Kevin M. Watson offers the first in-depth examination of an essential early Methodist tradition: the band meeting, a small group of five to seven people who focused on the confession of sin in order to grow in holiness. Watson shows how the band meeting, which figured significantly in John Wesley's theology of discipleship, united Wesley's emphasis on the importance of holiness with his conviction that Christians are most likely to make progress in the Christian life together, rather than in isolation. Demonstrating that neither John Wesley's theology nor popular Methodism can be understood independent of each other, Watson explores how Wesley synthesized important aspects of Anglican piety (an emphasis on a disciplined practice of the means of grace) and Moravian piety (an emphasis on an experience of justification by faith and the witness of the Spirit) in his own version of the band meeting. Pursuing Social Holiness is an essential contribution to understanding the critical role of the band meeting in the development of British Methodism and shifting concepts of community in eighteenth-century British society.

During the nineteenth century, camp meetings became a signature program of American Methodists and an extraordinary engine for their remarkable evangelistic outreach. Methodism in the American Forest explores the ways in which Methodist preachers interacted with and utilized the American woodland, and the role camp meetings played in the denomination's spread across the country. Half a century before they made themselves such a home in the woods, the people and preachers learned the hard way that only a fool would adhere to John Wesley's mandate for preaching in fields of the New World. Under the blazing American sun, Methodist preachers found a better outdoor sanctuary for larger gatherings: under the shade of great oaks, a natural cathedral, where they held forth with fervid sermons. The American forests, argues Russell E. Richey, served the preachers in another important way. The remote, garden-like solitude provided them with a place to seek counsel from the Holy Spirit, serving as a kind of Gethsemane. As seen by the American Methodists, the forest was also a desolate wilderness, and a means for them to connect with Israel's wilderness years after the Exodus and Jesus's forty days in the desert after his baptism by John. Undaunted, the preachers slashed their way through, following America's expanding settlement, and gradually sacralizing American woodlands as cathedral, confessional, and spiritual challenge-as shady grove, as garden, and as wilderness. The threefold forest experience became a Methodist standard. The meeting of Methodism's basic governing body, the quarterly conference, brought together leadership of all levels. The event stretched to two days in length and soon great crowds were drawn by the preaching and eventually the sacraments that were on offer. Camp meetings, if not a Methodist invention, became the movement's signature, a development that Richey tracks throughout the years that Methodism matured, becoming a central denomination in America's religious landscape.

A near death episode in the Rev John Smithies' earliest missionary work raises the principal question of this book, namely, what motivated Wesleyan Methodist mission in the first half of the nineteenth century? At first glance, the question may be answered simply: the quest to make Methodist converts or to Christianise indigenous inhabitants of newly conquered territories of the British Empire. However, in this reappraisal of Methodist mission in the century after John Wesley, a new perspective is explored, one which challenges these more common and simplistic interpretations.

This is an invaluable handbook on Methodism containing an introduction, dictionary of key terms, and concentrates on key themes, methodology and research problems for those interested in studying the origins and development of the history and theology of world Methodism. The literature describing the history and development of Methodism has been growing as scholars and general readers have become aware of its importance as a world church with approximately 40 million members in 300 Methodist denominations in 140 nations. The tercentenary celebrations of the births of its founders, John and Charles Wesley, in 2003 and 2007 provided an additional focus on the evolution of the movement which became a church. This book researches questions, problems, and resources for further study.

Methodism is growing, both in numbers and influence, according to the World Methodist Council there are 78 Methodist, Wesleyan, and related Uniting and United churches representing over 80 million people in more than 130 nations. There are clear reasons for its success. Among them are commitment to evangelize and nurture people with the message of God's presence, love, and direction. That includes an appreciation for, and practice of, the holistic nature of the Wesleyan tradition which involves faith nurtured in the biblical narrative, disciplined personal and communal spirituality and holy living, vibrant preaching, worship, and fellowship, and a faith which rejoices in personal and social reform. This third edition of Historical Dictionary of Methodism presents the history of Methodism through a detailed chronology, an introductory essay, an extensive bibliography, and over 500 cross-referenced dictionary entries on important institutions and events, doctrines and activities, and especially persons who have contributed to the church and also broader society in the three centuries since it was founded. This book is an ideal access point for students, researchers, or anyone interested in the history of the Methodist Church.

