Spiritual Discipline for 2018: 52 Weeks with Wesley

Are you one to make New Year's resolutions?  I have made some in the past.  Some, I've kept.  Others, I've not.  And, there are years that I simply didn't make any such resolutions.

Fr. William Shontz

However, a couple of weeks ago, my Facebook friend and colleague, the Rev'd. William Shontz, priest in the Anglican Church in North America, posted a GREAT idea!  Fr. Shontz is an Anglican who, as his idea will make clear, has been greatly influenced by the Wesley's.

The idea involves a spiritual discipline that is not burdensome.  It is not very time consuming.  In fact, it would be quite easy to accomplish.  And yet, I think it could be profoundly helpful to all those within the Wesleyan tradition.  So, what is the spiritual discipline?

Well, the year is made up of fifty-two weeks.  This number corresponds quite well with (at least the later version of) the number of "Standard Sermons" of John Wesley.  (When the "standard four volumes of sermons" were first published in England, there were forty-four sermons.  However, when published later, there were fifty-three, with the fifty-third being dropped, since it was a more biographical piece, on the death of the Rev'd. George Whitefield.  Thus, fifty-two were counted as "standard.")  -  These fifty-two "Standard Sermons" have been very important for the entire Wesleyan/Methodist family.

As you can undoubtedly guess by now, the proposed spiritual discipline for 2018 is to read through one of the standard 52 sermons each week of the new year. 

Such a discipline, I think, will be very helpful in reminding and grounding Wesleyan pastors of all stripes in our Wesleyan theological tradition.  -  Frankly, I thought it was a great idea!

If, by chance, you do not have a copy of Wesley's "Standard Sermons" (I'll refrain from saying, "Shame on you!"), you can either purchase such (recommended!), or you can simply find (at least 50 of) them (along with a nice introduction) online, here. The two that are missing are "The Good Steward" and "The Reformation of Manners."  If you choose to purchase the sermons, you can even purchase a "modern English" version of the sermons (which contains all 53).  For my part, I think I will read through them in this modern English format this time around.

And so, I want to challenge and encourage all members and friends of the Wesleyan-Anglican Society, all of my Nazarene colleagues, my United Methodist colleagues, and all other Wesleyan/Methodist and Anglican visitors to this blog: join me in (re)reading John Wesley's standard sermons for 2018!

"Wesley and the Anglicans" - An Interview on Anglican Radio

Readers of this blog will be interested in a new interview on Anglican Radio (a site that I am just now discovering and look forward to exploring more thoroughly!).  The interviewer is Michael Porter. Michael is the President of Anglican Radio.  The interviewee is the Rev'd. Dr. Ryan N. Danker.  Dr. Danker is a United Methodist who serves as Assistant Professor of the History of Christianity and Methodist Studies at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC.

The topic of the interview is Dr. Danker's recent book, Wesley and the Anglicans: Political Division

in Early Evangelicalism.

I picked this book up, recently, but I have not yet had the opportunity to read it.  Everything that I have heard, so far, makes it sound like an important read.  In fact, Dr. Ted Campbell says that it is "a must-read for serious students of the Wesleys and Methodist origins" (cf., Promo comment in the front of Danker's book). 

I invite you to take a listen to the interview and consider picking up the book, yourself!



(A special thanks to the Rev'd. Dr. James Gibson for sharing the link to this interview with me!)

