We are preparing for Annual Conference at Lake Junaluska and we are doing a 40 Day’s of Preparation devotional to get ready for the business that will take place there.
The Methodist Way reminds me of the statement that I used Sunday Morning, “People wander into many things but no one ever wandered into Holiness.”
John Wesley never intended to start the Methodist Church. What he envisioned was a reformation, an uprising of sorts in the Anglican Church. He felt that there were mainly forms of religion and not much spirituality in the church anymore, and he wanted that to change.
Wesley called it the “Means of Grace”, it was the intentional ways that he felt would bring one closer to knowing God and being what God has called us to be and do. It included things like Fasting, Intentional Prayer, Christian Conversation, The Study of Scripture, and The Lord’s Supper.
I am concerned that Wesley’s fear has to a great degree come true. You see, he had a fear that the Methodist Church would become like the Anglican Church of his day. I believe what we see all around us today is commitment to temporary things in life. By that I mean, The Joys of this World, The Things that Money can Buy, Relationships, Entertainment, etc, etc……………..
As a Pastor it hurts to see people longing for what God has the answer to and yet they are looking and putting all their energy in all the wrong places.
We can change all this, We can Change the World!
Ronnie