At a time when Canadians were arguing about the merits of a new flag, the birth-control pill, and the growing hippie counterculture, the leaders of Canada's largest Protestant church were occupied with turning much of English-Canadian religious culture on its head. In After Evangelicalism, Kevin Flatt reveals how the United Church of Canada abruptly reinvented its public image by cutting the remaining ties to its evangelical past. Flatt argues that although United Church leaders had already abandoned evangelical beliefs three decades earlier, it was only in the 1960s that rapid cultural shifts prompted the sudden dismantling of the church's evangelical programs and identity. Delving deep into the United Church's archives, Flatt uncovers behind-the-scenes developments that led to revolutionary and controversial changes in the church's evangelistic campaigns, educational programs, moral stances, and theological image. Not only did these changes evict evangelicalism from the United Church, but they helped trigger the denomination's ongoing numerical decline and decisively changed Canada's religious landscape. Challenging readers to see the Canadian religious crisis of the 1960s as involving more than just Quebec's Quiet Revolution, After Evangelicalism unveils the transformation of one of Canada's most prominent social institutions.

Kevin M. Watson offers the first in-depth examination of the early Methodist band meeting: a small group of five to seven people focusing on the confession of sin in order to grow in holiness. The ''social holiness'' of the band meeting figures significantly both in the development of eighteenth-century British Methodism and in understanding shifting forms of community in the context of rapidly changing British society. Arguing that neither John Wesley's theology nor popular Methodism can be understood independent of each other, Watson shows how Wesley synthesized important aspects of Anglican (an emphasis on a disciplined practice of the means of grace) and Moravian (an emphasis on an experience of justification by faith and the witness of the Spirit) piety in his own version of the band meeting. The small groups were of particular significance in John Wesley's theology of discipleship because the bands united his emphasis on the importance of holiness with his conviction that Christians are most likely to make progress in the Christian life together, rather than in isolation.

Published in 1793-6, amid controversy following the death of John Wesley (1703-91), this two-volume work vied with others for status as the most authentic biography of the Methodist leader. Wesley had left his papers to his physician John Whitehead (c.1740-1804) and the ministers Thomas Coke and Henry Moore, but Whitehead monopolised the papers in the preparation of his biography, refusing to allow his fellow executors access. Volume 1 traces John's career up to 1735 and includes a substantial life of his brother Charles (1707-88), fellow founder of Methodism. Volume 2 continues the narrative from Wesley's voyage to America in 1735 until his death. It also includes assessments of his character and writings, as well as Whitehead's analysis of the state of Methodism at the time of writing. This remains an important critical appraisal of the movement's early history, offering researchers valuable insights into the contemporary debates over the future and structure of Methodism.

The histories of the Church of England and the Methodist Church have been linked together for 250 years. In the 1970s, a proposal for unity failed narrowly. Now relationships between Methodists and Anglicans are stronger than ever, locally, regionally and nationally. Both are committed to the search for unity. What holds them apart? This official report of the Formal Conversations that began in 1999 sets out the common ground that has been rediscovered. It shows the strength of theological agreement, but also points out significant differences that require further work. Conscious of both the opportunities and the unresolved issues, the two churches asked the Conversations to draw up an agreement that would enable them to take a significant step towards future unity. The talks gave priority to mission and evangelism and paid special attention to diversity. This report proposes a national covenant, made up of mutual acknowledgement and mutual commitment. It should consolidate at the national level the many local and regional covenants that already exist and so prepare the ground for the next vital stage on the road to unity.

During the last 40 years a considerable amount of scholarly attention has been given to John Wesley's way of doing theology. There is extensive debate within Wesleyan circles (particularly in North America) regarding the conception and utility of his theological method, usually identified as the Wesleyan quadrilateral (Scripture, reason, tradition and experience). Many claim it is a unique and fruitful model, with invaluable application for the church today. In this book, Wesley's theological methodology is uncovered from the perspective of his holistic vision of the God-human relationship being centred in love and defined by the qualities of trust and passion, rather than an intellectual comprehension of propositional truths about God. Accordingly, pastoral theology is much more important than academic, systematic theology for Christian experience and spiritual formation. In Wesley's theological method Scripture, reason, community ethos and Christian experience are utilised in an interconnected dynamic network, energised by the presence of the Holy Spirit. God is clearly the sole theological authority and the elements of the system are the means he uses for communication with his people.

