at Aldersgate. In Unit 4 we studied field preaching, societies, classes and bands. In Unit 5 we saw Charles Wesley, Whitefield and the Calvinist and Arminian controversy. In Unit 6 we crossed to America with Asbury and the circuit riders. In Unit 7 we followed the Holiness movement and the new churches. In Unit 8 we learned of African American Methodism and of Methodism in Latin America and Africa. In Unit 9 we told the painful story of recent division. In this unit we look at the family as it is today.

The Wesleyan Family Today

The word "Wesleyan" describes churches that trace their roots to John Wesley and share his main teachings: God's love for all, salvation by grace through faith, the new birth, assurance, and growth in holiness. These churches can be placed in groups. The groups overlap, and we describe them as history shows them.

The Wesleyan-Holiness churches. These include the Church of the Nazarene, The Wesleyan Church and the Free Methodist Church. They come from the Holiness movement of Unit 7, and they teach entire sanctification as a second work of grace.

The larger Methodist churches. These include The United Methodist Church, the Global Methodist Church, and the many Methodist churches in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. In some of these bodies, the older Wesleyan doctrine is firmly held. In others, as Unit 9 told, there are deep differences about Scripture and doctrine. The Methodist Church of Mexico and the Methodist church in Cuba, as Unit 8 said, govern themselves.

The historic Black Methodist churches. These are the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, and the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. They hold the Methodist heritage with its own history of struggle and faith.

We do not claim that every one of these bodies would agree with every position of this course. But all of them look to Wesley and to the two roots of his movement: the Bible and the experience of grace.

Fellowship Across the Family

In 1881 an Ecumenical Methodist Conference met in London, bringing together Methodists from several countries. This led over time to the World Methodist Council, which brings together Methodist and related churches around the world for fellowship and common witness. In 2006 the Council affirmed the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, an agreement first reached by Lutherans and Roman Catholics, saying that salvation is by grace, received by faith.

The objection

Some conservative Christians worry about such wide fellowship. They ask whether it blurs the line between those who hold the gospel firmly and those who do not, and whether agreement on the wording of a joint statement can hide real differences between the churches that sign it.

Our answer

The worry is fair. Fellowship is not the same as agreement. Wesley himself spoke of a "catholic spirit," which is love toward all who love the Lord, even when we differ in opinions and practices. He did not say that every doctrine is only an opinion. We therefore take part in wider fellowship for the sake of common witness, prayer and service, and we state clearly where we stand. We rejoice in the agreement on grace and faith, and we continue to teach the whole Wesleyan doctrine of assurance, holiness and the believer's life. Ecumenism that costs the truth is not worth its name. Truth held without love is not worth its name either.

What Holds Us Together

If the Wesleyan family has many branches, what do they have in common? We name seven marks, which Course 2 and Course 3 will study in detail.

1. The authority of Scripture. The Bible is the final rule of faith and life. Wesley called himself a man of one book.

2. Grace for all. Christ died for every person, and grace goes before every heart.

3. Salvation by faith. We are justified by faith, born again, and may know that we are children of God.

4. Holiness. God means to make His people holy in heart and life. Hebrews 12:14 says, "Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord."

5. Small groups. Class meetings, bands and similar groups for mutual care and accountability.

6. Singing and the sacraments. The hymns of Charles Wesley, baptism, and the Lord's Supper.

7. Mission and compassion. The conviction that the world is our parish. Wesley wrote in his Journal in 1739 that he looked upon all the world as his parish. His followers preach the gospel and care for the poor, the sick and the enslaved.

Three Dangers

Dependence on forms without power

Wesley wrote in 1786, in Thoughts upon Methodism, that he feared less that Methodism would cease to exist than that it would continue only as a church with the form of religion but without its power. Paul warned of those "having a form of godliness but denying its power" (2 Timothy 3:5). A church may keep the buildings, the name and the programs and lose the fire. This is the first danger.

Loss of the small group

Wesley's people grew in holiness because they met in classes and bands to speak honestly of their lives. In many places, the class meeting has been lost. The result is a church of listeners who do not know one another. Without small groups, the doctrine of holiness becomes only a doctrine.

Captivity to culture

A church may be captured by the spirit of the age, whether through the pressure of the culture around it or through the temptation to define itself only by what it opposes. The Wesleyan answer is to be shaped by Scripture and by the Spirit, and to hold to truth with love for all. The Holiness churches have also had to guard against rules without love, a theme of Course 3.

Why Some Decline and Others Grow

Historians offer several reasons why Methodist churches in some countries have shrunk while Wesleyan and Holiness churches in other lands have grown. Some point to the secularization of Western societies, to smaller families, and to changes in how people choose their churches. Some point to the loss of the class meeting and the weakening of doctrine and discipline. Others point to the vitality of churches in Africa, Latin America and Asia, where the faith is often a minority faith and a costly one.