Covenant Renewal for 2014

           We are a people who mark time.  We annually celebrate birthdays and anniversaries.  Oh, not just wedding anniversaries, though we certainly do that, but all kinds of anniversaries.  -  As Christians, we live our lives according to a particular calendar.  It is a rhythm that orders our lives around the life of Jesus our Lord.  And so, as Christians, our “new year” began about a month ago with the First Sunday of Advent.  As prepare to post this article, we are in the midst of the Christmas Season; the 9th Day of Christmas, to be exact.
            And yet, while we are not “of the world,” we are certainly “in the world,” and, as such, we also celebrated the beginning of a New Year, yesterday, January 1^st.  New Year’s Eve/Day has its own customs, as well.  For many it includes staying up past (or at least until) midnight, kissing that special someone, and . . . making New Year’s resolutions.  This last part allows us to look back on the year we are concluding, and look ahead; to think about where we would like to see changes in our lives.
            Oh, New Year’s resolutions get a lot of flak.  I mean, people are always talking about making the resolution on day one, and then breaking them by the next month (or week . . . or, even day!).  Yet, that doesn’t have to be the case.  It is possible to set goals, and to work to reach those goals.  -  New Year’s provides a great opportunity to do that.
            However, there are other ways to mark the coming of a New Year.  One way that John Wesley and many of the early Methodist Societies marked the beginning of a new year was by joining together in renewing their covenant with God.  This wasn’t the only time that they did this (one finds numerous instances throughout his Journal), but it was an opportune time.
            They would renew this covenant by way of the Covenant Service, the roots of which were found in a 1663 publication by the Puritan, Richard Alleine.  In 1753, Wesley published a copy of Alleine’s work in his A Christian Library.  And, on August 11, 1755, it is likely that the first “Covenant Service” for Methodists took place using a chapter from Alleine’s work.
            In 1780, Wesley published the service in pamphlet form for distribution and use.  Today, The United Methodist Book of Worship provides a much edited version of the service, updating the language and adapting it to fit within the Basic Four-fold Pattern of worship, but still retaining that part of Wesley’s service that included the Invitation and Covenant Prayer.
            In 2012, New Year’s Day fell on a Sunday.  That year, while my local congregation did not use either Wesley’s Covenant Service, or the one provided in The Book of Worship, we did include in worship the very brief “A Covenant Prayer in the Wesleyan Tradition,” found on page 607 of The United Methodist Hymnal.  This year does not provide us with the same opportunity.
            Given our context, few in our congregation would be willing to venture out for a Watch Night Service.  January 1^st fell on a Wednesday rather than a Sunday, this time around.  Plus, I am on vacation and didn't want to impose this on our guest preacher!  -  Nevertheless, I believe that it is appropriate and good for us to begin a new year by focusing our attention on the Lord and on our relationship with the Lord.  Like John Wesley, I believe that an excellent means of doing this is for us to “renew our covenant with the Lord.”

            Therefore, I wanted to provide a portion of the Covenant Service so that we might, each one, renew our covenant with the Lord in a way that is still connected with each other.  For, as each of us prays these prayers, and renew our own covenant, we do so knowing that we are joining with our fellow Methodists through the ages.

******************************************

Beloved in Christ,

let us again claim for ourselves

this covenant which God has made with his people,

and take upon us the yoke of Christ.

This means that we are content

That he appoint us our place and work,

And that he himself be our reward.

 

Christ has many services to be done:

some are easy, others are difficult;

some bring honour, others bring reproach;

some are suitable to our natural inclinations and material interests,

others are contrary to both;

in some we may please Christ and please ourselves;

in others we cannot please Christ except by denying ourselves.

Yet the power to do all these things is given to us in Christ,

who strengthens us.

Therefore let us make this covenant of God our own.

Let us give ourselves to him,

Trusting in his promises and relying on his grace.

Lord God, holy Father,

since you have called us through Christ

to share in this gracious covenant,

we take upon ourselves with joy the yoke of obedience

and, for love of you,

engage ourselves to seek and do your perfect will.

We are no longer our own but yours.

 

I am no longer my own but yours.

Put me to what you will,

rank me with whom you will;

put me to doing,

put me to suffering;

let me be employed for you

or laid aside for you,

exalted for you

or brought low for you;

let me be full,

let me be empty,

let me have all things,

let me have nothing;

I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things

to your pleasure and disposal.

And now, glorious and blessed God,

Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

you are mine and I am yours.

So be it.

And the covenant now made on earth,

let it be ratified in heaven.  Amen

 

 __________________________________________________

The article above was adapted from my recent newsletter article for the Centenary United Methodist Church.

The version of the Covenant Prayer, above, was taken from The Methodist Worship Book of The Methodist Church in Britain.

For more information on “The Covenant Service,” and other versions of it, see:

The Book of Worship for Church and Home, The Methodist Publishing House (The Methodist Church, pre-United Methodist Church), 1965, p 382-88.

The Church Rituals Handbook, Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 1997, p 199-213

The Methodist Worship Book, Methodist Publishing House (The Methodist Church in Britain), 1999, p 281-96.

The United Methodist Hymnal, The United Methodist Publishing House, 1989, p 607.

The United Methodist Book of Worship, The United Methodist Publishing House, 1992, p. 288-94.

Wesley Hymns, Lillenas Publishing Co., 1982, p. A-1 – A-10.

