tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53738335447669174582024-03-14T04:49:54.796-04:00Wesleyan/AnglicanThoughts from a pastor who understands himself to be classically Wesleyan in theology and who embraces a Wesleyan/Anglican view of liturgy and the sacraments.Todd A. Stepphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10712031457598684159noreply@blogger.comBlogger587125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5373833544766917458.post-24483492480528676232024-03-01T14:45:00.000-05:002024-03-01T14:45:30.317-05:00The 2024 Annual Report of the Board of General Superintendents<p> The 100th session of the General Board of the Church of the Nazarene recently concluded their annual meeting in Overland Park, Kansas. During the meeting the Rev'd. Dr. Fili Chambo, General Superintendent, delivered the annual report on behalf of the Board of General Superintendents. Bishop Chambo's report can be viewed, <a href="https://vimeo.com/917642665/6497836764?share=copy">here</a>.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3E4rgFObcEZEpFk8cmJW5Ykq7B5I87tz-EnKoV4gznSX9N2NUsd6jr9POErdzU0Q8PwKkLzPHYeGc_0FLvfRr3EMLXpLCsc08Z98pIRkhC1PRoIzjGdgqfLS0WJyIbVoGb50t7_xdD0_P1eMkvUS8iEO-cPNXXLXqP_X5LJIkSgjeQuA3ReceR_1Gj34T/s1500/Church-of-the-Nazarene-logo-wide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="850" data-original-width="1500" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3E4rgFObcEZEpFk8cmJW5Ykq7B5I87tz-EnKoV4gznSX9N2NUsd6jr9POErdzU0Q8PwKkLzPHYeGc_0FLvfRr3EMLXpLCsc08Z98pIRkhC1PRoIzjGdgqfLS0WJyIbVoGb50t7_xdD0_P1eMkvUS8iEO-cPNXXLXqP_X5LJIkSgjeQuA3ReceR_1Gj34T/s320/Church-of-the-Nazarene-logo-wide.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Todd A. Stepphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10712031457598684159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5373833544766917458.post-76353787004212821522024-01-31T23:42:00.001-05:002024-01-31T23:42:27.519-05:00Wesley Wednesday: A Timely Word<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpIeOkCfliLPeGkBULTGXeJedB1y8N4t5Jrq_yqxqUc9Kih3_vGi3VmE5tE70VIRCfbwAdFF1mKDFkMdgj9kAyE_eUEzfageguRE4vsEp8HiQrkdeMSzo6a2uzAThQqz1qrSxWZL-BrsoRkV8wG5HqjFhSaTuJz_gyKpcItr5p9v13-l0d_8_kOlRCLGXT/s1639/John-Wesley-Painting-e1464723198547.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1639" data-original-width="1365" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpIeOkCfliLPeGkBULTGXeJedB1y8N4t5Jrq_yqxqUc9Kih3_vGi3VmE5tE70VIRCfbwAdFF1mKDFkMdgj9kAyE_eUEzfageguRE4vsEp8HiQrkdeMSzo6a2uzAThQqz1qrSxWZL-BrsoRkV8wG5HqjFhSaTuJz_gyKpcItr5p9v13-l0d_8_kOlRCLGXT/w167-h200/John-Wesley-Painting-e1464723198547.png" width="167" /></a></div><p><br /></p>Once again Facebook reminded me of a great Wesley quote. This time from two years ago. How timely this quote seems to be for the Church. It comes from Sermon 90: "An Israelite Indeed."<br /><br /><i>This then is real, genuine, solid virtue. Not truth alone, nor conformity to truth. This is a property of real virtue, not the essence of it. Not love alone, though this comes nearer the mark; for 'love' in one sense 'is the fulfilling of the law'. No: truth and love united together are the essence of virtue or holiness.</i><br /><br /><br /><br /><p></p>Todd A. Stepphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10712031457598684159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5373833544766917458.post-59742719894791976972024-01-24T11:36:00.003-05:002024-01-24T11:36:16.641-05:00Wesley Wednesday: From Sermon 9<p> Today, my Facebook feed drew my attention back to two posts I made one year ago. Both of the posts came from John Wesley's Sermon 9: "The Spirit of Bondage and of Adoption." These two quotes will<br /> serve as today's Wesley Wednesday quotes:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyu3SleZMwZXO1mp_IWdCRsLeUlX410JLnmFneu0E0dFbbSYZmieMwnmfo1w5j4g0BUlJo6LGdtTR-1DRJnzotyMpidXuHG_yRsTEL4MjEYA2OiIyLTs438w-Tl8KgeLsZFpH1VEjaK5H9ZaZSkSALv2HUfAZg8S_8T4C1Qyt4TKtGnI_0s2PlkvNItYIY/s300/john-wesley-1-253x300.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="253" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyu3SleZMwZXO1mp_IWdCRsLeUlX410JLnmFneu0E0dFbbSYZmieMwnmfo1w5j4g0BUlJo6LGdtTR-1DRJnzotyMpidXuHG_yRsTEL4MjEYA2OiIyLTs438w-Tl8KgeLsZFpH1VEjaK5H9ZaZSkSALv2HUfAZg8S_8T4C1Qyt4TKtGnI_0s2PlkvNItYIY/s1600/john-wesley-1-253x300.webp" width="253" /></a></div><i>How lively a portraiture is this </i>[Romans 7] <i>of one "under the law"! One who feels the burden he cannot shake off; who pants after liberty, power, and love, but is in fear and bondage still! Until the time that God answers the wretched man crying out, "Who shall deliver me" from this bondage of sin, from this body of death? - "The grace of God, through Jesus Christ thy Lord."</i><br /><br />And, of the "natural man" who is in a state of spiritual sleep, John Wesley says:<br /><i>Why is it that he is in no dread of God? Because he is totally ignorant of him: . . . saying, "God is merciful;" confounding and swallowing up at once in that unwieldy idea of mercy all his holiness and essential hatred of sin, all his justice, wisdom, and truth. . . . Or he fancies . . . that Christ came to . . . save his people IN, not FROM their sins, to bring them to heaven without holiness . . .</i><p></p><p><br /></p>Todd A. Stepphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10712031457598684159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5373833544766917458.post-15066023420010841772023-12-20T22:41:00.002-05:002023-12-20T22:41:16.045-05:00Wesley Wednesday: A False Dichotomy, December 20, 2023<p> John Wesley relayed the following account in his <i>Journal </i>on January 1, 1739:<br /><br /><i>Mr. Hall, Kinchin, Ingham, Whitefield, Hutchins, and my brother Charles were present at our love feast in Fetter Lane, with about sixty of our brethren. About three in the morning, as we were continuing instant in prayer, the power of God came mightily upon us, insomuch that many cried out for exceeding joy and many fell to the ground. As soon as we were recovered a little from that awe and amazement at the presence of his Majesty, we broke out with one voice, "We praise thee, O God; we acknowledge thee to be the Lord!"</i></p><p>It is unfortunate that some people present a false dichotomy between the freedom and spontaneity expressed in the power of the Holy Spirit and the formal liturgy of the Church. They pit "revivalism" over against "sacramentalism" and "formalism." It is even more unfortunate when those within the Wesleyan camp do this.<br /><br />John Wesley, on the other hand, held all of this together. He was committed to extemporaneous prayer and to the written prayers of the Church. He gathered for extemporaneous prayer meetings and for the Offices of Morning and Evening Prayer. He was committed to God at work through the revival and through the sacraments. For him, the Methodist Society Meetings were essential, and so was the corporate worship of the Anglican <i>Book of Common Prayer.</i> <br /><br /></p><p>Further, the above excerpt of Wesley's <i>Journal </i>is an example of these <i>complimentary </i>commitments. In the quote, one finds a love feast and apparent spontaneous prayer, along with the manifest power of God in their midst. What is interesting is the response of those Anglicans. With one voice they declared, "We praise thee, O God; we acknowledge thee to be the Lord!" - This is a quote of the <i>Te Deum Laudamus, </i>a prayer from the 4th Century. It was known to those faithful Anglicans, because it was a regular response to the Old Testament lesson during the Daily Office of Morning Prayer in the <i>Book of Common Prayer.</i><br /><br />Wesleyan Christians, particularly those from the Holiness and free church branches of Wesleyanism would do well to embrace those forms of worship that helped to shaped John Wesley's faith, as well as the development of his understanding of holiness of heart and life. They are not opposed to life in the Spirit. They are vital conduits of such spiritual life.</p><p><i><br /></i></p>Todd A. Stepphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10712031457598684159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5373833544766917458.post-1833044388311416782023-12-06T09:35:00.001-05:002023-12-06T09:35:43.384-05:00Wesley Wednesday: Wesley on Omnipotence and Timelessness of God<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqjXsetbVSh1GfTxFM4ByW-eOih_Gz8a3i_6pdXLmwO94x9JKRWHwkDgzLlGEDqyTSvYtiIo2pj2xIohJSoDZa2RHmtBWRrxFxjpmqE3HknhIW-LkOBM5dqEKW1eb6KBdPs9nosJzpi6us1LVE6Yl5wMyAgQ4NWX8DhSet7Ycu7Cp8V6cmGwpjHrUKb8HW/s400/Quotable%20Wesley.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="265" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqjXsetbVSh1GfTxFM4ByW-eOih_Gz8a3i_6pdXLmwO94x9JKRWHwkDgzLlGEDqyTSvYtiIo2pj2xIohJSoDZa2RHmtBWRrxFxjpmqE3HknhIW-LkOBM5dqEKW1eb6KBdPs9nosJzpi6us1LVE6Yl5wMyAgQ4NWX8DhSet7Ycu7Cp8V6cmGwpjHrUKb8HW/w213-h320/Quotable%20Wesley.png" width="213" /></a></div> In recent years, the omnipotence of God, as well as God's standing outside of (over and above) time, have been called into question by certain theologians from within the Wesleyan tradition. In particular, Thomas Jay Oord has denied God's omnipotence and has positioned God within time like all of creation. - With that in mind, as I was thumbing my way through Dave Armstrong's <i>The Quotable<br /> Wesley, </i>those two topics quickly caught my eye. So, what did John Wesley think about God's omnipotence, and how did Wesley understand God's relationship to time? - Let's take a look at a couple of Wesley quotes!<br /><br />On the subject of God's omnipotence, from Sermon 19, "The Unity of the Divine Being," Wesley says:<br /><br /><i>And he [God] is omnipotent as well as omnipresent: there can be no more bounds to his power than to his presence. He "hath a mighty arm: strong is his hand, and high is his right hand." He doeth whatsoever pleaseth him in the heavens, the earth, the sea, and in all deep places. With men, we know, many things are impossible; "but not with God: with him all things are possible." Whensoever he willeth, to do is present with him.</i><br /><br />Armstrong cites <i>Wesleyana: A Selection of the Most Important Passages in the Writings of the Late Rev. John Wesley, A.M. </i>for the following Wesley quote on God and time:<br /><br /><i>The almighty, all-wise God sees and knows, from everlasting to everlasting, all that is, that was, and that is to come, through one eternal now. With him nothing is either past or future, but all things equally present. He has, therefore, if we speak according to the truth of things, no foreknowledge, no after-knowledge. This would be ill-consistent with the apostle's words, "With him is no variableness or shadow of turning," and with the account he gives of himself by the prophet, "I the Lord change not." Yet when he speaks to us, knowing whereof we are made, knowing the scantiness of our understanding, he lets himself down to our capacity and speaks of himself after the manner of men. Thus, in condescension to our weakness, he speaks of his own purpose, counsel, plan, foreknowledge. Not that God has any need of counsel, of purpose, or of planning his work beforehand. Far be it from us to impute these to the Most High, to measure him by ourselves! It is merely in compassion to us that he speaks thus of himself as foreknowing the things in heaven or earth and as predestinating or foreordaining them.</i><p></p>Todd A. Stepphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10712031457598684159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5373833544766917458.post-74293729786434795322023-11-22T11:49:00.001-05:002023-11-22T11:49:09.922-05:00Wesley Wednesday: Is Sanctification a Process or Instantaneous?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggmcuFnGZatZUWVEkJ4gly3p3eE1PsGTF1tCWy4ZoqO4DabQC32L3olRjPvzae-b1vbjBhX82w6UZqFN8mMxnefMnfqwGnEhpM6SjP9CRFj-cuk7g24RoFwq5K2sgAXbkNtFkNOSAc2iqLBCs-9mplj6O-yMgDPmDBGRZYRKmt2ELBV75l6i7ivH405juL/s640/A%20Plain%20Account%20of%20Christian%20Perfection.