Worth reading, part V

Another great periodical I want to highlight for reading in the Wesleyan & Methodist tradition is the publication of the Wesleyan Theological Society, an organization that I wrote about last year after attending its annual meeting in Anderson, Indiana.

The quarterly journal of the WTS is called the Wesleyan Theological Journal. Probably more than any periodical I've posted about in the past few days, The Wesleyan Theological Journal (or WTJ) represents a wide spectrum of folks who consider themselves Wesleyan.

What I mean by that is that its contributors and readers aren't just Methodists. In fact, probably the majority of them come from the Holiness tradition - a branch of Wesleyanism that includes the Church of the Nazarene, the Wesleyan Church, the Free Methodist Church, the Church of God (Anderson, IN), and the Salvation Army, among others.

There are quite a few United Methodists who are involved in the work of the WTJ as either contributors or subscribers as well (I'm one of them!). But it is also very refreshing to read the work being done by Wesleyan Christians in other denominational bodies (just like it is refreshing to interact with them at the annual WTS meeting in March).

The content of the Wesleyan Theological Journal is diverse. Its articles cover a great range of topics - across the sub-disciplines of systematic theology & doctrine, historical theology, ethics, practical theology, and even occasionally biblical hermeneutics. The unifying aspect of the journal is that all its articles supposedly connect with the Wesleyan tradition in some way (and that's largely true).

As with periodicals such as Methodist Review and Methodist History, the WTJ is essential reading for any serious student of the Wesleyan theology and/or Methodist doctrine. And just like the way that joining the Historical Society of the UMC will get you an Methodist History subscription, joining the Wesleyan Theological Society will get you a subscription to the WTJ. Plus, there's a discount for current students.

The Wesleyan tradition is rich with resources for theological reflection, as well as example and guidance for practical ministry. By 'joining in the conversation' through engaging with journals like the WTJ, we can both invigorate and extend that tradition.

So read ... and enjoy!

Heading into the Weekend

I've been swamped this week, but I wanted to post on this beautiful Friday evening to share a couple of things:

First, I've got a recent column in the United Methodist Reporter that looks at the importance of doing work to preserve and extend the Wesleyan tradition of our church. I mentioned this in passing in a post last week, but I wanted to highlight it here. The column reflects on my recent trip to the Wesleyan Theological Society's annual meeting back in March, when I got to interact with fellow United Methodists as well as folks from the Church of the Nazarene, Free Methodist Church, Church of God, and Wesleyan Church. The WTS is made up of people who are committed to the common Wesleyan foundation of all our churches, and they do historical and theological work aimed at preserving and developing the Wesleyan tradition. If you are a student or pastor with an interest in Wesleyan theology or Methodist history, I would recommend joining the WTS and planning on attending its annual spring meeting. It is wonderfully invigorating.

Second, the crush of work this week has kept me from responding to some of the insightful comments to my blog post last week on possibilities for church reform. I devoted a couple of hours this afternoon to just such a response, which you can see by scrolling to the bottom of the comments on that post. I only mention that because my response includes a reflection on the proposed constitutional amendments to the Book of Discipline that will be taken up for consideration by annual conferences this summer. The reflection is written in conversation with Bruce Robbins' book, A World Parish?, which I believe is key to understanding what the amendments are aiming toward. An essay I am working on right now will include my views on the amendments in fuller form, and I plan on making that essay available on this blog when it is finished.

As we prepare to move into Holy Week, I hope everyone is blessed with the same beautiful weather that we are promised here in Durham this weekend.