INTRODUCTION
What is a Methodist?
As an adult convert to Christianity, I was able to choose my spiritual home without any real pressure from family, unless one counts being pressured not to go to church as being pressured. I was free to pick my own denominational affiliation. Thus, I became a Methodist by choice; a decision I am still very satisfied to have made. And I would like to tell you why I am glad to have made the choice I made.
In order to do this, I need to define the word Methodist. What is a Methodist? When John Wesley, one of the leaders of the early Methodist movement was asked to describe the Methodist movement, he was adamant in making several points.
First, Methodists are not distinct for what they believe. As to beliefs, Methodists hold to all the same core beliefs as others Christians. We accept the teachings of the Old and New Testaments. We affirm the words of the Ecumenical Creeds. Most importantly, we believe that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and his teachings are central to the Faith.
The second point is that Methodists cannot be distinguished by the manner in which we worship. Methodists around the world worship in myriad ways, from informal services of song and preaching, to vibrant Pentecostal and charismatic expressions, to services of high liturgy. Worship in Methodist churches reflects a wide array of influences from every branch of the Christian Faith.
John Wesley went on to describe a Methodist as one who loves the Lord with all her heart, mind, soul, and strength, and who loves his neighbor with their whole heart. A Methodist is one who is known for having a living faith, expressing itself in love.
At this point, Wesley anticipates his reader’s response saying:
“If any man say, ‘Why, these are only the common fundamental principles of Christianity!’ which you have said. [That’s right]; this is the very truth; I know they are... and it would [be my prayer] to God, that you and all people knew, that I, and all who follow my leadership, absolutely refuse to be distinguished from others, by any but the common principles of Christianity, -- the plain, old Christianity that I teach, renouncing and detesting all other marks of distinction.” - Wesley, The Characteristics of a Methodist
To summarize John Wesley, the goal of a Methodist is to be a real Christian. A Methodist who has been true to this goal would be essentially indistinguishable from any other real Christian. So why use the word Methodist at all? To understand what it means to be a Methodist, we need to back up a bit and find out what the original Methodist movement was about.
Why we’re called Methodists: Methodism was not intended to be an independent church or denomination. Originally it was spiritual renewal movement, intended to revitalize the churches of 18th century England and America.
Its founding leaders, John Wesley, George Whitfield and others were first called “Methodists” because of their methodical way of helping new Christians grow in their faith. Their method consisted of two ideas, neither of which were new or original, but had been recognized by Christian people for centuries. These two ideas were the use of spiritual disciplines and small groups.
Briefly summarized, Methodism is a way of living out the Christian faith. It is a way of approaching spiritual growth. It is the radical idea that God is so committed to seeing to it that every one of his sons and daughters becomes spiritually mature that he has given us a reliable pattern to follow. God has taken a whole lot of the guess work out of the process so that we can have confidence about our spiritual progress.
The men and women who taught this idea to others in the 18th century were given the nickname Methodists. They were called Methodists because of the method they used to help other people grow spiritually.
These ideas were not unique. Every one of these ideas can be found within the scope of our common Christian heritage. And, following the Methodist approach to Christian spirituality is likely to make one more committed to basic Christianity, and less insistent that their way is the only way to follow God.
Yet, here is the exciting part about following this method or approach to Christian spiritual growth. It is likely to lead the one who follows it into a head on collision with the living God and leave them forever changed. If that intrigues you, let’s look at some scriptural foundation for this approach.
SCRIPTURAL FOUNDATION
In the book of Acts, we have the story of the birth of the Church. We are told that the earliest Christian community had certain distinguishing behaviors or practices that set the community apart as unique. The spiritual practices of that earliest group of Christians gave shape to their lives both individually and collectively. Through the centuries, these practices have continued to give shape to the spiritual lives of Christians around the world. They are time tested and Biblically founded ways opening ourselves to grace and to staying open to God’s grace.
If Acts chapter two shows us how the earliest Christians kept their hearts open to God’s grace, then our reading from Isaiah may be thought of as an example of closing ourselves off to grace. Speaking for the Lord God, Isaiah tells the people of his day that their spiritual practices had become sickening in the eyes of God. Their solemn feasts, their fasting, and their public worship services had become despicable to God.
This must have undoubtedly shocked Isaiah’s audience because all that they were doing, the solemn feasts, their fasting, and their acts of public worship were being done exactly the way God has instructed them to do them. So why were they not acceptable to God? Because, these spiritual practices had gone from being an expression of the people’s love for God and their openness to his grace, to being a substitute for their love of God and an openness to his grace. Sadly, the people of Isaiah’s day were missing out on the only good reason for practicing spiritual disciplines, which is to stay open to God’s grace. Miss out on that and we miss out on the only thing that makes spiritual practices worth doing. Today I want us to look together at how spiritual practices can become a powerful way of staying open to the gift of God’s ever present grace.
PART ONE: GROWTH BY DESIGN
It is God’s desire for us to grow spiritually; for us to become spiritually mature and for our heart and character to become more like Christ. Still, many Christians are unsure about how growing in Christ is supposed to happen. Some Christians leave spiritual growth to chance, hoping that by accident or by God’s own mysterious ways, they will simply wake-up one day to find themselves holy and perfectly formed Christians. Others think that if they just try hard enough, by their own good intentions and efforts they will be able to transform themselves into the kind person God wants them to be.
