The Cost of Discipleship 10: Wesley and the Holy Club.

 Susanna Wesley nurtured the sense that God had a mission for John. Step by step John developed a disciple’s understanding that there was a call on his life. Samuel and Susanna’s sons went off to Oxford for further education. Samuel Jr. had already graduated and served as a school principal. Charles went before John who, after a brief appearance, went home to Epworth and Wroot, a joint appointment that his ailing father could no longer handle alone. 

 John was ordained a deacon in 1725 and a priest (elder) in 1728. In 1726 he was elected a Fellow of Lincoln College at Oxford, and he continued to tutor younger students until his marriage in 1751 (A. Skevington Wood, The Burning Heart: John Wesley: Evangelist, [1946] 1967, pages 38-39). Yet, he still worried about his salvation and wondered about his future vocation. Samuel Jr. counseled John to return to Epworth and take up their father’s work. However, John felt that he was providing good service in tutoring young students at Oxford. The world of books and discussions attracted him. It was a step along the way.

 Why was help needed at the university? Here is a quote from a letter that Charles sent John when the latter was back at Epworth. 

“Christ Church (college at Oxford) is certainly the worst place in the world to begin a reformation; a man stands a very fair chance of being laughed out of his religion at his first setting out, in a place where ‘tis scandalous to have any at all” (Kenneth J. Collins, John Wesley: A Theological Journey, 2003, Page 43). 

 Several forces in society come to mind here. First, there is the matter of class. Sons of the upper class came to Oxford with plenty of money, while sons of the poorer classes, such as country clergy, often came with insufficient funds and had to work at cleaning, cooking, or tutoring to make ends meet. The upper class students looked down on those who had to work for a living. 

 Second, this was the height of the Enlightenment era when science and mathematics held the promise of explaining the natural world in a way that religion could not. With reason came skepticism and the smug belief that religion was on its way out, so it only needed to be tolerated, not practiced.

 Third, following these trends, people who let their emotions get the better of them in religious services or discussions were often accused of ‘enthusiasm’. In fact, that was a common accusation against John, and it began at Oxford. 

 To counter these influences, Charles Wesley had formed a small group that was nicknamed ‘The Holy Club’. They covenanted with one another to attend the sacraments regularly (particularly communion), to pray together, to do Bible study together, and to engage in discussions about theology. When John returned to his studies in 1729, he joined this group which was doing what the official rules of attendance at Oxford requires, but which other students and teachers observed in the breach more than in compliance.

 Of course, if you stand out against the crowd, you are more likely to be jeered than cheered. The little band of brothers was called ‘Bible Moths’, ‘Bible Bigots’, and ‘Methodists’. The latter epithet came from their practice of strictly following a ‘method’ of discipleship. 

 More Oxford students and tutors joined the group. To their ‘methods’ the small group added fasting, baptism, more frequent communion, and visiting prisons to help prisoners through prayer, Bible study, and discussions. The methods or practices certainly were challenging. The group offered fellowship and encouragement. Through the work of the Spirit, great things were done.

 George Whitefield (1714-1770) is known for his evangelistic tours of the Colonies from Massachusetts down to Georgia. His work, along with the preaching of Jonathan Edwards, was the basis for the “Great Awakening.” 

 Charles Wesley wrote 6000 hymns, including “O, For a Thousand Tongues to Sing,” “Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus,” “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing,” “Christ the Lord is Risen Today,” “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling,” “A Charge to Keep I Have,” “Rejoice, the Lord is King,” and my favorite, “And Can It Be that I Should Gain.” He wove the theology of the Wesleyan movement into the melody of the hymns so that people learned their creed by singing.

 Finally, John Wesley preached evangelistic sermons all his life in a variety of venues, as we will see. Along the way, John and Charles founded the Methodist movement in the Anglican Church. Because of the Revolutionary War, the movement became a separate church in America long before it did in England. 

 So, what happened? Do we just say it was a lucky coincidence that these three and their companions met together before they became famous? No, it is the other way around. 

 First, all of the small group members were diligent in searching for God while God was nurturing them. Remember the ‘methods’. 

 Second, fellowship in a small group keeps people accountable, especially if someone asks out loud, as John Wesley did every week: “How is it with your soul this week?” They were willing to be held accountable and to hold the others accountable. 

 Discipleship thrives in a small group setting. After all, Jesus had 12 disciples, didn’t he? There was a reason for that.