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggmcuFnGZatZUWVEkJ4gly3p3eE1PsGTF1tCWy4ZoqO4DabQC32L3olRjPvzae-b1vbjBhX82w6UZqFN8mMxnefMnfqwGnEhpM6SjP9CRFj-cuk7g24RoFwq5K2sgAXbkNtFkNOSAc2iqLBCs-9mplj6O-yMgDPmDBGRZYRKmt2ELBV75l6i7ivH405juL/w200-h200/A%20Plain%20Account%20of%20Christian%20Perfection.webp" width="200" /></a></div> It is sometimes debated in Wesleyan circles as to whether sanctification is a process or an instantaneous crisis. John Wesley takes up this very issue in his <i>A Plain Account of Christian Perfection.</i> Here is<br /> what he says about the subject:<br /><br /><i><b>17: Questions and Answers on the Doctrine of Sanctification</b></i><br /><br /><i><span> </span>"When does inward sanctification begin?<br /></i><span> </span>"In the moment a man is justified. (Yet sin remains in him, yea, the seed of all sin, till he is sanctified throughout). From that time a believer gradually dies to sin, and grows in grace."<p></p><p><b><i>19: Thoughts on Christian Perfection</i></b></p><p><i><span> </span>"Is this death to sin, and renewal in love, gradual or instantaneous?</i><br /><span> </span>"A man may be dying for some time; yet he does not, properly speaking, die, till the soul is separated from the body; and in that instant, he lives the life of eternity. In like manner, he may be dying to sin for some time; yet he is not dead to sin, till sin is separated from his soul; and in that instant, he lives the full life of love. And as the change undergone, when the body dies, is of a different kind, and infinitely greater than any we had known before, yea, such as till then, it is impossible to conceive; so the change wrought, when the soul dies to sin, is of a different kind, and infinitely greater than any before, and than any can conceive, till he experiences it. Yet he still grows in grace, in the knowledge of Christ, in the love and image of God; and will do so, not only till death, but to all eternity."</p><p><b>25: "Farther Thoughts on Christian Perfection"</b></p><p><i><span> </span>"25. But is not this the case of all that are justified? Do they not gradually die to sin and grow in grace, till at, or perhaps a little before, death, God perfects them in love?</i><br /><span> </span>"I believe this is the case of most, but not all. God usually gives a considerable time for men to receive light, to grow in grace, to do and suffer His will, before they are either justified or sanctified; but He does not invariably adhere to this; sometimes He 'cuts short His work'; He does the work of many years in a few weeks; perhaps in a week, a day, an hour. He justifies or sanctifies both those who have done or suffered nothing, and who have not had time for a gradual growth either in light or grace. And 'may He not do what He will with His own? Is thine eye evil, because He is good?'<br /><span> </span>"It need not, therefore, be affirmed over and over, and proved by forty texts of Scripture, either that most men are perfected in love at last, that there is a gradual work of God in the soul, or that, generally speaking, it is a long time, even many ears, before sin is destroyed. All this we know; but we know likewise, that God may, with man's good leave, 'cut short His work,' in whatever degree He pleases, and do the usual work of many years in a moment. He does so in many instances; and yet there is a gradual work, both before and after that moment; so that one may affirm the work is gradual; another, it is instantaneous, without any manner of contradiction."</p><p><b>26: Brief Summation of Wesley's Views</b></p><p><span> </span>"(10) It [Christian Perfection] is constantly both preceded and followed by a gradual work.<br /><span> </span>"(11) But is it in itself instantaneous or not? In examining this, let us go on step by step.<br /><span> "An instantaneous change has been wrought in some believers. None can deny this.<br /><span> "Since that change, they enjoy perfect love; they feel this, and this alone; they 'rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks.' Now this is all that I mean by perfection; therefore, these are witnesses of the perfection which I preach.<br /></span><span> "But in some, this change was not instantaneous.' They did not perceive the instant when it was wrought. It is often difficult to perceive the instant when a man dies; yet there is an instant in which life ceases. And if ever sin ceases, there must be a last moment of its existence, and a first moment of our deliverance from it.</span></span></p><p><span><span>____________</span></span></p><p>In addition to the quotes, above, Wesley takes up this same issue in his sermon, (54) <i>The Scripture Way of Salvation</i>. In that sermon he says:<br /><br /> "18. 'But does God work this great work [of Entire Sanctification / Christian Perfection] in the soul <i>gradually </i>or <i>instantaneously</i>?' Perhaps it may be gradually wrought in some. I mean in this sense - they do not advert to the particular moment wherein sin ceases to be. But it is infinitely desirable, were it the will of God, that it should be done instantaneously; that the Lord should destroy sin 'by the breath of his mouth' in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. And so he generally does, a plain fact of which there is evidence enough to satisfy any unprejudiced person. <i>Thou </i>therefore look for it every moment. Look for it in the way above described; in all those 'good works' whereunto thou art 'created anew in Christ Jesus'. . . . Look for it then every day, every hour, every moment. Why not this hour, this moment? Certainly you may look for it <i>now, </i>if you believe it is by faith. And by this token may you surely know whether you seek it by faith or by works. If by works, you want something to be done <i>first, before </i>you are sanctified. You think, 'I must first <i>be </i>or <i>do </i>thus or thus.' Then you are seeking it by works unto this day. If you seek it by faith, you may expect it <i>as you are:</i> and if as you are, then expect it <i>now.</i> It is of importance to observe that there is an inseparable connection between these three points - expect it <i>by faith, </i>expect it <i>as you are, </i>and expect it <i>now</i>! . . .<br /></p><p>__________</p><p>From the above quotes, it should be clear that, for Wesley, sanctification includes both, a process and an instantaneous crisis moment. It seems that the issue that many stumble over is a lack of clear distinction between the larger process of sanctification and the more specific moment (instantaneous crisis) of <i>entire </i>sanctification, which takes place within that larger process. It has been the case that many within the Holiness tradition, the larger Wesleyan/Methodist tradition, and John Wesley, himself, have fallen into the trap of failing to be precise in their language. Very often "sanctification" (without any qualification) is used when specifically <i>meaning </i>"entire sanctification." Nevertheless, for Wesley, sanctification is a process in which the crisis moment of <i>entire </i>sanctification takes place. And, indeed, God may "cut short" the process that leads up to entire sanctification when we seek it by faith. Further, even after the experience of entire sanctification, we continue to grow in grace. - Thanks be to God for His sanctifying grace!</p>Todd A. Stepphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10712031457598684159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5373833544766917458.post-17928376870102135912023-11-13T07:00:00.003-05:002023-11-14T15:41:47.264-05:00The Commemoration of Phineas F. Bresee<p> </p><h1 style="text-align: center;">Phineas F. Bresee</h1><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0NMzTmH_BhGupph8QbLETlZ0VsEsXQ6UjpICvBWdwO9fa4Qb2uXAzWq4L5gIHgTBWRMikRRu9Z3oFb62iP3nbl_gZIoKY5Il7O1UZtD79k_lkv2b616RBxtt525pVzLjzmBd9X4bh2DTQ/s1600/Bresee+004.jpg" style="color: #66cc66; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="292" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0NMzTmH_BhGupph8QbLETlZ0VsEsXQ6UjpICvBWdwO9fa4Qb2uXAzWq4L5gIHgTBWRMikRRu9Z3oFb62iP3nbl_gZIoKY5Il7O1UZtD79k_lkv2b616RBxtt525pVzLjzmBd9X4bh2DTQ/s320/Bresee+004.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="260" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-align: center;"> </div><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">Today is the commemoration (or "Feast Day") of Phineas F. Bresee, principal founder of the Church of the Nazarene. As a means of celebration, I have re-printed the hagiography for Bresee which was published in <i>For All the Saints: A Calendar of Commemorations</i>, Second Edition. The book was </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEfR4dY1mAVbRZl614FC2WF-hhvRBqDnKqFPItE9XMI-C0LEVv1mtrGAilRMLVv12CPo4QVycYYk-USYorBJjTnmbjh4STONNt5QHloICi8XsaewSJniNfSMHPW2UVsloD11WMryRV_lL9/s1600/For-All-the-Saints.jpg" style="background-color: white; clear: right; color: #66cc66; float: right; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="350" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEfR4dY1mAVbRZl614FC2WF-hhvRBqDnKqFPItE9XMI-C0LEVv1mtrGAilRMLVv12CPo4QVycYYk-USYorBJjTnmbjh4STONNt5QHloICi8XsaewSJniNfSMHPW2UVsloD11WMryRV_lL9/s200/For-All-the-Saints.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="140" /></a><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">published by the Order of Saint Luke and edited by Heather Josselyn-Cranson. I was privileged to have written the following piece on Bresee (the prayer was written by Daniel Taylor Benedict, Jr.):</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">Phineas Franklin Bresee was born to Phineas and Susan Brown Bresee in Franklin, NY, on December 31, 1838. At 16, Bresee experienced his own "warmed heart" through a personal faith in Christ. Soon thereafter, he sensed a call to ministry and was granted a Methodist exhorter's license. He was ordained a deacon in 1859 and an elder two years later.(301)</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">In 1867, in Chariton, Iowa, Bresee "entered into the blessing of entire sanctification."(302) Bresee had been struggling with doubt. The altar call after his sermon that night produced only one seeker; Bresee, himself. ". . . [A]s I cried to [the Lord] that night, he seemed to open heaven on me, and gave me . . . the baptism with the Holy Ghost . . . it not only took away my tendencies to worldliness, anger and pride, but it also removed the doubt."(303) That experience of Christian Perfection would have a huge impact on Breese's ministry.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">Bresee served rural charges, and then large, urban churches in Iowa(304) and, after 1883, Los Angeles and Pasadena, CA. He was appointed presiding elder in West Des Moines (1864)(305) and in Los Angeles.(306) Further, Bresee served as a delegate to multiple General Conferences.(307)</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;"></span><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; float: left; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; padding: 4px; position: relative;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuaKXNDY3W9FtOvg4uwZ1fypcEXtS5EqfBDeDyYZhGOfqE6ntRfm4c4qbIEGnNggFErBDHZN-f48INvpdfu2Gk-Qwkv72uYBZYLLqp1_zmBCm-X7G0BCrjOj9Hypt4FmbYGdQKdLdij45l/s1600/Bresee+Pulpit.jpg" style="clear: left; color: #66cc66; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuaKXNDY3W9FtOvg4uwZ1fypcEXtS5EqfBDeDyYZhGOfqE6ntRfm4c4qbIEGnNggFErBDHZN-f48INvpdfu2Gk-Qwkv72uYBZYLLqp1_zmBCm-X7G0BCrjOj9Hypt4FmbYGdQKdLdij45l/s200/Bresee+Pulpit.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 11.88px; text-align: center;">Me, behind Bresee's pulpit with<br />my Bresee bobble head</td></tr></tbody></table><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;"> Education was important to Bresee, as was seen by his serving on the board of Simpson College(308) and the University of Southern California.(309) Later, Bresee became the president of Pacific Bible College (now Point Loma Nazarene University).