God’s design is different from both of these approaches. The Christian life should not be formed in a haphazard way. It takes attentiveness and intentionality to get it right. On the other hand, spiritual maturity is not something God has asked us to accomplish by our resources and strength. Instead, God has provided a pattern for us to follow. This pattern does not cause growth to occur but rather allows for growth to occur. This pattern helps us to remain open to God’s grace, and by being open to God’s grace, God himself brings about a fundamental transformation in our lives.
This pattern for growth is made up of spiritual practices and happens in the context of Christ-centered relationships. Some would call these spiritual disciplines, or means of grace. Some would call at least a few of these sacraments. Others would call them holy habits or spiritual exercises. Whatever we call them, these practices help us to remain open to God. They provide a reliable, predictable, and ordinary way to grow in Christ. John Wesley called them the means of grace. For the sake of continuity, we will call them spiritual disciplines for the rest of our time together.
WHAT ARE SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES?
Jesus has given us some specific practices, through which he has provided a way for us to receive his ever-flowing grace. These practices are the vehicles by which we receive further grace. They are the ordinary way of staying open to God’s grace.
SOME OF THE MOST COMMON SPIRITUAL PRACTICES
Public Worship – Public worship is about celebrating the greatness of God with our fellow Christians.
D. James Kennedy, the former pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church and the author of Evangelism Explosion says,“Most people think of the church as a drama with the minister as the chief actor, God as the prompter, and the laity as the critic. What is actually the case is that the congregation is the chief actor, the minister is the prompter, and God is the critic.”
Kenneth Collins writes in his book, Soul Care: “Worship is not a matter of human initiative, but is a response to the grace and goodness of God. Whenever we enter worship, we must be mindful of what God has accomplished. Indeed, a spirit of gratitude and praise is the principal vehicle for meaningful worship (page 171).
Prayer – Prayer is learning to be available to God. The late John Paul II taught that the issue of God’s availability has already been settled. In the incarnation, Jesus becoming man, God has made himself available to us. In prayer, we make ourselves available to God. Prayer is about communicating with God. We can use letter writing, singing, talking out-loud, thinking with, and being in the presence of God, and many other forms of communication as ways of praying.
Listening – The book of Psalms says, “Be still and know that I am God.” God still speaks to the human heart, but noise and busyness keep us from hearing Him. Without some times of quietness and solitude, it is nearly impossible to grow in our relationship with God.
Bible Reading- The Bible is the tuning fork, helping us to be able to recognize God’s voice, to sort it out from all the other competing voices in and around us. Not every thought that comes to us is from God. The Bible is our measuring stick. God, the author of the Bible will never contradict himself, and we can trust what the Bible tells about God’s character.
Serving- If you want to find Jesus, consider serving others. In Matthew 25 Jesus tells us that when we visit and assist the elderly, sick, broken, lonely, and imprisoned, we will find Jesus. Many spiritual and emotional problems would go away immediately if we would stop focusing so much on ourselves and on our own problems and start focusing on others.
Communion –Communion is a visible presentation of the Gospel that can be touched and tasted. By coming to the table in faith, we can experience Jesus in Holy Communion.
Baptism – Baptism is the way God marks us as his own. Baptism can lead to faith or can be received by faith.
Fasting – Fasting is the practice of going without food, or other pleasurable things, for the purpose of giving more time and concentration to prayer. The point is not punishing ourselves, but helping us to remember that we have spiritual needs more basic than our need for food.
Meditation – Christian meditation is the practice of thinking about a Biblical story, image, or idea over a period of hours or days until we genuinely grasp its meaning for our lives.
Tithing – Tithing is the practice of giving 10% of our income to the work of the church. Its purpose is to put God first in our finances and to remember that God is the one who provides all that we need.
Christ-Centered Relationships/Fellowship - Christ-centered-relationships are friendships which have Christ as their common ground. Christ-centered-relationships are friendships devoted to helping people grow in their relationship to God.
Small Groups/Christian Fellowship - The Christian journey was never meant to be a solo project. We experience the fullness of Christ only to the extent of our commitment to being in relationship with other Christians (see 1 Corinthians 12).
Celebration – Celebration is enjoying the life God has given us and praising him for all that is good in our lives.
Private Worship – Private worship is about using our daily work or play as an opportunity to praise God. It is about doing our routine activities for God’s pleasure.
Sabbath – Sabbath is the practice of taking regular time for rest and public worship. Regular intervals of rest help us to be renewed by God and to learn to depend on him when we cannot or are not working.
Confession – Confession is acknowledging our sins before God and asking for his forgiveness. Though we can make our confessions directly to God, it is sometimes it helpful to make a confession to a pastor, counselor, or loyal friend.
Faith Sharing – Jesus told his disciples to go throughout the world sharing the good news of God’s kingdom. He also said, we would be his witnesses when we received the Holy Spirit. Sharing the message of the Christian faith is a powerful way of participating in Christ’s own ministry and of experiencing the presence of the Spirit’s witness in our lives.
WHERE THE GOD DARE COMES IN
Here’s where The God Dare comes in. As a Methodist, I am convinced that there is a God given pattern for approaching spiritual growth. There is a Biblical method or way of pursuing God. And, if this pattern is followed, if you seek God in this way, I am convinced that you will find God - you will meet him.
This week I have given the historical and Biblical background. Next week I am going to give an overview of the pattern or method of approaching God and spiritual growth.