We think each of these explanations has some truth, and we are slow to claim a single cause. But we hold that the principal reason for renewal is spiritual. Where Scripture is preached, where people are called to repent and to be filled with love, where small groups form, and where the poor are served, the Spirit gives life. This was the secret of the first Methodists. We give no figures here, because estimates differ and change. But the center of the Wesleyan family has been moving toward the lands of the south, including Africa and Latin America, and the future of the family will be shaped there. Students at CTS are part of that future.

Objection: Is a Divided Family Able to Serve?

Some say that the Wesleyan family is too fragmented to speak with one voice, and that its future is therefore weak.

Our answer. We do not pretend that division is good. But a family can be one in Christ without being one in organization. Churches that hold the same Scripture and the same doctrine can pray together, share teachers and send missionaries together. In the book of Acts the churches were many, yet they were one in the apostles' teaching (Acts 2:42). What matters most is that each branch stay faithful to the gospel, so that the family is healthy.

Five Commitments for the Years Ahead

1. Scripture first. Read it, preach it, memorize it. Test every idea by it.

2. Preach the whole way of salvation. Preach repentance, faith, new birth, assurance and holiness, not a part only.

3. Rebuild the small group. In every church, form classes or groups where believers pray, confess, encourage and grow.

4. Raise leaders. Follow 2 Timothy 2:2. Train faithful men and women who will teach others, so that the work does not depend on one pastor.

5. Serve the poor and speak the truth in love. The holy life of the heart should appear in compassion and justice for the poor, the sick and the oppressed.

We add a sixth, which is a spirit and not a program: a catholic spirit toward other Christians, with love for all who love the Lord, and loyalty to the truth.

A Word to Pastors in Latin America and Africa

Many of you serve in places where Methodist and Holiness churches are small, and where the faith may cost you something. Some of your churches began with foreign missionaries, as Unit 8 explained, but you are no longer guests in the Wesleyan family. You are leaders in it. Three things are worth saying.

First, you do not need a large building or a large budget to practice the Wesleyan way. The first Methodists met in homes, fields and borrowed halls. A class meeting costs nothing but time and love.

Second, you can teach your own people in your own language. Wesley's sermons and Charles Wesley's hymns were written to be understood by ordinary people. Teach them simply, as Wesley did, and your people will understand.

Third, you are able to send as well as receive. A church in one village can send a lay preacher to the next, as the circuit riders once did. The Lord who called Freeman to the Gold Coast and Allen to Philadelphia can call people from your own congregation to carry the gospel farther.

Pastoral Application

A young pastor in a small town leads a church of about thirty people. No Wesleyan church is nearby, and he feels isolated. He asks, "How can I keep the Wesleyan way alive here?"

First, he should read Scripture and a few of Wesley's sermons with his leaders, so that the people know what they believe. Second, he should begin one class meeting, with a small group of four to ten adults meeting weekly to pray, share how they are walking with the Lord, and encourage one another. Third, he should choose one or two faithful people and train them to lead, following 2 Timothy 2:2. Fourth, he should sing the hymns of Charles Wesley and keep the Lord's Supper regularly. Fifth, he can seek the fellowship of other Wesleyan pastors, even by email, so that he is not alone. He can also keep in touch with CTS in this way. Sixth, he should pray by name for the people of his town, and invite them to come and hear. He should not measure his work by the size of the crowd. The church may be small, but the pattern is the same one that began the movement, and the Lord who blessed a few people meeting in Oxford and in London can bless a few people meeting in his town.

Summary

The Wesleyan family includes the Wesleyan-Holiness churches (the Nazarene, Wesleyan and Free Methodist churches), the larger Methodist churches, and the historic Black Methodist churches. The World Methodist Council traces back to the Ecumenical Methodist Conference of 1881, and it affirmed the Joint Declaration on Justification in 2006. Conservative Wesleyans take part in wider fellowship while stating their doctrine clearly. The family is held together by Scripture, grace for all, salvation by faith, holiness, small groups, singing and the sacraments, and mission. Three dangers threaten it: forms without power, loss of the small group, and captivity to culture. Historians explain decline and growth in several ways, and the center of the family is moving toward Africa, Latin America and Asia. Five commitments, Scripture first, the whole way of salvation, small groups, raising leaders, and compassion with truth, can guide the pastor who will serve in the years ahead.

Further Reading

• John Wesley, Thoughts upon Methodism (1786).

• John Wesley, Sermons, especially "Catholic Spirit."

• John Wesley, Journal.

• Holiness Through the Ages, the CTS textbook for Course 3.

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