John Wesley's Teachings, Volume 3

Thomas C. Oden

• Publisher: Zondervan Academic
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9780310587132
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: History of Christianity

John Wesley's Teachings is the first systematic exposition of John Wesley's theology that is also faithful to Wesley's own writings. Wesley was a prolific writer and commentator on Scripture—his collected works fill eighteen volumes—and yet it is commonly held that he was not systematic or consistent in his theology and teachings.

On the contrary, Thomas C. Oden demonstrates that Wesley displayed a remarkable degree of internal consistency over sixty years of preaching and ministry. This series of 4 volumes is a text-by-text guide to John Wesley's teaching. It introduces Wesley's thought on the basic tenets of Christian teaching: God, providence, and man (volume 1), Christ and salvation (volume 2), the practice of pastoral care (volume 3), and issues of ethics and society (volume 4).

In everyday modern English, Oden clarifies Wesley's explicit intent and communicates his meaning clearly to a contemporary audience. Both lay and professional readers will find this series useful for devotional reading, moral reflection, sermon preparation, and for referencing Wesley's opinions on a broad range of pressing issues of contemporary society.

CHAPTER 1

The Office and Gifts of Ministry

A. The Call to Ministry

1. An Address to the Clergy

On January 5, 1756, John Wesley wrote in his journal, “This week I wrote An Address to the Clergy, which considering the state of public affairs, I judged would be more seasonable and more easily borne at this time than at any other”¹ Aware that he had hard words for his fellow clergy, Wesley carefully picked this time to convey them. In this essay, he set forth a thoughtful doctrine of the high calling to ministry coupled with an assessment of what sort of theological education is necessary to prepare for it.

a. Gifts and Graces for a Calling to Ministry

The study of the work of ministry begins with the call to ministry. Anyone examining a presumed call to ministry will benefit from “An Address to the Clergy” [J X:480–500 (February 6, 1756)]. It is regrettable that this important address is not yet available in the contemporary critical version; hence all references are to the Jackson edition of Wesley’s Works.

Wesley first asks what gifts and graces are required for those “who watch over the souls of others as they that must give account.”² The core idea of “gifts and graces” is ubiquitous in the Wesleyan pastoral tradition. It points to a foundational description of qualities of character and preparation that are required for ministry. Anyone considering the vocation of ministry or who expects to go before an examining board will soon discover that the primary concern of the church is to discern a person’s gifts and graces for ministry.

Those given the task of watching over the souls of others stand responsible before God for guiding the final destiny of each one under their care. In the last judgment, shepherds of the people of God will be called on to account for the care they gave to the souls committed to their charge.

b. A Vocation

Soul care is not strictly speaking a job, but a vocation. A job is a paid position of regular employment. A vocation is a calling from on high, transcending the economic, political, and domestic spheres. To receive God’s call, Christians must listen for his voice.

Soul care exists as a response to God’s concern for whole persons. The ultimate frame of reference for soul care is the eternal destiny of persons in relation to God.³ Even if accountability for the vocation of soul care is postponed, it will ultimately be required in the final judgment. This is not just serious business, but a grave matter on which the eternal destiny of souls depends.

No one is forced to undertake such a calling. It can only be pursued freely, as a voluntary response to the riches of divine grace. Worldly poverty is no match for these riches. Whoever enters this arena does so voluntarily or not at all.

2. Natural Gifts and Endowments

To discern this calling, Christians must solemnly examine themselves to determine whether they are ready for such a ministry. In his “Address to the Clergy,” Wesley asked: What are the characteristics that make for an effective minister? What does the community of faith have a right to look for in and expect from those called to be preachers, liturgists, teachers, caregivers, evangelists, and overseers of the church that Christ has bought with his own blood?⁴ In setting forth the desired gifts and graces, Wesley considered first “natural gifts,” as distinguished from hard-won, acquired endowments.

Natural gifts shape patterns of personal growth. They are not ordinary skills but are natural gifts of the Creator. They are not given to all. They are given through God’s unfathomable providence and preparing grace. They do not work mechanically but require cooperative receptivity. They work through and within the various spheres of natural causality (inorganic, organic, animal, rational laws), not by direct fiat. They give evidence of the work of the Spirit, drawing the person in a beneficial direction by the abundance of a combination of talents. Not everyone has these gifts, even though they are offered by means of natural processes such as judging, thinking, and remembering.⁵

Some natural gifts are essential to ministry. Some can be more easily acquired by some than others, depending on genetics, environmental opportunities, and self-selected patterns of response. If not given in abundance, they may be obtained by hard work and perseverance.