(310)</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">By the mid-1890's, Bresee's commitment to the message of holiness led to his role as vice president of the National Holiness Association (NHA). The experience of holiness also brought a passion for the poor. The Church's first miracle after baptism with the Holy Ghost at Pentecost was upon a beggar, and so, Bresee reasoned, the priority of a Holy Ghost-baptized church ought to be the poor.(311) This passion led him to withdraw from the MEC's appointive system in 1894 to serve with the Peniel Mission. However, while away, preaching for the NHA, Bresee was ousted from the Mission. He was now left without the Mission or a MEC appointment.(312)</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">Thus, at the request of a number of southern California's Holiness people, the Church of the Nazarene was organized on October 20, 1895 as a "Christian work, especially evangelistic and city mission work, and the spreading of the doctrine and experience of Christian holiness."(313) Bresee was the general superintendent of a growing holiness denomination. A series of mergers with other regional holiness groups established the church as a national denomination in 1908 at Pilot Point, TX.(314)</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">Bresee served as the denomination's senior general superintendent until his death on November 13, 1915. He left behind his wife, Maria, six children, and what would become the largest denomination in the Wesleyan-Holiness wing of Methodism.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_fouDKmngwy-rTn1YHRHF74MISswmYFEsXRgXut7-Unu1NqRP4_keDVpVDesvOgfeiQmMoBu6T1nztgrbkpRfNOxAwV1h_iuC2ntOE3c90nT4tqHnL5is5iFtstmwlRlit4cOtyYJZCk0/s1600/Naz+logo.jpg" style="color: #66cc66; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="267" data-original-width="403" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_fouDKmngwy-rTn1YHRHF74MISswmYFEsXRgXut7-Unu1NqRP4_keDVpVDesvOgfeiQmMoBu6T1nztgrbkpRfNOxAwV1h_iuC2ntOE3c90nT4tqHnL5is5iFtstmwlRlit4cOtyYJZCk0/s320/Naz+logo.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="320" /></a></div><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Common Prayer for Pastors, Bishops and Abbatial Leaders</em><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"></em><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">Gracious God, our Shepherd, we thank you for raising up </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Phineas Bresee </em><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">as bishop and pastor in your church. Remembering his faithfulness and care, fill all shepherds of your church with truth in doctrine, fidelity in Word and Sacrament, and boldness and vision in leading the people, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">__________________________________________________________</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">301 Ingersol, Stan. </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Nazarene Roots: Pastors, Prophets, Revivalists & Reformers. </em><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City. 2009. p. 87-88.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">302 Bangs, Carl. </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Phineas F. Bresee: His Life in Methodism, the Holiness Movement, and the Church of the Nazarene. </em><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City. 1995. p. 71-73, 77.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">303 Girvin, E.A. </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Phineas F. Bresee: A Prince in Israel.</em><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;"> Kansas City, MO. Nazarene Publishing House. 1916. p. 50-52.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">304 Ingersol. p. 88.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">305 Kostlevy, William C., Ed. </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Historical Dictionary of the Holiness Movement. </em><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">Lanham, Maryland, and London. The Scarecrow Press, Inc. p. 28-29.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">306 Bangs. p. 286.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">307 Ingersol. p. 88-89.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">308 Ibid. p. 88.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">309 Kostlevy. p. 29.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">310 Ingersol. p. 91</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">311 Ibid. p. 88-89.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">312 Kostlevy. p. 29.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">313 Bangs. p. 195-196.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">314 Kostlevy. p. 29.</span>Todd A. Stepphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10712031457598684159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5373833544766917458.post-33472232754717673752023-10-31T11:38:00.002-04:002023-10-31T11:43:53.375-04:00John Wesley and the Reformation<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Au2iVcWpERO7CnC3MlZSaU0v0Jskwk4z3mG4MC64kpf5X454tadXEgCbcnkl0ZKu8TkF9bvUQM96sRLfy0P4tvxtjv_pKg34GRWfI1f4oXvOvDTzmtXldq-7to2wqBiUuA4sStgRR46h/s1600/Luther.jpg" style="clear: right; color: #0b8043; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Au2iVcWpERO7CnC3MlZSaU0v0Jskwk4z3mG4MC64kpf5X454tadXEgCbcnkl0ZKu8TkF9bvUQM96sRLfy0P4tvxtjv_pKg34GRWfI1f4oXvOvDTzmtXldq-7to2wqBiUuA4sStgRR46h/w137-h200/Luther.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="137" /></a></div>Today is Reformation Day. It is the day when Protestant Christians, and most especially Lutherans, celebrate the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. - Why did I say, "and most especially Lutherans"? Because the Protestant reformation begins with a man named Martin Luther!<br /><br /></div><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;"></span><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">Now, Martin Luther did not set out to start the Protestant Reformation, or even to start a new church. He loved the church. He had every desire to remain faithful to her. Nevertheless, he encountered some very troubling issues within the church. Again, it was not his desire to leave the church over these issues. Rather, it was his desire to try to address these issues so that the church might make some corrections; that it might be . . . "reformed."</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">And so, on All Hallows' Eve (i.e., the eve of All Saints' Day; what we call "Halloween"), in 1517, Martin Luther nailed his "95 Thesis" on the door of the Wittenberg church. It was an act seeking an academic debate over certain issues in the Church, not a declaration of a split with Rome. Nevertheless, this act became the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoFdJuB35BnzVFblIZldJe0cXs7XvxyY2POvw9NQrB-oCHIeF8uSUVE0BjEPNjZAUNyFA31sX5SOLnGIp2sT2Ekzvwhyxg239UlSyXxDSCoQGthWsnm5V5Q_fa0hzke1iVI9h3vB9X6wx5Y2JbdDotkHUewuQvIqejfTC2cbbiQomFs2RPnjg6h-q6yQjZ/s300/john-wesley-1-253x300.webp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="253" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoFdJuB35BnzVFblIZldJe0cXs7XvxyY2POvw9NQrB-oCHIeF8uSUVE0BjEPNjZAUNyFA31sX5SOLnGIp2sT2Ekzvwhyxg239UlSyXxDSCoQGthWsnm5V5Q_fa0hzke1iVI9h3vB9X6wx5Y2JbdDotkHUewuQvIqejfTC2cbbiQomFs2RPnjg6h-q6yQjZ/w169-h200/john-wesley-1-253x300.webp" width="169" /></a></div><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">That was in 1517, but where does the Wesleyan tradition fit? How are we connected to Luther and the Protestant Reformation? <br /><br /><br />Well, there is one direct connection between Wesley and Luther, and it happened on Aldersgate Street, in London, in 1738. There, while attending a Society meeting, someone was reading aloud from </span><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">Luther's <i>Preface to the Epistle to the Romans. </i></span><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">It was while hearing this read that </span><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">John Wesley felt his "heart strangely warmed," and an assurance was given him that God had taken away his sins and had saved him from the law of sin and death. This has been called Wesley's "evangelical conversion." It is the touchstone for the Wesleyan doctrine of assurance. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">- Certainly, in that regard, we Wesleyans owe quite a debt to Martin Luther. - But, how do we relate to Luther's Protestant Reformation?</span><p></p><p><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">To answer that question, I have included the following video from </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVCJZ5t9aOEmkgqa3IjeVHQ" style="background-color: white; color: #0b8043; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Seedbed,</a><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;"> by Dr. Larry Wood. In it, he explains the place of John Wesley in the Protestant Reformation.</span></p><p><br /></p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-q3TJJCCdH4?si=tPE7vPEPgeU2g-Eg" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>So, as Dr. Wood explains, we Wesleyans do have our place within the Reformation of the Western Church.<br /><br />Still, in the midst of observing Reformation day, I think it important to hear <span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">another perspective. A perspective that is articulated in one of my favorite quotes from the late Rev'd. Dr. William Greathouse, general superintendent emeritus in the Church of the Nazarene. He says:</span></div><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">"It is time the Church of Jesus Christ overcame the disjunctions created by the 16th-century Reformation. What is called for is the 'evangelical catholicism' of John Wesley's 'middle way' in which the two historic Christian traditions were synthesized. In this synthesis the English Reformer not only recovered for the Church a viable doctrine of holiness but also pointed the way to a scriptural view and practice of the sacraments that is both apostolic and catholic."</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">It must be admitted that the Reformation did result in many disjunctions. Some of them are painfully present, to this day. Even among the children of Wesley, when one seeks to recover his commitment to liturgical and sacramental worship, one is often said to be "too Catholic" (i,e., bad!), rather than recognizing that the desire is simply to be thoroughly Wesleyan and thoroughly Christian. - Beyond that, in addition to doctrinal differences, there is still much prejudice between Protestant Christians and Roman Catholic Christians. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">Perhaps, as we observe Reformation Day, it would be a good time for those of us who are Wesleyans to re-read Wesley's </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Letter to a Roman Catholic. </em><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">Perhaps it is also time for us to recognize that, while there are certainly still <i>very significant </i>doctrinal disagreements between Protestants and Roman Catholics, nevertheless, the Protestant Reformation did influence changes that came about in the Roman Catholic Counter Reformation. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">Beyond that, it is worth celebrating that the Lutheran World Federation and the Roman Catholic Church developed </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">The Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, </em><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">signed by representatives of both traditions on October 31, 1999 (the anniversary of Luther's 95 Theses!). The World Methodist Council was represented at that historic event and brought a letter of congratulations. On July 23, 2006, another document was signed by the Lutherans, Roman Catholics and Methodists, adding the <i>Official Common Affirmation of the Methodist Statement of Association with the JDDJ</i></span><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;"> to the original document. That statement was approved unanimously by the World Methodist Council members, including those representing all seven U.S. based denominations.