For more online versions of "The Covenant Service," see the following:

 

(Thanks to Andrew C. Thomspon) http://www.andrewthompson.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Covenant-Prayer-in-the-Wesleyan-Tradition.pdf

 

(Thanks to James B. Chapman for the following links)

 

https://www.facebook.com/download/387420408070955/WESLEYAN%20COVENANT%20SERVICE%20-%20Rowel%20%26%20Lyons.doc

 

https://www.facebook.com/download/616101591760758/Wesley%20Covenant%20Service%20WF%20NTS%20short.pdf

 

https://www.facebook.com/download/559613220797274/The%20Wesley%20Covenant%20Renewal%20Service%202009.pub

 

https://www.facebook.com/download/682796815076438/WESLEYAN%20COVENANT%20SERVICE%20-%20Rowel%20%26%20Lyons.pdf

 

https://www.facebook.com/download/246715895496712/The%20Wesley%20Covenant%20Renewal%20Service%202009.pdf

 

Aldersgate Day

My apologies for my lack of posts! I have been quite busy as of late. I even missed Ascension Day. However, tomorrow, May 24, is a special day that I just could not miss. In addition to the fact that it is my daughter's birthday (Happy Birthday, Sarah!), it is also Aldersgate Day. (This is my beautiful daughter, to the right.)

What is Aldersgate Day? Well, any good Wesleyan/Methodist knows the answer to that question. It is the anniversary of John Wesley's "Evangelical Conversion." As the UMBW puts it, "On Wednesday, May 24, 1738, John Wesley experienced his 'heart strangely warmed.' This Aldersgate experience was crucial for his own life and became a touchstone for the Wesleyan movement."

The name, Aldersgate, of course, refers to Aldersgate Street, the location of the Society meeting where Wesley experienced his strangely warmed heart. (The picture below shows the Aldersgate memorial located in London.)

Prior to this Aldersgate experience, Wesley had sought assurance of his sins forgiven, but he was unable to obtain it through his many pious works.

During his trip to Georgia, where he would serve as a missionary, the ship on which he was sailing encountered a terrible storm . . . right in the middle of their time of worship. But the thing that caught Wesley’s attention was that, while the English on board were screaming for fear of their lives, the Germans simply continued singing.

Wesley asked one of them, “Weren’t you afraid? Weren’t your women and children afraid?” The man simply said, “Thank the Lord, we were not afraid; we are not afraid to die.”

Later, Wesley met with one of the German pastors for advice. The pastor asked him, “Do you have the witness within? Does the Spirit of God bear witness with your spirit that you are a child of God?” Wesley was caught off guard (not something that happened very often). And so the pastor asked, “Do you know Jesus Christ?” Wesley said, “I know he is the Savior of the world.” The pastor replied, “That’s true, but do you know he has save you?” Wesley said, “I hope he has died to save me.” “But do you know?” And then comes those powerful lines from John Wesley, “I said, ‘I do.’ But I fear they were vain words.”

However, what was to happen to Wesley on May 24, 1738 would forever change his answer, and forever change the world. (The image to the right marks the probable location of Wesley's Aldersgate experience.)

John Wesley, himself, describes what took place that evening in his journal as follows: "In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther's Preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation, and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death."

(Below and to the right is another marker in memorial of John & Charles' "Evangelical Conversions.)

Wesleyan/Methodists remember and observe Aldersgate Day, because it not only shaped the life and ministry of John Wesley, but also the entire Methodist movement from that time until today. It not only marks the spiritual experience of Mr. Wesley, but it calls us to worship the God who still "strangely warms the hearts" of all who place their trust in Christ alone as Lord and Savior. This experience illustrates so well the Biblical doctrine of Assurance. - We can, by grace through faith, know our sins forgiven. We can, by grace through faith, have an assurance that Christ has "taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death."

Let us pray: Almighty God, in a time of great need you raised up your servants John and Charles Wesley, and by your spirit inspired them to kindle a flame of sacred love which leaped and ran, an inextinguishable blaze. Grant that all those whose hearts have been warmed at these altar fires, being continually refreshed by your grace, may be so devoted to the increase of scriptural holiness throughout the land that in this our time of great need, your will may fully and effectively be done on earth as it is in heaven; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

(Prayer by Fred D. Gealy, as printed in the UMBW.)

(To the right is a picture of me standing next to the Aldersgate memorial during my trip to the World Methodist Conference held in England in 2001.)