In John Wesley's time, they had societies. A Society was like a small church congregation. The only requirement for joining a society according to Wesley, was a "desire to flee from the wrath to come, and to be saved from your sins." Who wouldn't want that? I know, I do!
But to stay involved, Wesley knew that if an individual truly wanted to "flee from the wrath to come, and to be saved from their sins," there should be "fruit" in their lives. In other words, their lives and the way they live would reflect their faith.
In Wesley's time, the people, church-going people, had gotten away from living their lives as Christ followers should, loving God and loving neighbor. Wesley knew that. So, when John Wesley started his ministry, his desire was not to start a new denomination. His goal was to "reform the nation, and in particular the church, and to spread scriptural holiness over the land." In other words, he wanted people to start being Christ followers who truly loved God and loved neighbor.
To continue what Wesley started, we want to continue to understand what it means to be a Christian in the Wesleyan way. So, we are starting an all-church study tomorrow, Wednesday August 19th. This is the study we have been talking about for several weeks. It is called "Scripture and the Wesleyan Way." The study is by father and son, Scott and Arthur Jones, a bishop and pastor respectively in the United Methodist Church.
We will have eight lessons, all on Wednesday and will have two separate sessions on Zoom, one at 2:30 p.m. and one at 7:00 p.m. (You only need to attend one session.)
It is not too late to sign up. Just email Pastor Doug at doug@sumc.org to join the study. (You will need the link in order to join.)
I truly hope that through this study, we all move a little closer to Christlikeness as God calls us to. As we are reformed and transformed, who knows, maybe we can be about "spreading scriptural holiness over the land" in our time.
