REV. MELANIE CAREY
Clergy Assistant to the Bishop
I joined a small group at the local church I attend. We are studying Adam Hamilton’s book Revival: Faith as Wesley Lived it. Each week during our 90 minute meetings, we discuss a chapter of the book, we share about our spiritual practices and our lives, we read Scripture, we pray for and with one another. We have even had class members bring fresh vegetables from their gardens to share! These weekly small group meetings have reminded me of what the church is really all about.
Throughout my life as a Christian, not just since I went into the professional ministry, I have found being a member of a small group essential to my faith development. While I can think about my faith and read Scripture on my own, being a small group has given me a much richer understanding of faith as well as deepened my prayer life. I strongly encourage everyone to be a part of small group. To really live out our faith, we need more than worship on Sunday, it is essential to gather with other Christians on a regular basis for study, prayer, Scripture reading and the reminder that church is about community.
John Wesley, often called the Father of Methodism, encouraged Christian believers to participate in weekly small groups, called class meetings. Wesley believed that small groups were an essential part of faith development.
Wesley also advocated strongly for believers to be what he called “altogether Christians”. Altogether Christians, according to Wesley, seek to love God and neighbor, to trust in the forgiveness and grace made available through Christ to all who believe, and to welcome and experience the confirming witness of The Holy Spirit.
Wesley was very concerned that instead of being altogether Christian, people were instead “almost Christian”, meaning not quite all in, kind of half way there but not quite. Wesley preached often on this subject and in his sermon “The Almost Christian” Wesley asks the following series of questions of his listeners:
“Is the love of God shed abroad in your heart? Can you cry out, “My ‘God, and my all”? Do you desire nothing but him? Are you happy in God? Is he your glory, your delight, your crown of rejoicing? Is this commandment written in your heart, “that he who loveth God love his brother also”? Do you then love your neighbor as yourself? Do you love every man, even your enemies, even the enemies of God, as your own soul? As Christ loved you?”
According to Wesley, being an altogether Christian means that we are willing to wade into the deep waters of faith. It means that we value Christian community even with those with whom we may disagree. It means we trust in the grace and forgiveness of Jesus Christ to do far more than we can think or even imagine. It means that we are witnesses to The Holy Spirit’s working, leading us into new and deeper understandings of God in Christ and of one another.
How we long for revival in the church today! How we long for authentic community and a place where we can deepen our faith, find meaning for our lives, and purpose for our days! Perhaps instead of looking for a “new thing”, we could instead return to the roots of our Methodist heritage.
Being intentional about our participation in small groups and seeking to be altogether Christians could not only be good for our souls, but also a way to revive our church! What Wesley began with these things, literally changed the world! Perhaps it is time for us to do a new, old thing!
Last Updated on December 8, 2023