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1 Peter 1:13-16 NRSV Therefore prepare your minds for action; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed. Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance. Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; for it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”


Let us pray. Come, Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove; descend on us, reveal your love. Word of God and inward light, wake our spirits; clear our sight. Surround us now with all your glory; speak through me that sacred story. Take my lips and make them bold. Take hearts and minds and make them whole. Stir in us that sacred flame; then send us forth to spread your name. Amen.

Today, we bring to a close this three-part sermon series celebrating the 305th birthday of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. I’ve offered this series, not to suggest that being a Methodist is better than being another kind of Christian…or that we have a corner on truth; that’s not the case. Instead, my hope has been to share some significant things about our heritage in the hopes that you might feel some pride in that heritage. But more than that, my hope is that we might reclaim some of the power and passion that was at work in Brother Wesley and the early Methodists and allow their story to influence and shape us in our own time.

On several occasions over the last years, I’ve told you about an exchange that went on between Roger Starr, George Will and Fred Burns. While I’ve shared this before, it seems appropriate to lift this up again as part of this final sermon in the Wesley series. (Len Sweet)

In 1991, Roger Starr who is a Liberal, Jewish, Democrat, a professor and a specialist in housing and urban conditions, wrote an article about urban blight. In the article, he said that he’d come to the conclusion that there was a period in history that was not unlike our own. It was 18th century England, “a time when you can find urban conditions and world conditions not unlike ours…with problems of addiction, families coming apart, pollution, crime and violence breaking out everywhere.” Roger says that when he discovered this, he was compelled to study what saved England. Then, he asserts that “what saved England was somebody that he’d not really heard much about. It was a guy by the name of John Wesley who started a movement called Methodism.” Then Roger Starr says, “I don't know any Methodists and I don't know anything about them. But this John Wesley started a movement that had profound social, economic, and political consequences and, in fact, saved the nation!” “Maybe what we need to do,” said Roger Starr, “is to study the Methodists, find out how they did it, and duplicate it in our time.”

A month later, George Will responded to Roger Starr. George is a conservative, Republican, Roman Catholic. And in a Washington Post article, George Will wrote, “I never thought I'd ever agree with anything Roger Starr says, but he’s got a point. In the 18th century you have violent Revolutions around the world, but not in England. England did have a revolution; but it was a Methodist Revolution. The Methodists turned their world upside down. Maybe what we need to do is look at the secret of those Methodists. I know it sounds strange, to suggest for a Roman Catholic to say that we need more Methodists…but does anybody out there have a better idea?”

A month later this thought was picked up by Fred Burns, who is an evangelical, Episcopalian, Moderate and the Editor of the New Republic. Fred writes, “We've got George Will and Roger Starr agreeing on something. I can't believe it! But they’re both right. Yet they both forgot one thing: the Methodist Movement was at its heart, a spiritual awakening. Yes, it had tremendous economic, social, and political consequences, but it began as a spiritual revival – a spiritual awakening. And unless we have a spiritual awakening in our time that will create these kinds of economic and political repercussions in our day, it won't work. It’s got to begin as a movement of the Spirit. We need a new generation of Methodists, who will do for this day what Wesley and his friends did in the 18th Century.”

And the question that I want us to wrestle with is: What was it about Wesley and those first Methodists that so transformed their world? Let’s take a look.

First, remember this. Fred Burns is correct! Methodism was first of all a spiritual awakening. Wesley was a pastor in the Church of England. He didn't set out to change the world or even to start a new church. He launched a movement within the church to bring renewal to the Church of England. And he did a simple thing: through preaching he challenged people to live the faith they said they believed and to pursue God with all their heart.

It was a movement launched by passionate preaching. It’s said that Wesley probably wasn’t the best of the early Methodist preachers; others were more eloquent and had more charisma. But John’s preaching was clear and compelling.

However, his great genius was organization. He knew how to help people grow in the faith. He organized what you might call “religious clubs” whose primary aim was to encourage people in living the faith. He didn’t want these clubs to meet on Sunday or to compete with the Church of England; rather, he wanted Methodists to be in church as a transforming presence.

He called these clubs, Societies. These societies met in the morning before work or in the evening after work. In these gatherings, people would sing some hymns; they’d pray; they’d read the Bible and then someone, often a lay person, would preach in a way that would apply the Bible to people's lives.

Let’s highlight two of the things I've just mentioned as practices of the early Methodists. The first is preaching and the second is singing. (Hamilton)

Preaching was very important in the early Methodist movement. Wesley himself preached over 40,000 sermons during his lifetime. It’s said that as he preached, in his lifetime, he traveled more than 250,000 miles on horseback. He believed that something wonderful happens when people rightly interpret the Bible and preach from the Scriptures and help people understand how to live out the words of scripture in daily life.

