Wesleyan Doctrine

Keeping Faith offers resources to help Christians reclaim the importance of doctrine and thereby know and love well God and God's creation. Although it gives particular attention to the Wesleyan and Methodist tradition, it is of necessity an ecumenical effort. Neither the Wesleyans nor the Methodists invented Christian doctrine. In fact, the Wesleyan tradition contributes little that is distinctive or unique. This is a good thing, for unlike other disciplines where originality and uniqueness matter greatly, Christian doctrine depends on others and not the genius of some individual. Chesterton once said that Christianity is the democracy of the dead. In other words, doctrine depends on the communion of the saints. They help us speak of God as we should. We need to hear their voice. For this reason, this work is an ecumenical commentary on the Confession of Faith and Articles of Religion found in the Wesleyan tradition that also draws on ancient and modern witnesses to God's glory. It is ecumenical because it brings these doctrines into conversation with the broader Christian tradition. Doctrine unites us in a communion, which is greater than any single denomination and makes us what we otherwise cannot be: one, holy, catholic and apostolic.

At the heart of Christian witness is the confession of the triune God. Confessing the Triune God seeks to extend a conversation on Christianity's first article by way of locating Trinitarianism in the life of the worshiping faithful. It does so through an ongoing dialectic between broad and particular confessional lines. Its breadth is constituted by an ongoing assessment of ecumenical consensus and scholarly debates related to Trinitarianism; its repeated framing stems from and returns to the Wesleyan and Methodist family of traditions. In this way, Christian commitments regarding the Trinity can be depicted for their wide appeal as well as their particular logic within a specific worshiping community. The work seeks to guide readers through a process of growing awareness of how the dogma of the Trinity is central to all that Christians say, do, and hope to be.

Jesus is Lord! This scandalous confession is an act of worship, a pledge of allegiance, a call to service, and a saving act. Yet who is Jesus Christ? How should we understand his life, his death, his resurrection, and his work of salvation? This book offers a perspective from the Wesleyan tradition on these vital questions. It introduces readers to christology, the study of Christ. The authors encourage readers to ponder the mystery of salvation at work in Christ's entire life and to make the confession 'Jesus is Lord' their own.

Who is the mysterious Holy Spirit, and why does it matter for the Christian life? How do we know when the Spirit is working? This book introduces the doctrine of the Holy Spirit in the Wesleyan theological tradition and within the greater church. It covers key biblical bases for thinking about the Spirit, and it seeks to inspire confidence in the Spirit's power.

In many churches, the work of evangelism and social justice is relegated to clergy, staff, or special committees. Rarely do most members of the laity believe they should or even want to engage in the tasks of evangelism and social justice. In this volume, LaBoy contends that participation in baptism and Eucharist mandates for all Christians--and those who are Wesleyan in their orientation, in particular--that evangelism and social justice are not optional but in fact integral to their worship and witness. She argues that this understanding and practice of the integration of sacraments, evangelism, and social justice are what can help churches deal with contemporary issues of decline and church disenfranchisement by both congregants and those beyond church walls. LaBoy further argues that making the sacraments central to the worship life of congregations is what made early Methodists great evangelists and advocates for social justice.

What are human beings created for? How can we experience the well-being made possible in Christ? What does it mean to love God and our neighbor wholly? These questions go to the heart of what it means to live the Christian life. Happiness, Health, and Beauty explores these questions by putting Wesleyan doctrine in conversation with voices from the wider Christian tradition: theologians, philosophers, social critics, scientists, and poets. The guiding themes for this inquiry into the nature of the Christian life are happiness--how we flourish together in the goodness of God; health--the intrinsic connection between bread and bodies in the Eucharist; and beauty--the disposition to benevolence that is the hallmark of our being fully human.

This book examines the primary biblical themes in the lyrical theology of Charles Wesley, the master hymn writer and cofounder of the Methodist movement. Methodism was born in song, and it is highly doubtful whether without the hymns of Charles Wesley there could have been a Methodist revival. Charles's hymns have exerted a monumental influence on Methodist doctrine and Methodist people through the years. They are essentially mosaics of biblical texts; in singing these hymns, Methodists have sung the grand narrative of redemption and restoration in the biblical witness. A summary list of key biblical texts drawn from the 1780 Collection of Hymns for the Use of the People Called Methodists serves as a summa of Charles Wesley's theology and points to the doctrinal concerns that shaped his life most fully. Intended as an exploration of Wesleyan theology through the lens of "sung doctrine," this study demonstrates the world-making and life-shaping effect of hymns, and the way in which they emanate from Charles Wesley's life of prayer and evoke a life of service.