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“Some Thoughts on Biblical, Theological, and Wesleyan Foundations for Identity, Development, and Leadership”

Stan Pelkey

November 15, 2025

Christian identity and leadership are grounded on two mutually informing foundations. First, God created human beings in God’s image (Genesis 1:26–27). Second, we are called to become more like or imitate our Lord Jesus Christ. These foundations should shape how we grow, lead, and treat others. I unpack each in turn in this blog, and I argue that the most critical conclusion one can draw about Christian identity, development, and leadership is that we are called to move away from the “transactional” to the “fruitful,” and from the “fruitful” to the “faithful.”

God’s people have long emphasized the significance of being made in God’s image, but they have understood its meaning in different ways. Beth Felker Jones notes that theologians have tended to focus on either “substantial” ways we are like God through shared qualities with God’s nature (such as rationality), “functional” ways, such as how we are to relate to the rest of creation, or “relational” ways via how we interact with other people (and thus reflect the fundamental relational character of the Trinity). [1] 

Prior to attending seminary, I had mostly heard the “substantial” view of the “image of God”: humans were thinking creatures, set apart from animals by divinity-reflecting mental capacities. Seminary coursework, however, has widened my perspective, with meaningful implication for leadership. J. Richard Middleton seems to argue that all three understandings of the “image of God” should operate in our theology. God gave humanity a mission in the Garden of Eden (to care for creation); this supports a “functional” perspective. [2] But creation care, which elevates us to be “a little lower than God,” requires the same wisdom, understanding, and knowledge evident in God’s creative work. [3] This is a more “substantive” perspective. Finally, God’s people are to be the “mediation of God’s presence on earth” and so fill the universe with God’s glory. [4] This is a “relational” quality. All three ways of thinking about the “image of God” have value for thinking about personal development, identity, and leadership.

The “functional” conception of the “image of God” effectively links with ideas about Christian vocation. For Steven Garber, vocation is embedded in God’s mission. [5] Furthermore, “a common grace for a common good” is the reason, aim, and end of vocation. [6] The common good “lights up” the “relational” aspect of the “image of God” and suggests, again, that when Christians holistically consider Scripture and God’s image, the substantial, functional, and relational cannot be separated easily. Thus, Garber repeatedly returns his discussion of vocation and the common good to the principle that “knowledge,” gained through education and experience in the world, requires “responsibility” from us. [7] Garber repeatedly asks, “What will you do with what you know?” [8] To live vocationally is to know the world and still love it. [9]

The Church has understood that our state of spiritual rebellion has damaged the image of God within us. Various traditions, however, interpret differently the extent of that damage. In the West, Augustine’s deeply pessimistic view has tended to dominate. Thus, Luther, for example, argued that sin has essentially obliterated our rationality and ability to understand truth. Contrarily, John and Charles Wesley taught that the image has been damaged, but prevenient grace is a check on that damage, and justification begins a process of restoration, as Carder and Warner remind us as they quote from John Wesley’s important sermon, “The Scripture Way of Salvation.” [10] Grace “prevents the total destruction of the divine image in us”; grace justifies us; and grace sanctifies us and begins to restore the image of God within us. [11] This is God’s gift to us; it is our goal, and it should provide leaders with a sense of all of us being God’s children. [12] Wesleyans understand all of this to be the Holy Spirit’s sanctifying work in us. Restoration and infusion of love do not stop with imputed righteousness; a further imparting of divine grace occurs, empowering Christian disciples to become enfleshed channels by which God continues to work in the world. [13] John Wesley framed the positive influence of discipleship on the world through the idea of the individual Christian being the salt of the earth. [14] “Acts of mercy,” about which he consistently taught, help us to embody this “saltiness.”

The second foundation for Christian discipleship and leadership is the Lord Jesus Christ himself. Paul points to this when urging us to develop the “mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16; Philippians 2:5). Building on the devotional history of the Church, we can broaden this idea to “imitating” Christ, which is also grounded in Paul’s letters (e.g., II Corinthians 3:18, Ephesians 5:1), and from there, we can move toward a full-blown theological anthropology. [15] Beth Felker Jones stresses that theological anthropology—that is, a theological understanding of what it means to be human—should start with the Incarnation (i.e., rather than the Fall). Jesus, in perfect communion “with the Father by the power of the Holy Spirit,” became the perfect—the prototypical—human being. [16] Thus, “If we want to know what true humanity looks like, we should look … to Jesus.” [17] Doing so should “challenge” our “self-absorption.” [18] A robust Christian theological anthropology—and thus discussion of Christian identity—takes account of the doctrine of Creation (the “image of God”) and the Incarnation.