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><div><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">Perhaps this, too, is a part of the ongoing <i>re-formation </i>that God is working within His Church. </span></div>Todd A. Stepphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10712031457598684159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5373833544766917458.post-65126872503439445402023-09-20T15:36:00.002-04:002023-09-20T15:36:12.811-04:00Wesley Wednesday: September 20, 2023<p> The following quote comes from a passage in John Wesley's Sermon 43: <i>The Scriptural Way of Salvation</i>:</p><p><br /></p><p><span> </span>I.8. From the time of our being 'born again' the gradual work of sanctification takes place. We are enabled 'by the Spirit' to 'mortify the deeds of the body', of our evil nature. And as we are more and more dead to sin, we are more and more alive to God. We go on from grace to grace, while we are careful to 'abstain from all appearance of evil', and are 'zealous of good works', 'as we have opportunity, doing good to all men'; while we walk in all his ordinances blameless, therein worshipping him in spirit and in truth; while we take up our cross and deny ourselves every pleasure that does not lead us to God.</p><p><span> 9. It is thus that we wait for entire sanctification, for a full salvation from all our sins, from pride, self-will, anger, unbelief, or, as the Apostle expresses it, 'Go on to perfection.' But what is perfection? The word has various senses: here it means perfect love. It is love excluding sin; love filling the heart, taking up the whole capacity of the soul. It is love 'rejoicing evermore, praying without ceasing, in everything giving thanks'.</span><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJUdOf_ZrtIE75SIGTUb6Zgcp93D2MDpMzF1By_V5f0cEtjbbuU7VjpFm64R5x--db1xiKapUor4MkYDjYOkzDa1_dwLOdlnCOOI4cswGZW0xzNi_Rr6vIDsB6FZiGkhS8E4bHhzCOqCXjJhXhB9HhtN-d9vLv5yemqtxEJn6Z9uEecaSRiFU_PxT6Vt4R/s1639/John-Wesley-Painting-e1464723198547.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1639" data-original-width="1365" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJUdOf_ZrtIE75SIGTUb6Zgcp93D2MDpMzF1By_V5f0cEtjbbuU7VjpFm64R5x--db1xiKapUor4MkYDjYOkzDa1_dwLOdlnCOOI4cswGZW0xzNi_Rr6vIDsB6FZiGkhS8E4bHhzCOqCXjJhXhB9HhtN-d9vLv5yemqtxEJn6Z9uEecaSRiFU_PxT6Vt4R/s320/John-Wesley-Painting-e1464723198547.png" width="267" /></a></div><br /><span><br /></span><p></p>Todd A. Stepphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10712031457598684159noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5373833544766917458.post-47980940940496814002023-08-02T10:57:00.000-04:002023-08-02T10:57:46.417-04:00Wesley Wednesday: August 2, 2023<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFFq7OV_L2VK0WRuDjfKGjjUasnJ4_8FwdR1rmavWFM1BHja-WBiBhfmnTGI_8Jyt0zD6ocwWa580PCgpmEfgO3NhL4mBNwxKDyBxvEE26XQVIXGu9yT1TkWOq9kaotKtvpLKn1s3Yz6RD0SwZuYRRQtv7x-bdSnegbuijs1jYTig3tKK6N6nrFW4x89Td/s700/og-charles-wesley-4696.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="700" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFFq7OV_L2VK0WRuDjfKGjjUasnJ4_8FwdR1rmavWFM1BHja-WBiBhfmnTGI_8Jyt0zD6ocwWa580PCgpmEfgO3NhL4mBNwxKDyBxvEE26XQVIXGu9yT1TkWOq9kaotKtvpLKn1s3Yz6RD0SwZuYRRQtv7x-bdSnegbuijs1jYTig3tKK6N6nrFW4x89Td/w320-h165/og-charles-wesley-4696.webp" width="320" /></a></div> It has been a while since I made a Wesley Wednesday post, but with the songs I have been singing during Morning Prayer, I just had to make one, today! (Of course, the focus is on <i>Charles </i>Wesley this time.) - I am still singing my way through the new <i>Our Great Redeemer's Praise </i>hymnal, and I am in the section on the Lord's Supper. It is one of the strengths of this hymnal that this section presents several Wesley hymns. <p></p><p>Yesterday, I posted on Facebook the first verse of "This Eucharistic Feast." - For those who may have missed it, I will reprint it, as follows:<br /><br /></p><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-align: center; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>1. This Eucharistic feast our ev'ry want supplies,</i></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-align: center; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>and still we by His death are blest, and share His sacrifice.</i></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-align: center; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>By faith His flesh we eat, who here His passion show,</i></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-align: center; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>and <span style="font-family: inherit;"><a style="color: #385898; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit;" tabindex="-1"></a></span>God out of HIs holy seat shall all His gifts bestow.</i></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Today's singing included the following two Wesley hymns:</span>
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><b><i>Come to the Feast</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>1. Come to the Feast, for Christ invites</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>and promises to feed,</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>'tis here His closest love unites</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>the members to their Head.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>'Tis here He nourishes His own</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>with Living Bread from heav'n,</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>and makes Himself to mourners known,</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>and shows their sins forgiv'n.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>2. Still in His instituted ways</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>He bids us ask the pow'r,</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>the pard'ning or the hall'wing grace</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>and wait th'appointed hour.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>'Tis not for us to set our God</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>a time His grace to give,</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>the benefit whene'er bestowed</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>we gladly should receive.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>3. Who seek redemption through His love,</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>His love shall them redeem;
He came self-emptied from above</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>that we might live through Him.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>Expect we then the quick'ning word</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>who at His altar bow;</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>but if it be Thy pleasure, Lord,</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>O let us find Thee now.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: Segoe UI Historic, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">And . . .</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: Segoe UI Historic, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: Segoe UI Historic, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><b><i>Come Holy Ghost, Thine Influence Shed</i></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: Segoe UI Historic, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: Segoe UI Historic, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>1. Come, Holy Ghost, Thine influence shed,</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: Segoe UI Historic, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>and realize the Sign:</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: Segoe UI Historic, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>Thy life infuse into the bread,</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: Segoe UI Historic, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>Thy pow'r into the wine.</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: Segoe UI Historic, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: Segoe UI Historic, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>2. Effectual let the Tokens prove,</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: Segoe UI Historic, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>and made by heav'nly art,</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: Segoe UI Historic, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>fit channels to convey Thy love</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: Segoe UI Historic, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>to ev'ry faithful heart.</i></span></span></div></div>Todd A. Stepphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10712031457598684159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5373833544766917458.post-14300275189160385952023-05-27T23:46:00.000-04:002023-05-27T23:46:08.749-04:00Pentecost Sunday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibAkOexynbVwD_QWEWij39HjLHIyp914oYjMT5tKCslcn7f1hnG7TevVmfAF9yycAuY0o5kulqiEtQxyNatmBjTeXpqdmqAe5Ae6A8guuf67GCECyIGaw3xjH1gm7zEqVsWj_2KESRkuWsNNeFGKsU6mfm6aFOKp0xRl9ZokYN_1DiCuQJWhA-oaZCSA/s1100/Pentecost.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="770" data-original-width="1100" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibAkOexynbVwD_QWEWij39HjLHIyp914oYjMT5tKCslcn7f1hnG7TevVmfAF9yycAuY0o5kulqiEtQxyNatmBjTeXpqdmqAe5Ae6A8guuf67GCECyIGaw3xjH1gm7zEqVsWj_2KESRkuWsNNeFGKsU6mfm6aFOKp0xRl9ZokYN_1DiCuQJWhA-oaZCSA/s320/Pentecost.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p> Tomorrow, <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">the Church around the world will celebrate the culmination of the Great Fifty Days, the conclusion of the Easter season, the outpouring of the promise of the Father, the baptism with the Holy Spirit, and the birth of the Church. - John the Baptizer had declared concerning Jesus, "I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire" (Luke 3:16, NRSV). Jesus assured the disciples that it would be to their advantage that He would ascend to the Father, because, in doing so, He would send the Holy Spirit (the Advocate/Comforter/Counselor/Helper -</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> </span><em style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">parakletos </em><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">) to them (John 16:7). The Holy Spirit would teach them everything and remind them of all that Jesus had said to them (14:26), and the Holy Spirit would "prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgement (16:8).</span></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> </div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Further, Jesus told the apostles, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8, NRSV).</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><div> </div><div><div>On the Day of Pentecost, the disciples saw the fulfillment of the promised outpouring of the Holy Spirit as told by John the Baptizer and the Lord Jesus, as well as the prophet Joel. It is that same outpouring of the Holy Spirit that we enter into by faith and through our baptism, for St. Paul declares, "For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body . . ." (1 Cor. 12:13, NRSV).* <br /><br />This holds special meanings for our family, because my daughter, Sarah, was baptized on Pentecost Sunday 28 years ago, and my son, Matthew, was baptized on Pentecost Sunday 24 years ago, when our district superintendent, the Rev'd. Dr. M. V. Scutt, came to our church in Greencastle (IN) on both occasions to baptize our newborn children.