Thank you to Jeffrey Rickman, host of PlainSpoken, for having me on a recent episode of his excellent podcast.
Rickman, who once languished in the United Methodist denomination as a pastoral candidate but found acceptance in the new Global Methodist Church and now shepherds two brick-and-mortar churches in Oklahoma, knows a thing or two about what we're doing in the organic/house/simple churches. He saw first-hand how without formal ordination, God still uses "the laity" powerfully and for his purposes. He believes and has experienced first-hand the priesthood of all believers. He's hopeful a revival of the Wesleyan ideal of a Class Meeting may take root and breathe new life into Christianity. Read his thoughtful testimony here.
Now when we think of Methodists, house churches don't often come to mind. You're more likely to think of a steeple, a minister in a robe, and reciting creeds from a lengthy church bulletin! Having been raised around the Evangelical wing of the Methodist fold (often without robes or recitations) they didn't exactly point me in the direction of starting a house church. However, as I studied more about the history of what many members of my family believed, it was like discovering oil beneath the floorboards.
In addition to discovering more about holiness, I learned that God often calls us "outside the camp" (Hebrews 13:10-14) to not only spark the fires of revival but also to save our very souls though Jesus Christ. In a similar way, God mightily used those early Methodist small groups to do what the established churches could not/would not. If you know anything about Christian history you know the rest of that story and how it changed the game.
In the podcast conversation, we explored some of the surprisingly organic and open-participatory elements of the early Methodist movement, particularly in John and Charles Wesley's ministry. John himself often wrote of "the primitive church" (another term for the early church) as the ideal -- something to push toward, though realistically not everyone will embrace it (see here for Martin Luther's similar struggle).
Though John Wesley was known for his lengthy debates with Calvinists and "papists," he was even more famous (and despite his exacting nature) for surprising many by considering them fellow Christians. His partnership with George Whitefield as one prime example. This witness has served me well having a local house church with many different views and traditions represented, and as my wife and I serve many other churches of various expressions -- we're still one in the Body of Christ if we agree to the Bible basics.
Throughout the history of the movement that bears Wesley's name, there were many lesser-known efforts to simplify the church although the mainline became more organized and hierarchical. Early on, there was the short-lived Republican Methodist Church in America that soon dropped the politically-sounding name and went on to lay the seeds of what's known as the Restoration Movement. Later there were various "primitive" and "congregationalist" denominations that broke away to assert the rights of local churches. Today, there are a few scattered efforts to plant Wesleyan house churches (even if most have veered closer to the Missional movement, but that's a longer discussion for another time). See a list below for a few examples of denominational efforts to recognize and even plant organic churches and local missions. And then you have a few weirdos like me!
Now to the question asked in the headline: Would John Wesley recognize organic house churches if he was alive today? It seems that he would have embraced them, even if he would have preferred a more structured approach for his ministry. There's no doubt in my mind he would have eagerly visited many of them, having been inspired by efforts to bring Christianity back to its New Testament roots (Moravians, for one) and his research on the Church Fathers while at Oxford.
Again, thank you to Jeffrey for this opportunity to be heard where we often are not. --Andy.
Hi Andy. As I have communicated to you before, we do share some common aspirations. I too, am involved with a small group ecumenical type of class meeting at our place on Sunday afternoons while serving as a facilitator for both a weekly Bible study and Sunday morning gathering for residents at a local nursing home. It’s ironic that you mentioned in your post a connection of Wesleyans and the Restoration Movement. I’m also been active in a Wednesday night mens Bible study at a local church of Christ for several years now. Though I’ve never been a formal member in a RM church, I’ve co-led some of their Bible studies. And yes, I believe that John Wesley would have recognized house churches as being authentic, but more importantly, so would Paul.
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