"American Methodist Worship is the most comprehensive history of worship among John Wesley's various American spiritual descendents that has ever been written. It will be a foundational book for anyone who wishes to understand how American Methodists have worshipped."-Sacramental Life
"This groundbreaking study will help to reshape the way that we think about early American Methodist worship and how it connects to more recent trends."-- The Journal of Religion
"Karen Westerfield Tucker's exhaustive examination of the history of American Methodist worship may indeed launch a new genre in liturgical historiography: denominational liturgical histories. The genius of this contribution is its comprehensiveness in examining for the first time the worship life of an American ecclesiological tradition."--Doxology

With the decision to provide of a scholarly edition of the Works of John Wesley in the 1950s, Methodist Studies emerged as a fresh academic venture. Building on the foundation laid by Frank Baker, Albert Outler, and other pioneers of the discipline, this handbook provides an overview of the best current scholarship in the field. The forty-two included essays are representative of the voices of a new generation of international scholars, summarising and expanding on topical research, and considering where their work may lead Methodist Studies in the future.
Thematically ordered, the handbook provides new insights into the founders, history, structures, and theology of Methodism, and into ongoing developments in the practice and experience of the contemporary movement. Key themes explored include worship forms, mission, ecumenism, and engagement with contemporary ethical and political debate.

This is an introduction to the Methodist way and method of doing theology. This book is written to capture the imagination and engage the reader in conversation. Methodism is not a doctrinaire society, yet it is clear about what it believes. Methodists confidently develop their theology through conversation with the world of secular knowledge, with other Christian traditions and other religious faiths, drawing on contemporary biblical scholarship and with careful attention to the Christian tradition. Methodism is serious about worship, public and personal, since it wants to celebrate the reality of God's presence with God's people - that is, as Methodists understand it, with all God's people. Methodist theology is grounded in the grace of God that it proclaims to be free for all. Methodist theology is essentially Christological; it puts Christ at the centre of faith, but therefore, (not 'as well'!) is focused on God, the Holy Trinity. Methodism is one Society and is keen to draw others into its fellowship. Hence the Methodist Church does not have missionary societies; it is, properly understood, a Society organised for mission. "Doing Theology" introduces the major Christian traditions and their way of theological reflection. The volumes focus on the origins of a particular theological tradition, its foundations, key concepts, eminent thinkers and historical development. The series is aimed readers who want to learn more about their own theological heritage and identity: theology undergraduates, students in ministerial training and church study groups.

It is much harder to define a religious movement than it is to define a religion or denomination. That applies especially when that movement almost defies definition as the Holiness Movement does. The Holiness Movement is a Methodist religious renewal movement that has over 12 million adherents worldwide. Perhaps the most familiar public manifestation of the holiness movement has been its urban holiness missions, and the Salvation Army-noted for its service ministries among poor and people suffering the dislocations that accompany war and disaster-is the most notable example. The A to Z of the Holiness Movement relates important new developments in the Holiness Movement-such as the widely discussed "Holiness Manifesto"-are thoroughly discussed, and the content has also been expanded to include information on figures from Asia and Africa to reflect the continued growth of the Holiness Movement. With a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, and over 400 cross-referenced dictionary entries, this reference has information that cannot be found elsewhere.

Early American Methodists commonly described their religious lives as great wars with sin and claimed they wrestled with God and Satan who assaulted them in terrible ways. Carefully examining a range of sources, including sermons, letters, autobiographies, journals, and hymns, Jeffrey Williams explores this violent aspect of American religious life and thought. Williams exposes Methodism s insistence that warfare was an inevitable part of Christian life and necessary for any person who sought God s redemption. He reveals a complex relationship between religion and violence, showing how violent expression helped to provide context and meaning to Methodist thought and practice, even as Methodist religious life was shaped by both peaceful and violent social action."

