Project 52

     

“I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America. But I am afraid lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power. And this undoubtedly will be the case unless they hold fast both the doctrine, spirit, and discipline with which they first set out.” (John Wesley, Thoughts Upon Methodism)

     Greetings! In the church that I am blessed to serve (LaPorte UMC) there is a men's group. As a group we wanted to get a better understanding of what it means to be Methodist. As Methodists, we are in a unique position in that Wesley never intended for us to become a separate denomination. Instead, Wesley's original vision was to create a movement within the Anglican church to reform it from within.
     Because of this the founder of the Methodist movement (John Wesley) never sat down and wrote a huge systematic theology book detailing what Methodists should believe. This, of course, does not mean Wesley did not have thoughts on theology and doctrine. Indeed, from his letters, articles, and the hymns of his brother Charles, we get a robust, and distinctive, understanding of what John called "Scriptural Christianity."
     At the request of some of his friends, John put together 52 sermons that he believed embodied what he embraced and taught as "the essentials of true religion." So in an effort to regain and retain the doctrine, spirit, and discipline, with which the movement we are a part of first set out, we decided to go through John's 52 standard sermons.
     I would like to invite all of you to join us as we discuss one sermon a week. Every week I will be posting a brief synopsis of each sermon with some discussion questions. Click here for the Wesley Center's list of the sermons in the order that Wesley picked out and that we will follow.

In Christ,
Pastor Bill Wendell