</div><div><div> </div><div>Pentecost is one of the major feast days of the Church, and it should be a great day of celebration for those of us in the Wesleyan-Holiness tradition. - I recall a conversation several years ago with a pastor from a Presbyterian (USA) congregation. He confessed, he really didn't know what to do with Pentecost. Now, I do not mean to imply that such is the case for all, or even a majority of Presbyterians. I don't know. However, whatever the case for my Presbyterian brother, Nazarenes, whether espousing a 19th century or a classical Wesleyan view (cf. footnote, below) ought to know how to celebrate Pentecost Sunday.</div><div><div> </div><div>You see, one of the main benefits of Pentecost and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is the possibility of having our hearts cleansed of sin. - As the prophet Ezekiel foretold, there was coming a day when God would ". . . sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you, and make you follow my statures and be careful to observe my ordinances" (Ezek. 36:25-27, NRSV). And St. Peter, referring to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the gentiles, argued, "And God, who knows the human heart, testified to them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us; and in cleansing their hearts by faith he has made no distinction between them and us" (Acts 15:8-9).</div><div><div> </div><div>It is this heart cleansing that has been at the heart of the Wesleyan & Methodist movement, and especially so for the Holiness branches of Methodism. It has been referred to by Wesley in connection with the Biblical doctrines of Entire Sanctification and Christian Perfection. In fact, the spread of scriptural holiness throughout the land was the stated purpose of Methodism, first by John Wesley in London in 1733, and then in America, at the famous Christmas Conference in Baltimore in 1784 at the founding of the Methodist Episcopal Church. It was the commitment to this purpose that gave rise to the 19th century Holiness Movement within Methodism. And Phineas Bresee said of the Church of the Nazarene, that it is ". . . a part of that body of believers raised up to spread sanctified holiness over these lands, and thus that we are a part of that company who are the real successors of John Wesley and the early Methodists" (<em>Nazarene Messenger, </em>July 15, 1909).</div><div><br /></div><div><div>And so, we Wesleyan Christians enthusiastically join our sisters and brothers in Christ from around the world to rejoice and give thanks to God on Pentecost Sunday for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit as we seek to worship God in Spirit and in Truth.</div><div></div><div><div>_____________________________</div><div>*At this point, those within the Holiness movement will recognize that I take my stand with John Wesley, the Church of history, and those in the classical Wesleyan theological tradition, rather than those who are more consistent with 19th century interpretations. Those debates within the Holiness Movement can be seen in <em>The Wesleyan Theological Journal </em>between 1973 and 1982. Mark Quanstrom discusses it in <em>A Century of Holiness Theology: The Doctrine of Entire Sanctification in the Church of the Nazarene, 1905-2004 </em>(though his bias toward the 19th century view is apparent in his portrayal of members of "The Trevecca Connection").</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Todd A. Stepphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10712031457598684159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5373833544766917458.post-21790699178314857212023-05-24T21:18:00.000-04:002023-05-24T21:18:16.175-04:00Wesley Wednesday: Aldersgate Day, May 24, 2023<p> </p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_obPOFavQEg" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>Todd A. Stepphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10712031457598684159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5373833544766917458.post-31349106945765742942023-05-03T09:58:00.001-04:002023-05-03T09:58:34.187-04:00Wesley Wednesday: May 3, 2023<p>Below is one of three sets of "sayings" that I have framed in my study. The other two include a number of quotes by early Nazarene general superintendents or theologians concerning the Methodist identity of the Church of the Nazarene and a sacramental quote from the late bishop, Dr. William Greathouse. This being "Wesley Wednesday, the following quote is, of course, from John Wesley.<br /><br /><i>Methodism, so called, is the old religion, the religion of the Bible, the religion of the primitive church, the religion of the Church of England . . . as appears from all her authentic records, from the uniform tenor of her liturgy, and from numberless passages in her Homilies. The scriptural primitive religion of love . . . is to be found in her morning and evening service, and in her daily as well as occasional prayers; and the whole of it is beautifully summed up in that one, comprehensive petition, 'Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love thee and worthily magnify thy holy name.'</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO9msMEnhEO3VKUnlQKwEloSseYBLdLZHQvhuqKLpvnqwA1hjXnxATSBTsMyPRsDrtg20y_SPGIXm9I2HysoUR5AyoR_1uCfNXuBPTd-3WU0bROBsH5nucCav27G7814rn_tu0sTKT3em9AOu6GJ0CQidyZ8LB_TUABfchZz5Igqdx5pT8QerLIx7qtw/s600/Wesley61.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="450" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO9msMEnhEO3VKUnlQKwEloSseYBLdLZHQvhuqKLpvnqwA1hjXnxATSBTsMyPRsDrtg20y_SPGIXm9I2HysoUR5AyoR_1uCfNXuBPTd-3WU0bROBsH5nucCav27G7814rn_tu0sTKT3em9AOu6GJ0CQidyZ8LB_TUABfchZz5Igqdx5pT8QerLIx7qtw/s320/Wesley61.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i><p></p>Todd A. Stepphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10712031457598684159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5373833544766917458.post-66921487102134907052023-04-19T14:59:00.005-04:002023-04-19T14:59:44.309-04:00Wesley Wednesday: April 19, 2023<p>I have missed a few of these Wesley Wednesdays, but today I wanted to post something from a sermon I recently read by Wesley. It is Sermon 2: The Almost Christian. In Kenneth Collins and Jason Vickers' <i>The Sermons of John Wesley: A Collection for the Christian Journey, </i>it is placed as number 10 in their arrangement of those sermons. - John Wesley says:<br /><br /><i>(III).7. But who are the living witnesses of these things? I beseech you, brethren, as in the presence of that God before whom 'hell and destruction are without a covering: how much more the hearts of the children of men!' - that each of you would ask his own heart, 'Am I of that number? Do I so far practise justice, mercy, and truth, as even the rules of heathen honesty require? If so, have I the very <b>outside</b> of a Christian? The form of godliness? Do I abstain from evil, from whatsoever is forbidden in the written Word of God? Do I, whatever good my hand findeth to do, do it with my might? Do I seriously use all the ordinances of God at all opportunities? And is all this done with a sincere design and desire to please God in all things?'</i></p><p>In the introductory comments, it is pointed out that Wesley, here, lifts up what would become the three basic counsels of the General Rules: "avoid evil, do good, and employ the means of grace." - I have long asserted that the so called <i>Three Simple Rules </i>as expressed by the late bishop Rueben Job, "Do no harm, do good, stay in love with God," is far too simplistic when compared to the actual General Rules. However, in addition to being far too simplistic, it simply falls short of accuracy. "Avoid evil" ("whatsoever is forbidden in the written Word of God") includes much more than "do no harm," and ("seriously") "employ the means of grace" ("at all opportunities") puts specific flesh on the bones of "stay in love with God." <br /><br />So, if we must "simplify" the General Rules, let's follow Wesley's own example in doing so.<br /><br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirMWB0-OzAFTIdl1lqmuI9raBWI2SKsl0aSJkMIsbQ5mZaGaPpYNxIUMoQBVpkEJdYkesK-XWOb-zezNueQShiBRqHIPL4Ppx08VXZNP2WpYl4BWxgajXmMTEvYctimnuJp4rZTYP55z-btcf_clJ1yEymcEw19hgLEMRD4ghHF3ag62rXw3IE6e76RA/s300/john-wesley-1-253x300.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="253" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirMWB0-OzAFTIdl1lqmuI9raBWI2SKsl0aSJkMIsbQ5mZaGaPpYNxIUMoQBVpkEJdYkesK-XWOb-zezNueQShiBRqHIPL4Ppx08VXZNP2WpYl4BWxgajXmMTEvYctimnuJp4rZTYP55z-btcf_clJ1yEymcEw19hgLEMRD4ghHF3ag62rXw3IE6e76RA/s1600/john-wesley-1-253x300.webp" width="253" /></a></div><br />Todd A. Stepphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10712031457598684159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5373833544766917458.post-39039239809569654682023-03-15T10:52:00.003-04:002023-03-15T10:55:45.799-04:00Wesley Wednesday: March 15, 2023<p> Below, I have provided a few, short excerpts from John Wesley's Sermon 101: "The Duty of Constant Communion." It is highly regrettable that so many in the Wesleyan tradition have abandoned our spiritual forefather's commitments and advice concerning worship and especially the sacraments, having substituted for it a more Baptist understanding of the Lord's Supper as a mere ordinance. I am thankful every time I see progress in recapturing Wesley's sacramental theology and passion, which provided a context and foundation for his theology of holiness of heart and life. - I highly recommend that all who serve within the Wesleyan tradition read this sermon in its entirety (along with Sermon 16: "The Means of Grace"). It is certainly a foundational piece for all those who would identify as "Wesleyan-Anglican."<br /><br /><i><span> </span>I.3. The grace of God given herein </i>[i.e., in the sacrament] <i>confirms to us the pardon of our sins by enabling us to leave them. As our bodies are strengthened by bread and wine, so are our souls by these tokens of the body and blood of Christ. This is the food of our souls: this gives strength to perform our duty, and leads us on to perfection. If therefore we have any regard for the plain command of Christ, if we desire the pardon of our sins, if we wish for strength to believe, to love and obey God, then we should neglect no opportunity of receiving the Lord's Supper. Then we must never turn our backs on the feast which our Lord has prepared for us. We must neglect no occasion which the good providence of God affords us for this purpose. This is the true rule - so often are we to receive as God gives us opportunity. Whoever therefore does not receive, but goes from the holy table when all things are prepared, either does not understand his duty or does not care for the dying command of his Saviour, the forgiveness of his sins, the strengthening of his soul, and the refreshing it with the hope of glory.</i></p><p><i><span> </span>4. Let everyone therefore who has either any desire to please God, or any love of his own soul, obey God and consult the good of his own soul by communicating every time he can; like the first Christians, with whom the Christian sacrifice was a constant part of the Lord's day's service. And for several centuries they received it almost every day. Four times a week always, and every saint's day beside. Accordingly those that joined in the prayers of the faithful never failed to partake of the blessed sacrament . . .