Pain, Passion and Faith: Revisiting the Place of Charles Wesley in Early Methodism is a significant study of the 18th-century poet and preacher Charles Wesley. Wesley was an influential figure in 18th-century English culture and society; he was co-founder of the Methodist revival movement and one of the most prolific hymn-writers in the English language. His hymns depict the Christian life as characterized by a range of intense emotions, from ecstatic joy to profound suffering. With this book, author Joanna Cruickshank examines the theme of suffering in Charles Wesley s hymns, to help us understand how early Methodist men and women made sense of the physical, emotional and spiritual pains they experienced. Cruickshank uncovers an area of significant disagreement within the Methodist leadership and illuminates Methodist culture more broadly, shedding light on early Methodist responses to contemporary social issues like charity, slavery, and capital punishment.

In 2003, Methodists celebrated the 300th anniversary of the birth of their founder, John Wesley. Today, there are more than 300 Methodist denominations in 140 nations. Covering the activities of this group that plays an important role in the ecumenical movement through its many social and charitable activities in world affairs, this book offers more than 400 entries that describe important events, doctrines, and the church founders, leaders, and other prominent figures who have made notable contributions. It also includes * a list of commonly used acronyms * chronology of historical events * introductory essay on the history of Methodism * bibliography * listing of important libraries and depositories of Methodist materials The impressive list of contributors includes more than 60 specialists who are academics, administrators, pastors, and theologians.

As anyone familiar with both the stereotypes and the scholarship related to Wesley knows, tricky interpretive questions abound: was Wesley a conservative, high church Tory or a revolutionary protodemocrat or proto-Marxist? Was he a modern rationalist obsessed with the epistemology of religious belief or a late medieval style thinker who believed in demonic possession and supernatural healing? Was Wesley primarily a pragmatic evangelist or a serious theologian committed to the long-haul work of catechesis, initiation, and formation? "Wesley: A Guide for the Perplexed "sheds new light on Wesley's life and teaching, and aims to help students understand this enigmatic figure.

The Korean Holiness Church originated as an evangelical holiness movement through indigenous work and the American holiness mission. From its inception, the Korean Holiness Church believed that its primary task was not only to promote "scriptural holiness," as John Wesley and primitive Methodism had preached, but also to preach the "fourfold gospel," which may be summarized as regeneration, sanctification, divine healing, and the premillennial second coming of Christ. The Rise of the Korean Holiness Church in Relation to the American Holiness Movement argues that the theological foundation of the Korean Holiness Church can best be understood by analyzing the fourfold gospel in the history of the Korean Holiness Church and its internationally connected holiness movement. The brief, though rich, biographical accounts of the Korean Christians and American and British Missionaries woven into this book finally give these great men and women their due.

The relationship between John Wesley and George Whitefield has often been viewed as suffering from irreconcilable theological differences. In fact, for several years, the relationship between these two leaders of the revival of the Christian faith in eighteenth-century England was strained almost to the breaking point. Whitefield, a Calvinist, believed that each individual who ever lived was either destined for the glories of heaven or the horrors of hell due to an irrevocable decree of God. Wesley on the other hand argued that each person has placed before them two options: either to accept God's forgiveness or to reject it in favor of following one's own way. Most books in the past have focused on these John Wesley's and George Whitefield's differences, but what has been overlooked is the lasting friendship between these two men, which, after a brief period of separation, was restored for the sake of the continuation of the revival movement on two continents. Catholic Spirit: Wesley, Whitefield, and the Quest for Evangelical Unity in Eighteenth-Century British Methodism focuses on the key themes upon which both men agreed. It stresses the commonalties between the two leaders of British Methodism and illustrates the great lengths both went to in order to further the revival of the Christian religion in England and North America. Both Wesley and Whitefield claim to possess "Catholic spirits," that is, they both believed the importance of working with other like-minded individuals to spread the message of salvation through Christ. Author James Schwenk argues that they were successful in promoting that spirit of cooperation, even as some of their followers failed to understand how hard they worked at making "molehills out of mountains."

