A letter to Mrs. Bennis

Came across this in my research yesterday and wanted to share it:

A woman named Mrs. Bennis wrote to John Wesley in March of 1766 to ask about her religious experience and to seek advice. Wesley wrote back in a letter dated March 29th, with encouragement to share her experience with others. He also included some advice about Christian perfection.

One of the things most characteristic about Wesley's understanding of salvation is its progressive character. In fact, he didn't think it was possible to receive saving grace and then just sit still. The justified sinner either pushed forward in holiness of heart & life after receiving the new birth, or else he would backslide and lose the gift given to him. You can see that in Wesley's advice to Mrs. Bennis on the importance of sharing our faith and pressing on towards salvation:

"One reason why those who are saved from sin should freely declare it to believers is because nothing is a stronger incitement to them to seek after the same blessing. And we ought by every possible means to press every serious believer to forget the things which are behind and with all earnestness go on to perfection. Indeed, if they are not thristing after this, it is scarce possible to keep what htey have: they can hardly retain any power of faith if they are not panting after holiness."

Wesley's talking about sanctification here. And when he speaks of "perfection," he's talking about the character of entire sanctification, where the believer has been so transformed by the love of God that she no longer commits intentional sins.

His doctrine of perfection was controversial in Wesley's own day, and it has remained so ever since. But there are two important things to remember that can clear up most of the misunderstanding over Christian perfection: First, perfection is not a static state. It is a mark along the way of salvation, but it does not mean that a person will not keep growing in grace in this life. And second, perfection does not mean a person is free from ignorance, error, or unintentional sin.

Wesley makes this second point in spades in the letter to Mrs. Bennis:

"A thousand infirmities are consistent even with the highest degree of holiness, which is no other than pure love, an heart devoted to God, one design and one desire. Then whatever is done either in word or deed may be done in the name of the Lord Jesus."

The Christian character he's describing is, in terms of his own moral psychology, one marked by liberty. A person who is sanctified to the degree that, "whatever is done ... may be done in the name of the Lord Jesus," is one who is truly free. And the freedom possessed is the freedom to orient one's life toward God; it is exactly for this freedom that Christ has set us free (Galatians 5:1).

The doctrine of Christian perfection is not something Wesleyans should shy away from. In fact, our neglect of it has probably contributed to our loss of a full understanding of holiness of heart & life. We should pay attention to it, particularly since it is eminently biblical. Entire sanctification is, simply put, that form of life to which the whole New Testament points.

Coming across little gems like the letter to Mrs. Bennis is one of the real joys of graduate work. Does that make me sound like a complete nerd? Oh, well.

[If you're wondering, the letter to Mrs. Bennis can be found in the Telford edition of The Letters of John Wesley, vol. 5, p.6.]

The Imitation of Christ

I've been re-reading some books from the "holy living tradition" that were very influential for John Wesley during his early adulthood. They're good sources for understanding how Wesley was influenced in his thinking about holiness of heart & life. But the real joy in reading them is that they are all spiritual classics that offer great insight into the way of holiness for Christians today.

One of the best is the meditation of Thomas a Kempis called, The Imitation of Christ. (That's him in the picture, by the way.) Kempis was a 15th-century Dutch monk who was a member of the Brothers of the Common Life. His masterpiece, The Imitation of Christ, has inspired countless people in their devotional lives since he penned it in the early 1400s.

John Wesley talks about its influence on him in the opening paragraphs of A Plain Account of Christian Perfection, where he writes, "In the year 1726, I met with Kempis's 'Christian's Pattern.' The nature and extent of inward religion, the religion of the heart, now appeared to me in a stronger light than ever it had done before ... I saw, that 'simplicity of intention, and purity of affection,' one design in all we speak or do, and one desire ruling all our tempers, are indeed 'the wings of the soul,' without which she can never ascend to the mount of God."