When we think of Jesus’ qualities that we should emulate and how those might shape leadership in our homes, communities, workplaces, and churches, we would do well to remember that, as Sondra Wheeler states, Jesus did not come as a “conquering hero.” Rather, he emptied himself and became a Suffering Servant. [19] Jesus models self-giving love and graciousness. [20] These characteristics have meaning for how we should treat others in our homes and workplaces. Furthermore, when considering Christ-likeness, identity, and leadership, we should remember that Jesus our role model invites us to model discipleship for others. [21]

Hopefully, one can begin to see why I suggest that the “image of God” and the “imitation of Christ” are mutually informing foundations for identity (including personal development and Christian discipleship) and leadership. I want to push more forcefully, however, toward what I see as deep implications for these realities. Writers I have referenced so far offer us big ideas, such as care for other, love, and graciousness. It would not be difficult to add a string of prohibited behaviors based on the Scriptural record. For example, as image bearers and Christ followers, we should take seriously biblical warnings against lying [22] and admonitions to tame the tongue. [23]

This is all good and true. But to be truly Christian and truly human, we must open ourselves to radical transformation by the Spirit into more perfect reflections of the Father. We learn to be fully human—and better leaders—by considering the very character of God presented by Jesus himself. Matthew 11:28–30 offers a foundational text. In the beginning of the chapter, Jesus discusses the history of violence against God’s prophets and pronounces woes against cities filled with people with hard hearts. Then, he turns suddenly, affirms that he reflects the Father, and reveals important divine qualities through assertions about himself: he is an inviting Lord; he is rest-giving; he teaches; he is gentle and humble; his yoke is easy. Given the implications of Christian Trinitarianism, Jesus is also teaching us that God is gentle, humble, rest-giving. If we are to become more and more like Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit, then we, too, should be gentle, humble, and rest-giving. In my experience, however, most of us find it easier to avoid lying or cursing than to be gentle and humble.

Here’s the broader point I want to make: as Christ followers, we also must be open to the possibility that what we take for granted today as “imitating Christ” may need refinement in light of deeper familiarity with and understanding of Scripture and Christian tradition.

Finally, many Christians and Christian leaders continue to wrestle with sin manifested as willful human orientation toward ambition, greed, and power or allegiance to worldly lusts. In the workplace, especially, we often crave achievement and affirmation. Yet, as David Wright reminds us, “Human achievement, no matter how great, always brings a fleeting assurance.” [24] In contrast, Jesus offers salvation, but he also models a radical reorientation for living: the Holy Spirit is born within us and begins to transform and sanctify us into the very character of God. As women and men remodeled in God’s image and following the example of Christ, we must move toward becoming gentle, humble, and rest-giving. [25]

During the past few years, my Scriptural study, theological coursework, and grief counseling in the wake of my first wife’s death have converged, and I have come to see the journey of human formation toward a full, Christ-like identify as moving, step-by-step, from selfishness to transactional interactions, and from transactional interactions to a more loving, freely given fruitfulness, and finally from fruitfulness (which may still have an eye on “reputation”) to faithfulness (which focuses primarily on pleasing God). All of this plays out in leadership in our homes, communities, work environments, and churches. I think this journey can be summarized as moving toward becoming gifted gift-givers.

I ground my idea of gifted gift-givers on my reading of Jesus as he calls would-be followers and disciples to be fruitful. The New Testament defines this in multiple ways. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus repeatedly stresses that God’s people should bear good fruit (Matthew 7:16–20), do God’s will (Matt. 7:21), and act on Christ’s words (Matt. 7:24). In Mark 4, Jesus also addresses fruitfulness: he calls disciples to bear the fruit of light for others (Mark 4:21), measure-upon-measure of generous giving (Mark 4:25), and safe nesting for the well-being of others (Mark 4:32). In Paul’s letters, fruitfulness is constructed as “fruit of the Spirit” (which opposes “acts of the flesh”) (Galatians 5:22–25), as loving self-sacrifice and service (Romans 12; I Corinthians 13), and as “gifts of the Spirit” (I Corinthians 12). Although the “fruit of the Spirit” might be read as primarily about one’s own attitudes and behaviors, these gifts are said to be given for the good of the whole. Finally, in his sermon in Lystra, Paul notes that God has always left a witness for people by giving rain and “fruitful seasons” (Acts 14:16–17). This is a foundational statement about general / natural revelation, but it is also a foundational statement regarding the necessity of our fruitfulness as disciples: if we are to mirror Christ, who is the incarnate mirror of the Godhead, then fruitfulness / blessing others should sit at the core of our Christian identity, because God is a fruitful Lord.