</i></p><p><i><span> II. 5. Consider the Lord's Supper, secondly, as a mercy from God to man. As God, whose mercy is over all his works, and particularly over the children of men, knew there was but one way for man to be happy like himself, namely, by being like him in holiness; as he knew we could do nothing toward this of ourselves, he has given us certain means of obtaining his help. One of these is the Lord's Supper, which of his infinite mercy he hath given for this very end: that through this means we may be assisted to attain those blessings which he hath prepared for us; that we may obtain holiness on earth and everlasting glory in heaven. <br /></span><span> I ask, then, why do you not accept of his mercy as often as ever you can? God now offers you his blessing: why do you refuse it? You have an opportunity of receiving his mercy: why do you not receive it? You are weak: why do not you seize upon every opportunity of increasing your strength? In a word: considering this as a command of God, he that does not communicate as often as he can has no piety; considering it as a mercy, he that does not communicate as often as he can has no wisdom.</span> <br /><br /><br /></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-2WqGD2h8U7nItIN4SYq4sNKRQoGC2hkRS10aY_NRy3c0Qf6ilPJbXwVIACFKdPrvjoFoHhEWkwMsdVvZrIAyreJjq2jJqbeP4iVfLW96ZGUZa1-3aflwUQLGF1EI_UjFBMs9i4NJDAtMRxzzdNa7_KKM5E-yrv7-BzLoT8BJkLv3fnEOokMvmjhwCg/s1024/JW%20City%20Road%20Statue.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-2WqGD2h8U7nItIN4SYq4sNKRQoGC2hkRS10aY_NRy3c0Qf6ilPJbXwVIACFKdPrvjoFoHhEWkwMsdVvZrIAyreJjq2jJqbeP4iVfLW96ZGUZa1-3aflwUQLGF1EI_UjFBMs9i4NJDAtMRxzzdNa7_KKM5E-yrv7-BzLoT8BJkLv3fnEOokMvmjhwCg/s320/JW%20City%20Road%20Statue.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">(Photo of Wesley's statue at City Road Chapel, London)</div><p></p>Todd A. Stepphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10712031457598684159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5373833544766917458.post-26069621767619752662023-03-08T23:30:00.000-05:002023-03-09T00:02:12.613-05:00Wesley Wednesday: March 8, 2023<p> The following excerpt comes from John Wesley's Sermon 16: <i>The Means of Grace. </i>From the quote it should be clear that the Lord's Supper is <i>not </i>intended to be kept as something "special" and "meaningful" by keeping it infrequent. Rather, it is intended to be used as often as possible as a means of grace for us.<br /><br /> <i>12. And that this </i>[the Lord's Supper] <i>is also an ordinary stated means of receiving the grace of God is evident from those words of the Apostle which occur in the preceding chapter: "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion (or communication) of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break is it not the communion of the body of Christ?" (1 Cor. 10:16). Is not the eating of that bread, and the drinking of that cup, the outward, visible means whereby God conveys into our souls all that spiritual grace, that righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost, which were purchased by the body of Christ once broken and the blood of Christ once shed for us? Let all, therefore, who truly desire the grace of God, eat of that bread and drink of that cup.<br /></i><br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZaXrDodBJyUfB2qyRvM4byT2I0NC6o5fDIjzjPqnzmsnjNo6woYe5kePsn0A8kVGqeuT2qrxz90BO5Kr4oDuY4i1Itj8U-07J-p_UcFCI-0MTUjz_AJzS-Cirk0DB1Xcf4uzQuAfKn-RFPJ8YhrR6-izxrya2yPODU3Ag4UACHkOf5dM-5jlzenYh3A/s1639/John-Wesley-Painting-e1464723198547.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1639" data-original-width="1365" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZaXrDodBJyUfB2qyRvM4byT2I0NC6o5fDIjzjPqnzmsnjNo6woYe5kePsn0A8kVGqeuT2qrxz90BO5Kr4oDuY4i1Itj8U-07J-p_UcFCI-0MTUjz_AJzS-Cirk0DB1Xcf4uzQuAfKn-RFPJ8YhrR6-izxrya2yPODU3Ag4UACHkOf5dM-5jlzenYh3A/s320/John-Wesley-Painting-e1464723198547.png" width="267" /></a></div><br />Todd A. Stepphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10712031457598684159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5373833544766917458.post-1018293688537526582023-03-01T15:33:00.000-05:002023-03-01T15:33:21.564-05:00Wesley Wednesday: March 1, 2023<p> On September 10, 1784, in Bristol, John Wesley wrote his letter "To Dr. Coke, Mr. Asbury, and our Brethren in North-America," which he sent to accompany <i>The Sunday Service of the Methodists in North America </i>(Wesley's conservative revision of the Church of England's 1662 <i>Book of Common Prayer</i>). - The following excerpt comes from that letter:</p><p> <i> 2. Lord King's account of the primitive church convinced me many years ago, that Bishops and Presbyters are the same order, and consequently have the same right to ordain . . .<br /></i></p><p><i> 4. I have accordingly appointed Dr. Coke and Mr. Francis Asbury to be joint <b>Superintendents</b> over our brethren in North-America: As also Richard Whatcoat and Thomas Vasey, to act as <b>Elders</b> among them, by baptizing and administering the Lord's Supper. And I have prepared a liturgy little differing from that of the church of England (I think, the best constituted national church in the world) which I advise all the travelling-preachers to use, on the Lord's day, in all their congregations, reading the litany only on Wednesdays and Fridays, and praying extempore on all other days. I also advise the elders to administer the Supper of the Lord on every Lord's day. . . <br /></i></p><p><span><i> . . . They are now at full liberty, simply to follow the Scriptures and the primitive church. And we judge it best that they should stand fast in that liberty, wherewith God has so strangely made them free.</i></span><br /></p><p><span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikkzAnD6-96-Vc0VOMoCLpkB50KP8wqZ0IfYgWREV0ztejyQ8jlQpA9OtDf2Phy-7iVXaLv0r4weMEd8LtR8hg6XRBO8mwd-eMTOgX0pZHP7uS8S8-H3BA0jFEJDqgu9dO8VdT90YbjV8l8fEZU5PkKMtaga_e7_c6ngtya7vho4h8Fm8wg57FgpKdzQ/s745/1784_OrdinationofAsbury_1000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="745" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikkzAnD6-96-Vc0VOMoCLpkB50KP8wqZ0IfYgWREV0ztejyQ8jlQpA9OtDf2Phy-7iVXaLv0r4weMEd8LtR8hg6XRBO8mwd-eMTOgX0pZHP7uS8S8-H3BA0jFEJDqgu9dO8VdT90YbjV8l8fEZU5PkKMtaga_e7_c6ngtya7vho4h8Fm8wg57FgpKdzQ/s320/1784_OrdinationofAsbury_1000.jpg" width="258" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i><p></p>Todd A. Stepphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10712031457598684159noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5373833544766917458.post-87388232507275444302023-02-24T16:32:00.000-05:002023-02-24T16:32:14.933-05:00Wesley's Prayer Book and the First Sunday in Lent<p> When Methodism came to America, John Wesley gave to the early American Methodists a very conservative revision of the Church of England's 1662 <i>Book of Common Prayer.</i> One of the changes that Wesley made was a simplifying of the calendar. This included simply numbering the collects as Sundays "<i>after Christmas,</i>" until "<i>The Sunday next before Easter</i>". The prayers still follow the collects in the 1662 <i>BCP.</i> Nevertheless, since Easter is a movable feast, this causes a problem. </p><p>If one wants to use Wesley's Prayer Book (viz., <i>The Sunday Service of the Methodists in North America</i>), either for the Daily Office or the Sunday service, <i>and</i> one wants to follow the larger calendar, including Lent, one will quickly discover the issue. By following the prayers until one gets to "<i>The Sunday next before Easter</i>", one will find the collects for Lent to be misplaced (Lent not being a part of Wesley's calendar). - It is not that one will not pray the collects for Lent, but they will not fit the Lenten season.<br /><br />This year is a perfect example. This coming Sunday is the First Sunday in Lent. However, if one is simply following Wesley's list of collects, one would pray the collect for <i>The Ninth Sunday after Christmas:</i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>O Lord God, who seest that we put not our trust<br />in any thing that we do; Mercifully grant<br />that by thy power we may be defended against all<br />adversity, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.</i></p><p>On the other hand, for those who want to use Wesley's Prayer Book, but also want to observe the Lenten season, the thing to do is to skip ahead and pray the collect for <i>The <u>Eleventh</u> Sunday after Christmas </i>during the First Sunday in Lent and continue on from there. This will lead right into the Easter season. The collect for <i>The Eleventh Sunday after Christmas </i>will be readily recognized as the collect for the First Sunday in Lent:</p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>O Lord, who for our sake didst fast forty days<br />and forty nights; give us grace to use such<br />abstinence, that our flesh being subdued to the Spi-<br />rit, we may ever obey thy godly motions in righ-<br />teousness and true holiness, to thy honour and<br />glory, who livest and reignest with the Father and<br />the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end.<br />Amen.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;">It is my hope that this might prove to be helpful to at least some who read this blog and save them from having to discover this for themselves a couple of Sundays into the Lenten season!</p>Todd A. Stepphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10712031457598684159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5373833544766917458.post-88560646190033560422023-02-22T15:35:00.001-05:002023-02-22T15:35:37.446-05:00Wesley Wednesday: February 22, 2023<p> I have a Charles Wesley mug that says, "8,989 Hymns...Tell me, who is John again? #siblingrivalry". - Well, for today's Wesley Wednesday, I am turning to Charles and a hymn that came up in the <i>Our Great Redeemer's Praise </i>hymnal during today's Morning Prayer:</p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Depth of Mercy! Can There Be</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>1. Depth of mercy! Can there be<br />mercy still reserved for me?<br />Can my God His wrath forbear,<br />me, the chief of sinners, spare?<br />I have long withstood His grace,<br />long provoked Him to His face,<br />would not hearken to His calls,<br />grieved Him by a thousand falls.</i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>2. I my Master have denied,<br />I afresh have crucified,<br />and profaned His hallow'd name,<br />put Him to an open shame.<br />Whence to me this waste of love?<br />Ask my Advocate above!<br />See the cause in Jesus' face,<br />now before the throne of grace.</i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>3. Jesus, answer from above,<br />is not all Thy nature love?<br />Will Thou not the wrong forget,<br />permit me to kiss Thy feet?<br />If I rightly read Thy heart,<br />if Thou all compassion art,<br />bow Thine ear, in mercy bow,<br />pardon and accept me now.</i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>4. There for me the Savior stands,<br />shows His wounds and spreads His hands.<br />God is love! I know, I feel,<br />Jesus weeps and loves me still.<br />Now incline me to repent,<br />let me now my fall lament,<br />now my foul revolt deplore,<br />weep, believe, and sin no more.</i></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvs77kWKRIVXSshAZrTyAjsw--dC6oPdq_jYqOVA4A9YlzMDUS4ncM8WBCPTyPuMNmAYgxOrLlOqsnAgdpWUn4Pi06whCVbyI6AR4uIGCpv1sFIRpb3e3TI0po2ILIWk2r1WNVpnFhLsVxJ2AeJpvUKzFo-BrWAQPQ8J9C1KChptx7ZqeIUYdlay1waA/s700/og-charles-wesley-4696.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="700" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvs77kWKRIVXSshAZrTyAjsw--dC6oPdq_jYqOVA4A9YlzMDUS4ncM8WBCPTyPuMNmAYgxOrLlOqsnAgdpWUn4Pi06whCVbyI6AR4uIGCpv1sFIRpb3e3TI0po2ILIWk2r1WNVpnFhLsVxJ2AeJpvUKzFo-BrWAQPQ8J9C1KChptx7ZqeIUYdlay1waA/s320/og-charles-wesley-4696.webp" width="320" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i><p></p>Todd A. Stepphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10712031457598684159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5373833544766917458.post-29392156984490350162023-02-15T21:00:00.001-05:002023-02-15T21:00:49.256-05:00Wesley Wednesday: February 15, 2023<p> This week's quote comes from Sermon 16, <i>The Means of Grace.</i> This is an especially important sermon for those of us who are "Wesleyan-Anglican" types:<br /></p><p> <i>By 'means of grace' I understand outward signs, words, or actions ordained of God, and appointed for this end - to be the <b>ordinary </b>channels whereby he might convey to men preventing, justifying, or sanctifying grace.