I would encourage you to pick up a copy of The Imitation of Christ, which is available in a number of different versions. (The Thomas Nelson edition is good for devotional reading; it's not currently in print but is available for next to nothing from used booksellers). Keep in mind that it should be read slowly and savored. It's best read meditatively along with your morning Scripture reading, which allows you to reflect on its words throughout your daily tasks.

I'll also share a few passages from it over the next few weeks. Here's one from the opening section:

"The teaching of Christ is more excellent than all the advice of the saints, and he who has His spirit will find in it a hidden manna. Now, there are many who hear the Gospel often but care little for it because they have not the spirit of Christ. Yet whoever wishes to understand fully the words of Christ must try to pattern his whole life on that of Christ" (I.1).

Words of wisdom.

And words by which to focus our spiritual lives.

The saints among us

In my study of John Wesley, one thing that has really stuck out at me is the way that Wesley was so drawn to individual examples of holy living. I write about this in my newest column in the Covenant Discipleship Quarterly. In a number of different genres of writing - sermons, journaling, and essays - Wesley consistently highlighted examples of sanctified lives as a public witness to others.

The reason Wesley pointed to these living saints was because of the good that viewing their lives could do for others. By seeing the living witness of a holy man or woman, others might be moved by the Spirit to receive God's grace for themselves and be similarly transformed.

Another interesting thing about Wesley's focus on sanctified lives is the diversity of those he focused upon: Henry Lascelles, an immigrant to the colony of Georgia in the 1730s; Jane Cooper and Jane Muncy, both women active in the Methodist revival; the Rev. John Fletcher, an articulate theologian and one of Wesley's ablest allies among the Anglican clergy.

I think Wesley's tendency to look at holy lives can offer us something today. The messages we get are confused, because the sources are so scattered. From friends, to media sources, to so-called "authority" figures, it can be unclear what we can trust and what should be discarded. But what does not fail is the testimony that is offered through demonstrated, holy lives. Their witness to us can be a means of grace in and of themselves.

Wish list for 2008

My New Year's resolution for this year is to live more into a life of holiness. I'm in a Covenant Discipleship Group with four other guys, and I know that will be a great source of strength for me. I'm trying to look more at holiness in an integrated way, encompassing my mind, body, and spirit. After all, God wants to transform all of me, not just one part!

But beyond that resolution, I also spent some time a few days ago thinking about what I would like for our church in the coming year. I put those thoughts to paper and shaped them into a my first United Methodist Reporter column for the new year. You can find that column here. Here's a short version:

1) One of the most pressing concerns, I believe, is in helping our young hear the voice of God - and this goes for both laity and clergy. We have declining numbers of both, and the reasons why are complex. My suspicion is that the greatest reason is that families no longer see the church as the center of their lives, but rather one among a laundry list of extracurricular activities. And if that's the case, it is not just a failure of the church reaching the young, but of the failure of the church to nurture God's people overall. That will only change when we once again understand the church as the only community where we can know true life.

2) My greatest hope in the area of worship is that the church experiences a renewal of the celebration of the Lord's Supper. I believe that Holy Communion is the chief means of grace available to us, and if that's the case, we ought to put it at the center of worship! That doesn't mean we have to shortchange preaching, but we should rather understand preaching as a proclamation which finds its fullest embodiment in the sacrament. If the church is about sharing the word of God, we should be eating the sacred meal together at every opportunity.

3) General Conference needs to be clothed in prayer. If you have any questions about that, see General Conference of 2004, General Conference of 2000, etc.

4) I hope that a part of our growing reclamation of our Wesleyan heritage will be a greater understanding of the unity of holiness and compassion. There can finally be no separation between works of piety and works of mercy. We are called to love God and neighbor, and focusing only on one to the neglect of the other produces a thin faith. Lord, give us both!

Practicing your faith

I don't believe in a John 3:16 faith.

