I rejoice in the work the Holy Spirit is doing among Pentecostals. I do not know all the ties between Methodism and Pentecostalism, but it is clear that we share emphasis on personal, transforming encounter with God—and I appreciate the way that Dr. J. Terry Todd describes the altar as a dynamic experience or encounter […]
Setting aside creedal and canonical differences that require attention beyond the stated topic of this respectful conversation, Millet’s description of following Jesus looks very much like what Wesleyans do. Daily searching of Scripture, prayer, serving and loving others, and church attendance all resonate with my tradition. John Wesley identified three especially important means of grace […]
Many thanks to Farris Blount for pointing out so well the tension between “other worldly versus this worldly” concerns, as well as “communal and privatistic” approaches. I feel that tension, too, in the Wesleyan tradition. I also appreciate the attention given, through the example of Methodism, to the difference social location makes for African-Americans. Blount’s […]
I am grateful for the ways that other partners in this conversation (especially Randall Balmer, J. Terry Todd, and David Ford) have shared what they know about the tradition I represent. This conversation is valuable in many ways, not the least of which is to show that we actually do pay attention to each other […]
Other participants in this project have told their stories about how they came to participate in the tradition they represent in these conversations. My own story is quite straightforward. My father was a Methodist preacher, and my mother had been a Methodist missionary in India before she married my father. I was baptized as an […]
Wesleyan Methodism may have had its home in the Church of England, but it was deeply shaped by Pietism through John Wesley’s acquaintance and respect for the Moravians. Many of the characteristics with which Christopher Gehrz describes his Pietist seeking to follow Jesus were present in the 18th century movement that Wesley led. Some remain, […]
David Gushee’s story of inviting Jesus into his heart to become his Savior and Lord is very familiar to me. I grew up in Texas, and in that region, there is not much difference between Methodist and Baptist calls to conversion. In my early years, it was common to have an altar call to let […]
The title “From Guilt to Grace to Gratitude” that Wesley Granberg-Michaelson uses is one I could almost borrow to talk about the Wesleyan tradition, although there are some subtle differences (John Wesley once said he came within a “hair’s breadth” of Calvinism). I will follow the headings Dr. Granberg-Michaelson uses to bring out those differences. […]
Because Randall Balmer traces his personal journey from Evangelical to Episcopalian, I must explore the odd position Wesleyan Methodism holds between those two poles. On the one hand, John and Charles Wesley were both priests in the Church of England. They never left but rather often defended their place (and the place of Methodism) in […]
As someone who lives in Ohio, I am very grateful for the description of complexities in the Anabaptist heritage. I am also very grateful for the clear values expressed by Michael King. Wesleyan Methodists can find much to affirm in those values even though I also see some differences. Value 1: Like Anabaptists, Methodists […]
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