The whole people of God are called into ministry of the laity. Some are called to the distinctive role of ordained ministry. Some are called, others not, to the momentous task of care of souls. Those lacking some acceptable combination and quality of natural gifts for soul care do well to pray for grace to listen carefully for discernment of God’s calling.

a. Good Judgment, Quick Mind, and Retentive Memory

Among natural gifts essential for the work of ministry are these:

• sound judgment

• lively intellect

• good memory⁶

The first of these natural gifts underscored by Wesley is sound judgment. Wise counsel requires good prudential judgment—the ability to reason closely and lucidly about complicated circumstances. Since our lives and passions are complicated, they call for good judgment, which has the power to penetrate self-deceptions. Good judgment sees through human frailties and dubious voluntary human actions.

These deceptions limit knowing and doing good. Faith is confronted with powerful adversaries, not only in persons’ ideas but in their inward struggle for freedom. The adversarial powers would like nothing better than to penetrate and undermine effective ministries. These demonic powers are viewed in the New Testament as a part of the larger cosmic realm of the father of lies, the devil. They move in the arena of twisted and confused reasoning, distorting the capacity for persons to function responsibly. Fools cannot do this work of soul care. It requires battling with the spirits of darkness.⁷

b. A Quick Mind and a Retentive Memory

Hence a second natural gift required for soul care is a quick mind, ready to match wits with the demonic. Those called to shepherd souls must have the capacity to discern situations swiftly in order to respond immediately and fittingly. A good heart does not always overcome the deficit of a sluggish mind. Otherwise, “how will he be able, when need requires, to ‘answer a fool according to his folly’?”⁸

The third of these natural gifts underscored by Wesley is a retentive memory. In ministry memory will be put to the test.⁹ The minister will be required to “bring out of his treasures things new and old.”¹⁰ Persons who cannot readily remember what the Scriptures teach will be disadvantaged in the care of souls. Readiness implies the practical capacity to apply scriptural truth to particular situations instantly when the proper time comes. The Scriptures are the quarries out of which pastoral care brings good tidings. Talking to clergy who lack a good memory is like “pouring water into a leaky vessel.”¹¹ Lack of discernment about these natural gifts has led to an abundance of “dull, heavy, blockish ministers” whose capacity to reason is “low and shallow” and whose apprehension is “muddy and confused.”¹²

3. Acquired Endowments for a Sound Calling

In addition to these natural gifts there are acquired habits of mind crucial for the work of ministry. These are gained by study, discipline, and sound forms of knowing—linguistic, biblical, and theological. Hence education is intrinsically a part of readiness for ministry, but not just any form of education. Rather, it requires a properly balanced education for service to the community of faith in preaching, sacramental life, and pastoral care.

Wesley points to four acquired endowments in particular: understanding the pastoral office; inhabiting sacred Scripture text by text; immersing oneself in the Scripture studies of the ancient Christian writers of the first five centuries; and obtaining a broad general education in preparation for ministry.

a. Grasping the Nature of the Pastoral Office and Understanding Scripture

Among acquired endowments, candidates for ministry must clearly grasp the nature of the pastoral office itself. Those who do not know what God the Spirit wants done cannot do it. The Scriptures are necessary and sufficient to define what needs to be done.¹³ The office of ministry is a sacred trust. Careful study of the Acts, Paul’s letters, especially 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus, and the Johannine writings are fundamentally important.

To grasp the nature of the pastoral office, ministers must study to gain a thorough knowledge of the Scripture that empowers the task. No one can be a good pastor who cannot deal in depth with the sacred text. This cannot be done without a working knowledge of the original Hebrew and Greek languages in which th...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface
• Abbreviations
• Introduction
• CHAPTER ONE: The Office and Gifts of Ministry
• CHAPTER TWO: Pastoral Counsel
• CHAPTER THREE: Soul Care
• CHAPTER FOUR: Pastoral Care for the Family
• CHAPTER FIVE: Pastoral Care for the Family through Its Life Stages
• CHAPTER SIX: The Church and the Ministry of the Word
• CHAPTER SEVEN: The Ministry of Baptism
• CHAPTER EIGHT: The Ministry of the Lord’s Supper
• CHAPTER NINE: The Unity of the Body of Christ
• CHAPTER TEN: Effective Church Leadership
• CHAPTER ELEVEN: The Ministry of Evangelization
• APPENDIX A: Alphabetical Correlation of the Sermons in the Jackson and Bicentennial Editions
• APPENDIX B: Bicentennial Volume Titles Published to Date
• Subject Index
• Scripture Index
• About the Author
• Also by Thomas C. Oden
• Copyright
• About the Publisher
• Share Your Thoughts