John Wesley’s understanding of sanctification encompasses elements of all these ways of thinking about love and leadership as movement toward greater fruitfulness. Thus, I agree with Carder and Warner: as we lean into the idea of the divine image, our behavior and leadership will be shaped by “dignity, value, potential, purpose, and communion.” [26] But I see fruitfulness as having a more active and self-giving orientation. Nevertheless, I agree whole-heartedly with them: “The telos, or ultimate end, of leadership within the Christian community is the reign of God, the increase in love of God and neighbor, and the transformation of individuals, communities, and the entire cosmos.” [27] From a Wesleyan perspective, such (perfect) love is sanctification.

Leadership formation in the image of God and with the imitation of Christ in mind is, as Carder and Warner stress, character formation and personal formation. [28] Formation and leadership are at least in part about becoming more fruitful for the good of others. But, again, formation may require that we strip away received ideas about what is at stake. I spent many years just wanting God in my life to “clear the decks” for me in exchange for my “being (mostly) good.” I have come to see how idolatrous such a stance is. I am much more open to the reality that God is calling me to something very different as one seeking to imitate Christ. Thus, I appreciate Colón-Emeric for reminding us that Jesus, whom we follow and whose image we bear, exhibited a “radical openness and surrender to God” and “solidarity with the marginalized.” [29] This should suggest that there is some aspect to following Christ that moves us away from exclusion and toward inclusion and leads us away from the contemporary, Western, individualistic understanding of a “successful life,” which links such a life to “competition [and] excelling at the expense of others.” [30] Instead, the image of God leads us to respond to grace by addressing “[our] neighbor as a whole person, in both body and soul,” as disciples feed the hungry, visit the sick, and minister to those in prison. [31]

I will give Charles Wesley the final word. In a poem on Luke 3:11, he denies that works (our “fruitfulness”) are meritorious for salvation but emphasizes that they are acts of obedience:

Alms cannot alone, we know, / Cannot grace from God procure,

Yet at his command we show / Mercy to the helpless poor;

When our sins we truly leave, / We our neighbour’s wants supply,

Till to us the Saviour give / Food and raiment from the sky. [32]

As I read the Wesleys, our whole lives, including personal development, vocation, ministry, and leadership, must have dimensions that actively attend to the well-being of others.

Notes:

1. Beth Felker Jones, Practicing Christian Doctrine: An Introduction to Thinking and Living Theologically (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 2014), 104–107.

2. J. Richard Middleton, “Image of God,” in Joel B. Green, ed. Dictionary of Scripture and Ethics (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 2011), 394.

3. Middleton, “Image of God,” 395.

4. Middleton, “Image of God,” 395.

5. Steven Garber, Visions of Vocation: Common Grace for the Common Good (Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP Books, 2014), 155.

6. Garber, Visions of Vocation, 18, 142, 156.

7. Garber, Visions of Vocation, 18, 86, 97.

8, Garber, Visions of Vocation, 53, 55, 77, 79, 82, 86, 142.

9. Garber, Visions of Vocation, 29, 139.

10. Kenneth L. Carder and Laceye C. Warner, Grace to Lead: Practicing Leadership in the Wesleyan Tradition (Nashville General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, 2016), 12.

11. Carder and Warner, Grace to Lead, 15.

12. Carder and Warner, Grace to Lead, 47.

13. Edgardo Colón-Emeric, The People Called Metodista: Renewing Doctrine, Worship, and Mission

from the Margins (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2022), 55.

14. John Wesley, “Upon Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount” No. 4, in John Wesley’s Fifty-Three Sermons, edited by Edward H. Sugden (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1983), (I.7) (280). 

15. F. Scott Spencer notes that “imitation of Christ” has been more strongly emphasized by “popular piety” than by church doctrine. He argues that, while “imitation” is grounded in language such as found in Philippians 2:5, the Gospels emphasize Christ’s call of “follow me” (398). As a result, for Spencer, “wholehearted” discipleship seems more scripturally sanctioned than “adherence to a set of characteristics or rules of conduct” (399). See F. Scott Spencer, “Imitation of Christ,” in Joel B. Green, ed. Dictionary of Scripture and Ethics (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 2011). Spencer describes Thomas à Kempis’s “classic” devotional, The Imitation of Christ, as “especially influential.” Spencer, “Imitation of Christ,” 398. Even there, Kempis quickly and implicitly interchanges “follow,” “model,” and “fashion [our lives on].” See Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, trans. Ronald Knox and Michael Oakley (Providence, Rhode Island: Cluny, 2024), ch. 1 (3). See also “follow in Christ’s footsteps,” Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, ch. 18 (8).

