From the Editor: We need to regain our Wesleyan heritage

Jim Nelson

Has the United Methodist Church lost its focus? Have we strayed too far from our Wesleyan roots? Have we become the “dead church” John Wesley feared we would, devoid of passion? Have we forgotten the one condition Wesley required of those desiring admission to the Methodist societies: “a desire to flee from the wrath to come, and to be saved from their sins.”?Apparently the organizers of the 2008 Southeast Jurisdictional Conference believe we have or are about to. The theme of the Conference was “Living the United Methodist Way.” To help those attending understand what that means, they added four teaching session to the schedule. The sessions were led by noted scholars in the field of Wesleyan theology, and they were the best part of the conference.

Sure, the conference elected a Bishop, passed a budget, reorganized the structure of the Jurisdiction, and made Episcopal assignments. But they do that all the time. The teaching reminded us of why we were there, and what it means to be a United Methodist in the Wesleyan tradition. It is too easy to forget sometimes when we get wrapped up in the business of the church and attending to the details.Throughout the sessions we were reminded that to be Wesleyan we needed doctrine, spirit, and discipline. We must have an understanding of God; we must know the stories of the one who came to dwell among us; they need to be in our bones so they can shape us. We learned that Wesley’s core doctrine was that God is a God of universal grace and love. That Wesley read the scripture through the lens of 1 John; it affected the way he interpreted everything else. Plus, we were reminded that the original purpose of the Methodist movement was to spread scriptural holiness. But somewhere along the line we have lost that goal. As one of the instructors stated, “Our zeal to bring people into the church led to the neglect of the house itself,” which he said was holiness and moving to perfection. As one former Bishop asked, “If you aren’t going to perfection, where are you going?”

Too many United Methodists have lost the passion for the faith. Too many of the sermons I have heard lately have been nice stories: entertaining but not inspiring. They lacked a sense of urgency. We need preachers who have a passion for the faith, who themselves “desire to flee from the wrath to come,” and who want to take as many people with them as possible.No, I am not saying we need a lot of hell, fire and brimstone preaching. But we do need preaching that will change peoples’ lives. Preaching that will let people know that God loves them, and will help them to change their life circumstances if necessary. Preaching that is inspired by the Holy Spirit. As Christians we need to reach down into the darkness of the world, into the muck and mire of people’s lives and help lift them up into the light of the faith. We need to get over the idea that talking about Jesus, or our faith is somehow politically incorrect. We need to emphasize the spiritual disciplines of prayer, scripture reading/study, fasting, tithing, and service.

And, perhaps most importantly, we need to learn how to tell one another with love when we have left the narrow way that leads to salvation, and begun wandering off in the wilderness again. Church is about community; sharing our lives, our hopes, our sorrows with one another; and helping one another move toward perfection.