From the Pastor - March 2019

The most important thing, according to Jesus, is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind…[and] your neighbor as yourself.’ ”¹

One of the distinguishing aspects of a Methodist view on Christian faith is that faith isn’t just about what you think or do.  It also affects how you feel.  John Wesley emphasized “a religion of the heart.”

For example, Wesley recalled how his heart felt “strangely warmed” after realizing that Christ’s forgiveness applied to him personally.  The forgiveness of sin is general and particular.  God forgives all sins but also my sin and yours.

The movie A River Runs Through It describes Methodists as “Baptists who can read.”  We combine our love for God with an emphasis on critical thinking.  From a Wesleyan perspective, faith in Christ integrates belief, action, and feeling.

We don’t always get it right.  Sometimes we ignore our authentic spiritual emotions or abandon cogent theology or neglect courageous social action.  But we need to integrate our faith with our hearts, heads, and hands.

As Henry Knight puts it, “Wesley used a number of paired terms to describe these various integrations: doctrine and discipline, heart and life, faith and works, knowledge and vital piety. Taken together, they describe a practical theology that aims to proclaim God’s promise of new life, encourage people to experience it, and enable them to faithfully live it out in love for God and their neighbor.”²

A religion of the heart is not theoretical.  It is part of our lived experience.  We can’t just think about loving God and our neighbor.  We must strive to make love for God and our neighbor real.  

Yours in Christ,
Brian

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¹ Matthew 22:37, 39, NRSV.

² Henry H. Knight III, “A Heart Religion,” https://www.catalystresources.org/consider-wesley-18/