</i><br /></p><p><i> I use this expression, 'means of grace', because I know none better, and because it has been generally used in the Christian church for many ages: in particular by our own church, which directs us to bless God both for the 'means of grace and hope of glory'; and teaches us that a sacrament is 'an outward sign of inward <b>grace</b>, and a <b>means </b>whereby we receive the same'.<br /></i></p><p><i><span> The chief of these means are prayer, whether in secret or with the great congregation; searching the Scriptures (which implies reading, hearing, and meditating thereon) and receiving the Lord's Supper, eating bread and drinking wine in remembrance of him; and these we believe to be ordained of God as the ordinary channels of conveying his grace to the souls of men.</span><br /></i></p><p><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQxaPh1jKmYtKCWCNgx5fPT4ntS-exakqtR3Wlnw8dGD5VZIz7kmT8tOZ-ph8-1IXOyVm6TUhMfu2jyMfor4npm0HqyOVIJCB1d1Tl7uyba6UcGpw_4484jJ2RuqHJafMd9K8mHJXgxa64dPaLTzO0xgUdq40-VLpOrJPNGR5ipwlrp_5zyxN1RdLefQ/s3264/Wesley%20statue%20at%20ATS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQxaPh1jKmYtKCWCNgx5fPT4ntS-exakqtR3Wlnw8dGD5VZIz7kmT8tOZ-ph8-1IXOyVm6TUhMfu2jyMfor4npm0HqyOVIJCB1d1Tl7uyba6UcGpw_4484jJ2RuqHJafMd9K8mHJXgxa64dPaLTzO0xgUdq40-VLpOrJPNGR5ipwlrp_5zyxN1RdLefQ/s320/Wesley%20statue%20at%20ATS.jpg" width="320" /></a></i></div><p><br /></p>(Bold type indicates Wesley's own, original emphasis. The picture is of the Wesley statue on the campus of Asbury Theological Seminary.)<p></p>Todd A. Stepphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10712031457598684159noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5373833544766917458.post-6019288728857094122023-02-08T17:30:00.001-05:002023-02-08T17:30:41.140-05:00Wesley Wednesday: February 8, 2023<p> As I was preparing to preach last Sunday, I read through Wesley's Sermon 25: <i>Sermon on the Mount, V, </i>once again<i>.</i> I found it to be very relevant for my preaching from that section of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. The following quotes come from Wesley's sermon:<br /><br /><i><span> </span>From all this we may learn that there is no contrariety at all between the law and the gospel; that there is no need for the law to pass away in order to the establishing of the gospel. Indeed neither of them supersedes the other, but they agree perfectly well together. Yea, the very same words, considered in different respects, are parts both of the law and of the gospel. If they are considered as commandments, they are parts of the law; if as promises, of the gospel. Thus, 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,' when considered as a commandment, is a branch of the law; when regarded as a promise, is an essential part of the gospel - the gospel being no other than the commands of the law proposed by way of promises. Accordingly poverty of spirit, purity of heart, and whatever else enjoined in the holy law of God, are no other, when viewed in a gospel light, than so many great and precious promises. </i></p><p><i><br /><span> There is therefore the closest connection that can be conceived between the law and the gospel. On the one hand the law continually makes way for and points us to the gospel; on the other the gospel continually leads us to a more exact fulfilling of the law. The law, for instance, requires us to love God, to love our neighbour, to be meek, humble, or holy. We feel that we are not sufficient for these things, yea, that 'with man this is impossible.' But we see a promise of God to give us that love, and to make us humble, meek, and holy. We lay hold of this gospel, of these glad tidings: it is done unto us according to our faith, and 'the righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us' through faith which is in Christ Jesus.</span><br /></i></p><p><i> We may yet farther observe that every command in Holy Writ is only a covered promise. For by that solemn declaration, 'This is the covenant I will make after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws in your minds, and write them in your hearts,' God hath engaged to give whatsoever he commands.</i><br /><br />Later, in the same sermon, Wesley says:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"> . . . And we must all declare, 'By grace ye are saved through faith: . . . not of works, lest any man should boast.' We must cry aloud to every penitent sinner, 'Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.' But at the same time we must take care to let all men know we esteem no faith but that 'which worketh by love'; and that we are not 'saved by faith' unless so far as we are delivered from the power as well as the guilt of sin. And when we say, 'Believe, and thou shalt be saved,' we do not mean, 'Believe, and thou shalt step from sin to heaven, without any holiness coming between, faith supplying the place of holiness;' but, believe and thou shalt be holy; believe in the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt have peace and power together. Thou shalt have power from him in whom thou believest to trample sin under thy feet; power to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and to serve him with all thy strength.<br /></span><br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCLnmN4MI9Qx1qYwLIRoUqz0K0IbFbM8PN2bHuPDObDjMMbizIwEMrm6YEoHawX9u8k0Uj5mEGBpiN4a_hqhyA1XwZ8iCmXm_WdNVoDE3wt8catLJgI6vnCGgJ7y7zQIlwyCCIofPiwYB4hADDgmPZGphFkTUW1PxLBiLnN0OGBKz1NjrSvx_fevcKJA/s394/John%20Wesley%20Preaching.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="394" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCLnmN4MI9Qx1qYwLIRoUqz0K0IbFbM8PN2bHuPDObDjMMbizIwEMrm6YEoHawX9u8k0Uj5mEGBpiN4a_hqhyA1XwZ8iCmXm_WdNVoDE3wt8catLJgI6vnCGgJ7y7zQIlwyCCIofPiwYB4hADDgmPZGphFkTUW1PxLBiLnN0OGBKz1NjrSvx_fevcKJA/s320/John%20Wesley%20Preaching.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Todd A. Stepphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10712031457598684159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5373833544766917458.post-31525757673559898752023-02-01T18:24:00.000-05:002023-02-01T18:24:06.991-05:00Wesley Wednesday: February 1, 2023<p> The following Wesley quote comes from Sermon 85: "On Working Out Our Own Salvation":</p><p><br /></p><p><i>. . . salvation begins with what is usually termed (and very properly) 'preventing grace''; including the first wish to please God, the first dawn of light concerning his will, and the first slight, transient conviction of having sinned against him. All these imply some tendency toward life, some degree of salvation, the beginning of a deliverance from a blind, unfeeling heart, quite insensible of God and the things of God. Salvation is carried on by 'convincing grace', usually in Scripture termed 'repentance', which brings a larger measure of self-knowledge, and a farther deliverance from the heart of stone. Afterwards we experience the proper Christian salvation, whereby 'through grace' we 'are saved by faith', consisting of those two grand branches, justification and sanctification. By justification we are saved from the guilt of sin, and restored to the favour of God: by sanctification we are saved from the power and root of sin, and restored to the image of God. All experience, as well as Scripture, shows this salvation to be both instantaneous and gradual. It begins the moment we are justified, in the holy, humble, gentle, patient love of God and man. It gradually increases from that moment, as a 'grain of mustard seed, which at first is the least of all seeds, but' gradually 'puts forth large branches', and becomes a great tree; till in another instant the heart is cleansed from all sin, and filled with pure love to God and man. But even that love increases more and more, till we 'grow up in all things into him that is our head', 'till we attain the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ'.<br /><br /><br /></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzucDEZjUm3krCRV9WESWJmg8LKfVhJ9WgMg0nyEsX_fDsejPFxLenolimmyd4jtqqxCQCvwYscabGOhLE2W7krZ0ptJ_FsvIuerTgnPFpFUJ8Q8L0YcrSKI0u4_BnuhbQtRrogoHSBBHA8ZWU3V5XP78oIbaYDhjPx0g9_bAsV2KVHzhQ15XhiJC5xw/s1639/John-Wesley-Painting-e1464723198547.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1639" data-original-width="1365" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzucDEZjUm3krCRV9WESWJmg8LKfVhJ9WgMg0nyEsX_fDsejPFxLenolimmyd4jtqqxCQCvwYscabGOhLE2W7krZ0ptJ_FsvIuerTgnPFpFUJ8Q8L0YcrSKI0u4_BnuhbQtRrogoHSBBHA8ZWU3V5XP78oIbaYDhjPx0g9_bAsV2KVHzhQ15XhiJC5xw/s320/John-Wesley-Painting-e1464723198547.png" width="267" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Todd A. Stepphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10712031457598684159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5373833544766917458.post-49830266844940213142023-01-26T12:45:00.000-05:002023-01-26T12:45:12.242-05:00General Assembly Resolution: Ritual for The Administration of the Lord's Supper<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTmr2dcwAKSyhEDAggJS6pCVGk17cY3FDAs1T8rcvPJNPzkJ4G8OYefPkyUP020fXvj2pk_dbKPYhL67iUI2YJ3IOUoFxwQuNYdsCvDtjtUQQCrlaaupocNkVbw74xDMkAsAicpjCTlSHinBgz_QTBZMZNRZVLLfifld7BQTtsJJ3SIyVE_hb6zl9QiA/s1500/Church-of-the-Nazarene-logo-wide.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="850" data-original-width="1500" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTmr2dcwAKSyhEDAggJS6pCVGk17cY3FDAs1T8rcvPJNPzkJ4G8OYefPkyUP020fXvj2pk_dbKPYhL67iUI2YJ3IOUoFxwQuNYdsCvDtjtUQQCrlaaupocNkVbw74xDMkAsAicpjCTlSHinBgz_QTBZMZNRZVLLfifld7BQTtsJJ3SIyVE_hb6zl9QiA/w400-h226/Church-of-the-Nazarene-logo-wide.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-indent: 19px;">In June of this year, the Church of the Nazarene will be conducting its General Assembly. The General Assembly is the supreme doctrine-formulating, lawmaking, and elective authority of the Church of the Nazarene. During past quadrenniums, I have presented to my district delegation, and through them to the General Assembly, a number of resolutions. Some of them have passed and impacted the <i>Manual </i>of the Church of the Nazarene. Some were amended. Others were rejected. - This year I have presented eight resolutions. I, frankly, do not know which ones my district has sponsored. However, for any who may be delegates to the assembly, or those who know delegates, I would draw your attention to these and hope that you might support them.<br /><br /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">Note: Bracketed text [ ] are words to be deleted from the current </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Manual.</em><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;"> Underlined text ___ are words to be added to the current </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Manual.<br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">700 <br /></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><br />The
administration of the Lord’s Supper may be introduced by an appropriate sermon
and the reading of 1 Corinthians 11:23–29; Luke 22:14–20, or some other
suitable passage. Let the minister then give the following invitation:<br /></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><br />The Communion
Supper, instituted by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is a sacrament, which
proclaims His life, His sufferings, His sacrificial death, and resurrection,
and the hope of His coming again. It shows forth the Lord’s death until His
return.<br /></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><br />The Supper is
a means of grace in which Christ is present by the Spirit. It is to be received
in reverent appreciation and gratefulness for the work of Christ.<br /></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><br />All those who
are truly repentant, forsaking their sins, and believing in Christ for
salvation are invited to participate in the death and resurrection of Christ.
