Unexpected unity part 4: The Wesleyan Methodist Church
“All revivals are preceded by three features. Extraordinary prayer, unexpected unity... and heightened expectation.” Dr. Stuart Piggin, Australian Christian Historian.
In the spirit of unity, CATCH has reached out to several denominational leaders around Aotearoa to share with us what’s special about the place they call ‘home’. After beginning with Dr. Rev Malcolm Gordon, Anglican Assistant Bishop Ana Fletcher, and Elliot Rice from Central Baptist Church, this week we hear from Clint Ussher from the Wesleyan Methodist Tradition.
It took stepping outside of the Wesleyan Methodist Church for me to recognise just how ‘Wesleyan’ I was. Having grown up in the Wesleyan Methodist Church – going to Sunday school, youth group and camps, worship services, and all the other assortment of church gatherings – any gifts and blessings of being part of the Wesleyan Church were things I gradually took for granted. And to be honest, began to distance myself from due to witnessing some distortions and unhealthy expressions of ‘holiness.’ Beginning studies at a seminary from a different theological stream I found myself, surprisingly, on a journey of recognising, appreciating, and reclaiming my Wesleyan roots.
Our name, Wesleyan Methodist, honours John Wesley (and his brother Charles). John had a life-changing experience of God’s grace in a small-group meeting on Aldersgate Street in London in 1738 that was the catalyst not only for a spiritual revival of historic proportions but also for significant social reforms in the name of Christ. The size and scale of the Great Awakening / Wesleyan Revival in the 18th century is immense – largely because it was more than a ‘moment.’ Yes, there were significant moments where people experienced the tangible presence and power of God. Wesley’s own Aldersgate experience is evidence of such. However, Wesleyan Methodists were and (on our best days) are still concerned with sustaining a move of God in our time and in our place. These revival roots are important to keep in mind when considering what’s special about my tribe.
Renewed emphasis
One of the things I appreciate about the Wesleyan Methodist tradition is the humility inherent in how we posture ourselves within the wider Body of Christ. When thinking about what Wesleyans have contributed to the Church’s theological exploration over the years, it’s not necessarily anything new. Most (if not all) of what we treasure as Wesleyans can be found within other theological streams. For the early Wesleyans, this was worked out within the framework of the Church of England – the church in which the Wesley brothers were formed, ministered, and in which they both died. The basics were already there. Wesley once said of theology, “If it’s new, it’s wrong.” Given this, we’ve arguably contributed something different, not something new. We’ve contributed a renewed emphasis on already established Christian belief which means we share many points of connection and an ability to work together across theological and denominational lines.
So, if one gift of the Wesleyan movement is renewed emphases, not new ideas; then the question is, what are some of the key Wesleyan emphases? An important and foundational starting point might be described broadly as grace and holiness.
Grace and holiness
For Wesleyans, grace is not static, but rather dynamic. Grace transforms. Grace empowers. Grace changes lives. And for Wesleyans grace is nothing less than the power of the Holy Spirit. So, it’s not only dynamic, it’s relational. Some in Protestant circles during Wesley’s time had forgotten about the dynamic power of grace and had simply described it passively, often as God’s unmerited favour. And while Wesleyans believe that it includes God’s unmerited favour, its transforming power—the very power of the Holy Spirit—is its primary attribute.
Wesleyans also bring a renewed emphasis on holiness. Walking with Jesus changes you. The Church has taught about making saints since the very beginning. Holiness is found throughout Scripture. But some had forgotten that God’s call to holiness, or better yet his promise of holiness, is something that can be experienced now. We aren’t simply called to be holy after we die, but to be as Christ here and now. This optimism, or hope, can be found throughout Wesleyan theology. Based not on human effort or trying to downplay the effect of sin, but by focusing on the power of God, the same God who raised Jesus from the dead and launched the new creation who can change your life, my life, even now.
Embodied discipleship
Perhaps the thing I am most drawn to is the Wesleyan emphasis on embodied discipleship. Becoming like Jesus requires more than mental assent. It needs to be put into practice and lived out. Wesley had a phrase for what it means to live faithfully as a disciple of Jesus: walking in the ways of God. And ‘means of grace’ is the phrase Wesley used to describe what these ways of God are. These are time-tested and consistent ways by which we can receive grace: baptism, searching the Scriptures, prayer, Holy Communion, fasting, fellowship, accountability, works of mercy, and exercising the presence of God. These are the means by which God’s grace works in and through us to make us holy and wholly set apart for God’s purposes in our time and place.
I long to see God move in our time and in our place. Maybe you do too. While we may feel the need of the hour is urgent for God to move, I share these ‘means of grace’ as an offering from your Wesleyan brother.
Clint Ussher
Clint Ussher is the Director of the Laidlaw Centre for Church Leadership (CfCL). He is an ordained minister of the Wesleyan Methodist Church of Aotearoa-New Zealand and has served as the Lead Pastor of The Well Church (Christchurch) since its inception in 2012.