But they didn’t just preach; they also wrote and sang hymns. These were great hymns, powerful hymns and occasionally unusual hymns written for a situation in which they found themselves.

Charles Wesley, John’s brother, had a creative bent. He provided most of the music and the poetry for the Methodist movement. We still sing many of his songs.

On one occasion, Charles was preaching in the town square. A group of sailors came along, stood on the edges of the crowd where Charles was preaching and they began to interrupt his preaching. They began to sing a British folk song, a bawdy song about drinking and sex. Charles stopped his sermon, pointed to the sailors and addressed them specifically and invited them to return to the evening service and he would have a song just for them. So Charles went to his apartment and penned the words of a hymn, “Listed into the cause of sin, why should good be evil? Music alas too long has been, pressed to obey the devil.” (Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush) Charles Wesley used poetry and music to get the people’s attention…not just the attention of a group of bawdy sailors, but a whole generation of Brits.

And the Wesleys sang the faith for several reasons.

We tend to think of singing as entertainment or sometimes as the preliminaries in a worship service. But music was, and is, a powerful way to connect with God and to praise God; and that’s important. Music has the power to touch people at deep places of the heart and soul. However, the Wesley brothers believed that singing was also a way of learning. Many in that day couldn’t read. But even if they couldn’t read, they could still sing, and through singing, bury the words of a song in the heart. So, singing was a way of teaching basic Christianity and imbedding the poetry of faith in the hearts of people.

If you open your hymnal to Roman numeral VII, you will hear some instructions from John Wesley. I want to lift up two of them this morning: #3 and #4. Listen to what John Wesley said in 1761 about music and singing. He said, “Sing all. See that you join in the congregation as frequently as you can. Do not let the slightest decree of weakness or weariness hinder you. If it is a cross, then take it up and you will find it a blessing.” Then he says this, “Sing lustily and with good courage. Beware of singing as if you were half dead or half asleep, but lift your voice with strength. Be no more afraid of your voice now nor ashamed of it than when you sang the songs of Satan.”

John Wesley felt it was vital to hear great preaching, to pray fervently and to sing lustily; but Wesley knew that wasn't enough. So, with the help of his brother, Charles, he created a tool to help folks grow in their faith. They called this tool The General Rules of Methodist Societies. (Hamilton)

There were only three rules! The idea was that if you remembered these rules when you got up in the morning, and you tried to live by these three rules throughout the day, you’d probably be growing toward being the person God wanted you to be.

What were the three rules?

The first is: Do no harm. This is the first thing you remember when you wake up in the morning. “Today I am going to do no harm. I'm going to avoid evil of every kind in every place. I will do nothing that would knowingly hurt someone.” Some believe that the Hippocratic Oath that physicians take actually came from this first rule of the General Rules formulated by the Wesleys.

The second is: Do all the good that you can, everywhere that you can, of every kind that you can, in every place that you can, to every person that you can.

Then, third: Attend to the ordinances of God. The ordinances of God are things like Bible reading, fasting, prayer, worship, receiving the Sacraments and pursuing other spiritual disciplines. But the reason for “attending to the ordinances of God” was to help you stay in love with God. Reuben Job uses that phrase and I really like that way of saying it.

So the three are: Do no harm; Do all the good that you can; and Stay in love with God. If you remember these simple rules and seek to live by them, they will help you grow in your faith and you will be a part of changing the world.

Wesley believed that there was one more thing that was essential. He said: “It's not enough for you to get together in a large group to hear preaching, to sing and to pray; it's not enough to make a personal commitment to grow in your faith by keeping the three simple rules.” He required that every member of the Methodist Societies had to be part of a small group.

These small groups were originally called “bands,” and later called “classes.” They were gatherings of twelve people who met in homes to shepherd each other, to encourage each other, to bless each other, to pray for one another and to help each other grow in the faith.

John said, “You will never become the Christian God wants you to be apart from this kind of interaction with other Christians.” Growing in the faith is not something that will happen if all you do is attend worship. Don’t get me wrong, worship is vital; what we do in this room is essential. But we also need to gather with others in small groups…where we learn together, pray for each other, stand by one another and encourage and hold each other accountable.

There’s so much more I could say…of how Wesley blended together reason and faith…about how the Methodist movement was a lay movement. But time won’t allow me to do that this morning.

But I must add this: Methodists were known for getting their hands dirty! Not only did they connect the Bible to life, they got involved in life, in the world, by addressing the critical issues of their time.