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"Draws upon previously neglected primary sources to offer a ground-breaking analysis of the intertwined political, racial, and religious dynamics at work in the institutional merging of three American Methodist denominations in 1939. Davis boldly examines the conflicted ethics behind a dominant American religious culture's justification and preservation of racial segregation in the reformulation of its post-slavery institutional presence in American society. His work provides a much-needed, critical discussion of the racial issues that pervaded American religion and culture in the early twentieth century.a
--Wendy J. Deichmann Edwards, Academic Dean and Associate Professor of History and Theology, United Theological Seminary, Dayton Ohio

aA discerning, sober, and troubling probing of the preoccupation within the Methodist Church with Christian nationalism, civilization as defined by white Anglo-Saxon manhood, and race, race consciousness and athe problem of the Negroa that was foundational to and constitutive of a reunited Methodism. A must read for students of early 20th century America.a
--Russell E. Richey, Emory University

In the early part of the twentieth century, Methodists were seen by many Americans as the most powerful Christian group in the country. Ulysses S. Grant is rumored to have said that during his presidency there were three major political parties in the U.S., if you counted the Methodists.

The Methodist Unification focuses on the efforts among the Southern and Northern Methodist churches to create a unified national Methodist church, and how their plan for unification came to institutionalizeracism and segregation in unprecedented ways. How did these Methodists conceive of what they had just formed as auniteda when members in the church body were racially divided?

Moving the history of racial segregation among Christians beyond a simplistic narrative of racism, Morris L. Davis shows that Methodists in the early twentieth century -- including high-profile African American clergy -- were very much against racial equality, believing that mixing the races would lead to interracial marriages and threaten the social order of American society.

The Methodist Unification illuminates the religious culture of Methodism, Methodists' self-identification as the primary carriers of "American Christian Civilization," and their influence on the crystallization of whiteness during the Jim Crow Era as a legal category and cultural symbol.

John Wesley's Ecclesiology: A Study in Its Sources and Development looks at the major traditions and sources that shaped Wesley's study of church doctrine. Wesley's ecclesiology is best understood in light of the sources and background that contributed to his own theological formation, as well as the events that he faced in the course of his endeavors in the Wesleyan Revival. Therefore, this study first examines the possible sources for Wesley's doctrine of the church and then moves to the investigation of the development of his ecclesiology in the course of his ministry. In doing so, this study looks at the large number of works written by John Wesley and the primary sources of the various traditions that influenced Wesley. John Wesley's rich legacy was inherited from several traditions including primitivism, Anglicanism, Puritanism, Pietism, and to a lesser extent, Roman Catholicism and these sources were instrumental in shaping his ecclesiology. Anyone interested in reading Wesley in the Christian tradition would want to read this book. Wesley's ecclesiology will provide Wesleyan Churches with a renewed understanding of their origins and a model for moving toward truly catholic, thoroughly evangelical, and continually reformed church.

Challenging the traditional interpretation that the years between Reconstruction and World War I were a period when blacks made only marginal advances in religion, politics, and social life, John Giggie contends that these years marked a critical turning point in the religious history of southern blacks. In this ground-breaking first book, Giggie connects these changes in religious life in the Delta region - whose popularity was predominantly black but increasingly ruled by white supremacists - to the Great Migration and looks at how they impacted the new urban lives of those who made the exodus to the north. Rather than a straight narrative, the chapters present a range of ways blacks in the Delta experimented with new forms of cultural expression and how they looked for spiritual meaning in the face of racial violence. Giggie traces how experiences with the railroad became a part of spiritual life, how consumer marketing built religious identities, ways that fraternal societies became tied in with churches, the role of material culture in unifying religious identity across the Delta, and the backlash against the worldliness of black churches and the growth of alternate practices. The study take into account folk religion as well as a panopoly of institutions - black Baptist churches, African Methodist Episcopal church, Colored Methodist Episcopal Church, black conferences of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and churches that formed the African-American Holiness movement - and looks at how they vigorously quarreled over the proper definition of religious organization, worship, and consumption. Vivid evidence comes from black denominational newspapers, published and unpublished ex-slave interviews conducted by the Works Progress Administration, legal transcripts, autobiographies, and recordings of black music and oral expression. This work is an excellent fit with the strengths of the OUP lists in African American, Southern, and religious history.

A Will to Choose traces the history of African-American Methodism beginning with their emergence in the fledgling American Methodist movement in the 1760s. Responding to Methodism's anti-slavery stance, African-Americans joined the new movement in large numbers and by the end of the eighteenth century, had made up the largest minority in the Methodist church, filling positions of authority as class leaders, exhorters, and preachers. Through the first half of the nineteenth century, African Americans used the resources of the church in their struggle for liberation from slavery and racism in the secular culture.