How to Use this Model to See the Work of God in Scripture and in Your Life
The early American Methodists were committed to spreading "Scriptural Holiness" through the land. What did they mean by that, what difference did it make, and how can in make a difference now in the 21st Century?
Methodists had learned from their founder, John Wesley, to look at life using a model called the Way of Salvation. This is the set of arrows on the bottom of the diagram. People are quite capable of walking though this life unaware of God at work in the world. These are the folks who will say "life is hard, and then you die," or "it is what it is."
Historians note two periods in American History when it seems that lots of people woke up to the possibility that comes from faith that God is at work to transform what is painful, meet our needs with abundance, and give us opportunities to live into new and better lives. In the first case George Whitfield, a colleague of John Wesley, traveled through the colonies preaching wherever he was welcomed in order to raise money for an orphanage. Rev. Jonathan Edwards of Northampton, Massachusetts was inspired by Whitfield and the First Great Awakening was ignited.
Some years later Francis Asbury's work of spreading the good news of the work of God up and down the newly born United States set off the Second Great Awakening. It gave people hope, inspiration and support to do align themselves with God's will making themselves and the world around them more holy.
Wesleyan Methodists hold a belief in Christian Perfection, which isn't something we claim to attain. Rather, it is a goal that keeps us open, creative, playful, ready to participate in growth throughout our lives.
Methodists had learned from their founder, John Wesley, to look at life using a model called the Way of Salvation. This is the set of arrows on the bottom of the diagram. People are quite capable of walking though this life unaware of God at work in the world. These are the folks who will say "life is hard, and then you die," or "it is what it is."
Historians note two periods in American History when it seems that lots of people woke up to the possibility that comes from faith that God is at work to transform what is painful, meet our needs with abundance, and give us opportunities to live into new and better lives. In the first case George Whitfield, a colleague of John Wesley, traveled through the colonies preaching wherever he was welcomed in order to raise money for an orphanage. Rev. Jonathan Edwards of Northampton, Massachusetts was inspired by Whitfield and the First Great Awakening was ignited.
Some years later Francis Asbury's work of spreading the good news of the work of God up and down the newly born United States set off the Second Great Awakening. It gave people hope, inspiration and support to do align themselves with God's will making themselves and the world around them more holy.
Wesleyan Methodists hold a belief in Christian Perfection, which isn't something we claim to attain. Rather, it is a goal that keeps us open, creative, playful, ready to participate in growth throughout our lives.