Methodists made a profound commitment to the poor and to those who were disenfranchised. They served God with their hands. Wesley's personal record of philanthropy was outstanding. But he addressed issues that went beyond individual cases of need. He decried the miscarriages of justice in the court systems, corrupt election practices, and government policies that adversely affected the nation, especially the poor. He wrote vigorously on behalf of better prison conditions and boldly called for the elimination of slavery and the slave trade. Methodists visited prisons, built schools and later universities and hospitals and, in general, worked for a just social order. This is our tradition; this is our spiritual DNA.

John Wesley lived until he was nearly 88 years old -- an amazing age in the 18th century. He was still preaching regularly throughout his 80’s.

In fact, Wesley said that he was a better preacher in his 80’s than he was in his 20’s. And in his journal, when he’s 87 years old, he writes about one week in his life. He tells of how he preached eleven times in one week! Now, this is an 87-year-old! Eleven times in one week! (Hamilton)

When we started our 3rd service here at Germantown United Methodist Church, people were coming up to me and expressing concern that three services on Sunday might be too hard on me. Listen, I'm a slacker compared to John Wesley!

John was preaching outdoors the week before his death.

He caught a cold; the cold became a fever. All that week he was in and out of consciousness. His friends gathered around his bedside; and he mustered up strength to break into song. He sang: “I'll praise my Maker while I have breath.” Those standing around his bedside marveled at this. Then, he said this to them: “Best of all, God is with us.” And then this final word: “Farewell.”

What are the practices of a Methodist that John Wesley would want us to remember?

I think first of all that he would want us to hold on to the General Rules: the three simple ways in which you can grow in your faith. Do no harm; Do all the good you can; and Stay in love with God.

I think secondly that he would want all of us to be sure that we were in some small community of support and accountability so that we are growing in our faith.

Then I think Wesley would want us to be sure that we were getting our hands dirty in service to humanity.

And finally, I think he’d want us to be proud of our heritage. He would want us to never forget our spiritual DNA! Remember Wesley’s greatest fear: “I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist, but I am afraid lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power.” Wesley would want us to fall in love and stay in love with God.

Because, more than ever, I believe that the world needs the Methodists. It needs the faith that we can offer, a faith that is designed to work in real life and transform the world.

Dr. Fred Craddock is a teacher of preachers and more than once he spoke about a dream he once had. He said that once he dreamt that he was invited to go to God’s house.

At God’s house he was escorted down these beautiful corridors and was taken to a beautiful dining room. He was served the best meal he’d ever tasted. He was taken then by a servant to a beautiful guest room. He lay down on a bed fit for royalty. He’d never slept like that before in his life.

He slept like a baby, except for about 3:00 in morning. At 3:00 he was awakened by noises that were coming from the room across the hall. Whoever was staying in that room was having a most difficult time falling asleep. He heard all sorts of noises: standing and sitting, tossing and turning, pacing and crying. Whoever was in that room was having a very difficult night.

When morning came, this preacher got dressed, opened the door and was greeted immediately by a servant.

“Good morning, preacher. Did you sleep well?”

“Oh, I slept like a baby” he said, “but the fellow across the hall seemed to have a really tough night. You might want to check on him.”

“Oh, that room,” said the servant. “Yes, that happens often. That’s God’s room.”

“God’s room! You mean God sleeps there?” “Yes! That’s God’s bedroom.”

And at that moment, the door opened and God stepped out and said “Good morning. my child.”

“Good morning, God.”

God asked: “Did you sleep well?”

“Oh, I slept like a baby, but you didn’t, did you?”

“No I didn’t,” said God.

“I’m so sorry. I really am…I heard all sorts of noises: tossing, turning, pacing and even crying.”

God said: “Yes. Well, that’s what happens when you hear the prayers of so many who are hurting; of so many who are hungry; of so many who are lonely and ill and in prison and dying. There’s just so many of them.”

And so Fred said to God: “God, I am so sorry. I really am. Is there anything I can do?”

And God said, “Well, now that you mention it, yes, there is. There is something you can do!”

I think John Wesley would want us to remember: There is always, ALWAYS, something YOU can do!

Let us pray. God, we give you our thanks that we are a part of so rich a tradition and we invite you to send us forth in your name, ready to receive the power that you would give to your people and write new chapters of the story of the Methodist people in our own time. For we would do that, Lord, as you go with us. Amen.

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Endnotes: This sermon is based, in part, upon material from the following sources:

1. Fred Craddock, Craddock Stories
2. Adam Hamilton, “Practices of a Methodist”
3. Leonard Sweet, a sermon at Christ Methodist Church, Memphis, TN