Young Wesleyans
What if God is really Love?
Pure universal Love thou art:
to me, to all, thy mercies move;
thy nature and thy name is Love.
-- Charles Wesley
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Young Wesleyans
I've learned so much from Young Methodist Youth such as those who attend Hendrix College. They call themselves UMY's. I call them Young Wesleyans. Talking with them over the years, I see that they understand something that is sometimes lost to their elders. They know that the Wesleyan Way is a fresh possibility that can offer hope for the world, if liberated from an excessive preoccupation with rigid belief and any hint of mean-spiritedness. This Way was anticipated in John and Charles Wesley, but it comes from the future not the past: that is, from God's beckoning presence. It invites us (1) to recognize God as pure universal love, embracing each and all, including poor and powerless people, and also other animals, (2) to open our hearts to God's spirit, God's breathing, as it helps transform our hearts into love, and (3) to accept God's call to help build communities that are creative, compassionate, participatory, humane to animals, and ecologically wise, with no one left behind. As Young Wesleyans envision it, the Wesleyan Way is not closed or narrow, but rather open and free. Sometimes it is also just plain fun. The Wesleyan Way is also Christ-centered. Long before the Wesleys, the Way was revealed but not exhausted in Jesus, in whose healing ministry, death, and resurrection we have a window to the God of love. Our task, the UMI's add,, is to extend his healing ministry, grateful for the grace that precedes us, accepts us, and calls us. In the beginning and in the end, they say, is the grace -- understood not simply as an idea but as an experience. That's what I learn from young Wesleyans. I learn to consider the possibility, sometimes neglected by overly orthodox Christians, that God is really Love. -- Jay McDaniel |
Come, O thou Traveller unknown,
whom still I hold, but cannot see; my company before is gone, and I am left alone with thee; with thee all night I mean to stay, and wrestle till the break of day. I need not tell thee who I am, my misery or sin declare; thyself hast called me by my name; look on thy hands, and read it there! But who, I ask thee, who art thou? Tell me thy name, and tell me now. In vain thou strugglest to get free; I never will unloose my hold. Art thou the man that died for me? The secret of thy love unfold: wrestling, I will not let thee go, till I thy name, thy nature know. Yield to me now, for I am weak, but confident in self-despair; speak to my heart, in blessings speak, be conquered by my instant prayer. Speak, or thou never hence shalt move, and tell me if thy name is Love! 'Tis Love!'tis Love! Thou diedst for me! I hear thy whisper in my heart! The morning breaks, the shadows flee; pure universal Love thou art: to me, to all, thy mercies move; thy nature and thy name is Love. Give Me a New, a Perfect Heart
Cleanse me from every evil thought, From all the filth of self and pride. Give me a new, a perfect heart, From doubt, and fear, and sorrow free, The mind which was in Christ impart, And let my spirit cleave to thee. -- Charles Wesley |
What does it mean
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Reviews of John Cobb's Grace and Responsibility
"In this important work, John Cobb provides an excellent example of what is desperately needed in the church, an appreciation and appropriation of Wesleyan theology in the context of contemporary needs and issues. John enters into critical dialogue with Wesley, permits us to listen in, and invites us to join and expand the dialogue. The result is a book which both summarizes Wesleyan theology and models a truly Wesleyan means of doing theology. He maintains the traditional emphasis on 'practical divinity' by avoiding excessively technical language as he connects Wesley's theological affirmations with contemporary issues and critiques them in the light of new insights and contemporary concerns. My hope is that John's honest and insightful attempt at defining a Wesleyan theology for today will inspire others to do the same. Such a serious dialogue with Wesley by scholars, church leaders, pastors, and laity is our best hope for the recovery of an authentically Wesleyan ethos, deeply rooted in theological vitality and rnissional commitment."
-Bishop Kenneth L. Carder, Nashville Area, The United Methodist Church
" At last, a contemporary Methodist systematic theologian engaging his Wesleyan roots as seriously as he does current theological agendas! It is hard to imagine who is better suited for this task than John Cobb. He has been at the center of a wide range of recent theological developments. And he has taken the time to gain a responsible grasp of both Wesley himself and later Wesley scholarship. Drawing on these resources he undertakes an extended critical dialogue with Wesley on a series of pressing issues for Methodists today. The resulting insights are numerous, profound, and often provocative. Indeed, the value of this book is not only the conclusions it reaches but the debates it is sure to spawn. If future participants bring the same integrity of method and concern for the church to their work as Cobb models here, the prospects for Methodist theology (and our unique contribution to the larger Christian community) are promising indeed! Do not miss this book!"
-Randy L. Maddox, Sioux Palls College, Sioux Palls, South Dakota
-Bishop Kenneth L. Carder, Nashville Area, The United Methodist Church
" At last, a contemporary Methodist systematic theologian engaging his Wesleyan roots as seriously as he does current theological agendas! It is hard to imagine who is better suited for this task than John Cobb. He has been at the center of a wide range of recent theological developments. And he has taken the time to gain a responsible grasp of both Wesley himself and later Wesley scholarship. Drawing on these resources he undertakes an extended critical dialogue with Wesley on a series of pressing issues for Methodists today. The resulting insights are numerous, profound, and often provocative. Indeed, the value of this book is not only the conclusions it reaches but the debates it is sure to spawn. If future participants bring the same integrity of method and concern for the church to their work as Cobb models here, the prospects for Methodist theology (and our unique contribution to the larger Christian community) are promising indeed! Do not miss this book!"
-Randy L. Maddox, Sioux Palls College, Sioux Palls, South Dakota