That is, I don't believe that the Christian faith is summed up perfectly in that particular verse, as so many people do. Now I do think every bit of it is true: God does love the world; he did give his only begotten son; we are called to believe in him and we are promised eternal life.

But the problem with a John 3:16 faith is that so many people both start and stop with it. The transformation of their lives (what we call sanctification) is not important, so long as they believe that Jesus is who he says he is. How they use their time, who they choose to love, how they spend their money, and whether they commit to life in the church don't seem to have much bearing in their lives.

The problem with this, of course, is that it runs against the grain of the entire New Testament witness. The Scriptures want to testify to us how our lives are transformed by Christ as we live in the covenant community known as the church. And that involves a change in our habits. Every one of them.

There are other "3:16s" out there that help to put John 3:16 in its proper perspective. Check out Ephesians 3:16, which speaks of inner transformation through the power of the Spirit (a transformation which, if it is true, must be expressed outwardly as well). Or Philippians 3:16, which enjoins us to hold fast to what we have attained - a statement which, in the light of Paul's previous comments about pressing on toward the goal, is about the importance of how we live out our lives in concrete acts. Then, of course, there is Revelation 3:16, where the Laodiceans are told that they will be spewed out of Christ's mouth for their lukewarmness. If that's not a call to a new way of life, I don't know what is!

About a year and a half ago, Steve Manskar at the General Board of Discipleship asked me to write a couple of short essays for Covenant Discipleship Quarterly about my experience with Covenant Discipleship Groups. I happen to think CD Groups are one of the best tools in helping Christians practice their faith through concrete acts - acts which, in turn, help to facilitate the work of the Spirit in sanctification. So if you are interested in something more than a simple John 3:16 faith, you should check out Steve's work in Covenant Discipleship at the GBOD. The website is here.

Those two essays I wrote for the CDQ are online as well:

Covenant Discipleship and My Journey into Ministry (Part I)

Covenant Discipleship and My Journey into Ministry (Part II)

Steve recently asked me to start contributing regularly to CDQ, so there will be more essays out in the future. I'll post them on the blog as I do with my United Methodist Reporter columns.

How big is your church?

Church growth strategies are based on the notion that there is something redemptive about the numerical size of a congregation.

The error of church growth strategy is teleological. That is, it aims at an improper end. Church growth talks about discipleship and mission, but it puts these in the service of increasing the size of a congregation. Its logic is ground in the belief that large congregations, by virtue of their success in attracting worshipers, must be faithful churches.

I believe the church's fixation on church growth is related to our culture's fascination with megachurches. Americans are impressed by size. Ask any Texan. So when we see a Saddleback, or a Willow Creek, we think there must be something great going on there.

Don't get me wrong - I have no doubt that there is powerful ministry that happens everyday in megachurches. But their "success" causes the whole church to believe that its success is dependent on becoming the next megachurch. So we have a whole lot of pastors and congregations who spend all their time trying to increase membership, as if getting 1000 people in worship on Sunday will hasten Jesus' return.

My reading of Wesley lately has convinced me that he would be scathingly critical of church growth strategy. He was interested in bringing people into saving relationships with God, which can only happen in the context of a Christian community that is focused on disciplined participation in the means of grace. That really has nothing to do with size. It has to do with the right intention, followed by right belief and practice.

The other day I came across a quote in Wesley's "Thoughts Upon Methodism," where he distinguished between the essentials of Methodism (holiness of heart and life) and the circumstantials (the disciplined practice that nurtures such holiness).

He writes, "The essence of [Methodism] is holiness of heart and life; the circumstantials all point to this. And as long as they are joined together in the people called Methodists, no weapon formed against them shall prosper. But if even the circumstantial parts are despised, the essential will soon be lost. And if ever the essential parts should evaporate, what remains will be dung and dross."

Clearly, for Wesley the power of the Methodist approach to Christian faith is bound up in practices that allow people to experience the saving grace of Christ. That has every bit to do with the quality of a community, and nothing to do with its size.