We come to the table that we may be renewed in life and salvation and be made
one by the Spirit.<br /></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><br />In unity with
the Church, we confess our faith: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will
come again. And so we pray:<br /></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><br />The minister
may offer a prayer of confession and supplication, concluding with the
following prayer of consecration:<br /></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><br />Holy God,<br /></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><br />We gather at
this, your table, in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, who by your Spirit was
anointed to preach good news to the poor, proclaim release to the captives, set
at liberty those who are oppressed. Christ healed the sick, fed the hungry, ate
with sinners, and established the new covenant for forgiveness of sins. We live
in the hope of His coming again.<br /></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><br />On the night
in which He was betrayed, He took bread, gave thanks, broke the bread, gave it
to His disciples, and said: “This is my body which is given for you; do this in
remembrance of me.”<br /></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><br />Likewise,
when the supper was over, He took the cup, gave thanks, gave it to His
disciples, and said: “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the
covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in
remembrance of me.” [Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.]<br /></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">(Matthew
26:27–29, Luke 22:19)<br /></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><br />And so, we
gather as the Body of Christ to offer ourselves to you in praise and
thanksgiving. Pour out your Holy Spirit . . .<br /></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><br />FOR THE
FOLLOWING REASONS<br /></span></p><div style="text-indent: 19px;"><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><br />1.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> It makes no liturgical sense to say, “Through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” at this point.<br /></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><br />2.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">As is
demonstrated in the very next line, the prayer is still going on.<br /></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><br />3.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">The words are
awkward and are jarring when used at this point in the liturgy.<br /></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><br />4.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">No other
known Communion liturgy places these words at this location.</span></div><p></p><br /></em></div>Todd A. Stepphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10712031457598684159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5373833544766917458.post-28960833665187566512023-01-26T12:39:00.002-05:002023-01-26T12:39:39.124-05:00General Assembly Resolution: Superintendency/Ordination<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTmr2dcwAKSyhEDAggJS6pCVGk17cY3FDAs1T8rcvPJNPzkJ4G8OYefPkyUP020fXvj2pk_dbKPYhL67iUI2YJ3IOUoFxwQuNYdsCvDtjtUQQCrlaaupocNkVbw74xDMkAsAicpjCTlSHinBgz_QTBZMZNRZVLLfifld7BQTtsJJ3SIyVE_hb6zl9QiA/s1500/Church-of-the-Nazarene-logo-wide.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="850" data-original-width="1500" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTmr2dcwAKSyhEDAggJS6pCVGk17cY3FDAs1T8rcvPJNPzkJ4G8OYefPkyUP020fXvj2pk_dbKPYhL67iUI2YJ3IOUoFxwQuNYdsCvDtjtUQQCrlaaupocNkVbw74xDMkAsAicpjCTlSHinBgz_QTBZMZNRZVLLfifld7BQTtsJJ3SIyVE_hb6zl9QiA/w400-h226/Church-of-the-Nazarene-logo-wide.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-indent: 19px;">In June of this year, the Church of the Nazarene will be conducting its General Assembly. The General Assembly is the supreme doctrine-formulating, lawmaking, and elective authority of the Church of the Nazarene. During past quadrenniums, I have presented to my district delegation, and through them to the General Assembly, a number of resolutions. Some of them have passed and impacted the <i>Manual </i>of the Church of the Nazarene. Some were amended. Others were rejected. - This year I have presented eight resolutions. I, frankly, do not know which ones my district has sponsored. However, for any who may be delegates to the assembly, or those who know delegates, I would draw your attention to these and hope that you might support them.<br /><br /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">Note: Bracketed text [ ] are words to be deleted from the current </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Manual.</em><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;"> Underlined text ___ are words to be added to the current </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Manual.<br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">307.4.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>Have discretionary power to ordain, or
appoint other[s] <u>elders</u> <u>(preferably another general superintendent,
general superintendent emeriti or retired)</u> to ordain, those who have been
duly elected to be elders or deacons. (<u>314.1,</u> 320, 538.5-538.6)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>538.5 </b>The candidate elected to the order of
elder or order of deacon shall be ordained by the laying on of hands of the
general superintendent and ordained [ministers] <u>elders</u> with appropriate
religious exercises, under the direction of the presiding general
superintendent. (307.4)</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We, along with
Wesley and the larger Methodist tradition, have understood that “Bishops and
Presbyters are the same order, and consequently have the same right to ordain”
(Wesley’s Sept. 10, 1784 letter “To Dr. Coke, Mr. Asbury, and our Brethren in
North-America”).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is to say, the
power to ordain is found within the order of elders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is not a separate “order of bishop” or
“superintendent.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nevertheless, we,
along with others in the larger Methodist tradition, have reserved the
authority to ordain, within our denominations, to those elders who have been
elected to the episcopal <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">office/role</i>
of superintendent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Episkopos, </i>which is usually translated “bishop,” is understood to
mean “overseer,” or “superintendent,” which is the term that we and some other
Wesleyan denominations use for the episcopal role.)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>2. For the Church of
the Nazarene, the episcopal aspect of our government is expressed through the
general superintendency (cf., the “Foreword,” and par. 22.2, 306.f, 314.f, and
315.f).</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>3. It would be highly
desirable that ordinations, if not being performed by the general
superintendent in jurisdiction, be performed by another general superintendent
(active, emeriti, or retired), in as much as they represent the whole church.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>4. When the general
superintendent in jurisdiction is not able to ordain, and when no other general
superintendent is able to ordain, it would be highly desirable that one vested
with the authority to oversee the district (i.e., the district superintendent)
be the person appointed to ordain.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>5. In no case should
anyone other than an ordained elder be appointed to ordain, for the power to
ordain is found within the order of elders. This is seen in 2 Timothy 1:6,
which, referring to Timothy’s ordination, says, “For this reason I remind you
to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my
hands;” (NRSV), and most especially in the parallel passage of 1 Timothy 4:14,
which says, “Do not neglect the gift that is in you which was given to you through prophecy with the laying on of hands by <i>the council of elders” </i>(NRSV, emphasis
mine). This is also why
it has historically been the presbytery (i.e., elders, rather than deacons) who
have joined the bishops (i.e., general superintendents) in the laying on of
hands.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>6. As the paragraph
currently reads, it would be possible (even if unlikely) that a general
superintendent could appoint someone outside of holy orders to ordain. Such would be completely and wholly
inconsistent with the historic Christian and Wesleyan and Nazarene
understanding of ordination.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><br /></em></div>Todd A. Stepphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10712031457598684159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5373833544766917458.post-7482733229391976132023-01-26T12:36:00.000-05:002023-01-26T12:36:15.608-05:00General Assembly: Reception of Members and Agreed Statement of Belief<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTmr2dcwAKSyhEDAggJS6pCVGk17cY3FDAs1T8rcvPJNPzkJ4G8OYefPkyUP020fXvj2pk_dbKPYhL67iUI2YJ3IOUoFxwQuNYdsCvDtjtUQQCrlaaupocNkVbw74xDMkAsAicpjCTlSHinBgz_QTBZMZNRZVLLfifld7BQTtsJJ3SIyVE_hb6zl9QiA/s1500/Church-of-the-Nazarene-logo-wide.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="850" data-original-width="1500" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTmr2dcwAKSyhEDAggJS6pCVGk17cY3FDAs1T8rcvPJNPzkJ4G8OYefPkyUP020fXvj2pk_dbKPYhL67iUI2YJ3IOUoFxwQuNYdsCvDtjtUQQCrlaaupocNkVbw74xDMkAsAicpjCTlSHinBgz_QTBZMZNRZVLLfifld7BQTtsJJ3SIyVE_hb6zl9QiA/w400-h226/Church-of-the-Nazarene-logo-wide.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-indent: 19px;">In June of this year, the Church of the Nazarene will be conducting its General Assembly. The General Assembly is the supreme doctrine-formulating, lawmaking, and elective authority of the Church of the Nazarene. During past quadrenniums, I have presented to my district delegation, and through them to the General Assembly, a number of resolutions. Some of them have passed and impacted the <i>Manual </i>of the Church of the Nazarene. Some were amended. Others were rejected. - This year I have presented eight resolutions. I, frankly, do not know which ones my district has sponsored. However, for any who may be delegates to the assembly, or those who know delegates, I would draw your attention to these and hope that you might support them.<br /><br /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">Note: Bracketed text [ ] are words to be deleted from the current </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Manual.</em><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;"> Underlined text ___ are words to be added to the current </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Manual.<br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">704.
Reception of Church Members<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">It is
expected that prospective members have professed the Christian faith and been
instructed in the doctrine and practices of the Church of the Nazarene. They
may come forward to stand before the congregation and the pastor shall address
them as follows:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Dearly
Beloved: The privileges and blessings that we have in community together in the
Church of Jesus Christ are sacred and precious. There is in it such hallowed
fellowship, care, and counsel as cannot otherwise be known apart from the
family of God.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">There is the
godly care of pastors, with the teachings of the Word and the inspiration of
corporate worship. And there is cooperation in service, accomplishing that
which cannot otherwise be done.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[*Today we
affirm again the doctrines and practices of the church.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">We believe in
one God— Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">We believe
that human beings are born in sin; that they need the work of forgiveness
through Christ and the new birth by the Holy Spirit; that subsequent to this
there is the deeper work of heart cleansing or entire sanctification through
the infilling of the Holy Spirit, and that to each of these works of grace the
Holy Spirit gives witness.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">We believe
that our Lord will return, the dead shall be raised, and that all shall come to
final judgment with its rewards and punishments.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">*NOTE: The
minister may use the Agreed Statement of Belief (Manual paragraph 20) as an
alternative.]</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Today we
affirm again the Agreed Statement of Belief of the Church of the Nazarene:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span><u><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We believe in
[</span></u><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">That
there is] one God—<u>the </u>Father, Son, and Holy Spirit<u>.[</u>;]</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><u><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We believe</span></u><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> that the Old
and New Testament Scriptures, given by plenary inspiration, contain all truth
necessary to faith and Christian living<u>.[</u>;]<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><u><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We believe</span></u><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> that human
beings are born with a fallen nature, and are, therefore, inclined to evil, and
that continually<u>.</u>[;]<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><u><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We believe</span></u><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> that the
finally impenitent are hopelessly and eternally lost<u>.</u>[;]<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><u><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We believe</span></u><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> that the atonement
through Jesus Christ is for the whole human race; and that whosoever repents
and believes on the Lord Jesus Christ is justified and regenerated and saved
from the dominion of sin<u>.[</u>;]<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><u><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We believe</span></u><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> that
believers are to be sanctified wholly, subsequent to regeneration, through
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ<u>.</u>[;]<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><u><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We believe</span></u><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> that the
Holy Spirit bears witness to the new birth, and also to the entire
sanctification of believers<u>.</u>[;]<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><u><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">A</span></u><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[a]nd <u>we
believe </u>that our Lord will return, the dead will be raised, and the final
judgment will take place<u>.</u> (Manual paragraphs 20.1–20.8).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Do you
heartily believe these truths? If so, answer, “I do.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Do you
acknowledge Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and do you believe that He
saves you now?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Response: I
do by faith. . . .</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">FOR THE
FOLLOWING REASONS<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">1.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> The <i>Manual </i>requires belief in the
Agreed Statement of Belief for membership (cf., par. 20.)<br /></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br />2.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">The first
option in the current ritual does not reproduce the actual statements in the
Agreed Statement of Belief.<br /></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br />3.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">The second
option, while reproducing the Agreed Statement of belief, does not allow for
the prospective members and the congregation to actually affirm the statement
in confessional or creedal form.<br /></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br />4.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">The proposed
changes allows the prospective members and the congregation to actively affirm
the Agreed Statement of Faith during the ritual, and it provides a ready
confession for use at other times.</span></p><br /></em></div>Todd A. Stepphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10712031457598684159noreply@blogger.com0