16. Jones, Practicing Christian Doctrine, 98.

17. Jones, Practicing Christian Doctrine, 114.

18. Jones, Practicing Christian Doctrine, 98.

19. Sondra Wheeler, Sustaining Ministry: Foundations and Practices for Serving Faithfully (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2017), 3.

20. Wheeler, Sustaining Ministry, 10, 34–35.

21. Wheeler, Sustaining Ministry, 67.

22. See, for example, Exodus 20:16; Psalm 5:6; Psalm 12:2; Psalm 27:12; Psalm 31:18; Psalm 34:13; Psalm 58:3; Psalm 101:7; Proverbs 12:22; Proverbs 13:5; Hosea 7:13, 16; Micah 2:13; Micah 6:12; Revelation 22:15.

23. See, for example, Proverbs 12:18; James 1:26, 3:1–12.

24. David Wright, How God Makes the World a Better Place: A Wesleyan Primer on Faith, Work, and Economic Transformation (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Christian’s Library Press, 2012), 29.

25. I appreciate that Carder and Warner touch upon issues of “title,” “function,” and “ambition” as risks to our identities (and effectiveness) as leaders in Grace to Lead, 48.

26. Carder and Warner, Grace to Lead, xv.

27. Carder and Warner, Grace to Lead, xv.

28. Carder and Warner, Grace to Lead, 34.

29. Colón-Emeric, The People Called Metodista, 58.

30. Colón-Emeric, The People Called Metodista, 43.

31. Colón-Emeric, The People Called Metodista, 45.

32. Charles Wesley, poem, quoted in S. T. Kimbrough and Oliver A. Beckerlegge, eds., The Unpublished

Poetry of Charles Wesley, Vol. 2 (Nashville: Kingswood Books, 1990), 87.

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“John Wesley On Sanctification, Wealth, and Care for the Poor”

Stan Pelkey

July 25, 2025

John Wesley (1703–1791) was an English (Anglican) priest and theologian trained at Oxford University who built a world-changing ministry as an evangelist, field preacher, organizer, and author and editor. With his younger brother, the Anglican priest and poet, Charles Wesley (1707–1788), John started the Methodist revival movement within the Church of England. He later contributed to the creation of the Methodist Episcopal Church (1784–1939) in the newly formed United States in part by ordaining elders to administer the sacraments and Thomas Coke (1747–1814) to serve as Superintendent (later Bishop) for the new denomination. [See note 1 at end.]

In this post, I’ll discuss four ways that John Wesley traced relationships between Christian sanctification, wealth, and care for the poor and marginalized. I’ll summarize them quickly, then elaborate on each more fully below. First, John Wesley linked acts of mercy or what we might call ministry to the poor and marginalized to the totality of his teaching on salvation. Caring for the poor and marginalized was part of the way one “waited for the Lord” to act in one’s life prior to justification, and ongoing care remained a part of the subsequent process of sanctification. Second, Wesley offered teachings and admonitions regarding how one was to make and spend one’s money. Here, too, he linked this aspect of Christian believers’ lives to the totality of their spiritual health and well-being. Third, Wesley argued for structural changes in Great Britain that would benefit the poor and marginalized. Most significantly, Wesley’s public opposition to the slave trade was a distinctive aspect of his personal piety and social witness in a nation—Great Britain—that did not abolish the slave trade until 1807. (See John Wesley, Thoughts Upon Slavery [London, 1778].) https://docsouth.unc.edu/church/wesley/wesley.html Fourth, Wesley built organizations from the ground up, such as his discipleship-oriented class meetings and bands, that made space for all people to participate. He also provided opportunities for eighteenth-century women to exercise leadership roles. The denominations that eventually grew out of his organizational activities maintained concern for the poor, abolition, and the place of women in the church and society. Thus, José Bonino is correct to write, “[Wesley’s] theology rests on an organic unity between the personal encounter with Christ in the power of the Spirit and the commitment to a life of active love and service.” [Note 2 at end]

Let’s first consider how John Wesley framed the call to provide active care for the poor and marginalized in relation to his general soteriology (see appendix 1 below), and especially to sanctification. Consistent with Protestant theological traditions, Wesley stressed that we are justified by grace through faith, not by works. However, Wesley also taught that immediately upon being justified, we begin to experience a second working of grace from the Holy Spirit that leads to our sanctification or transformation in holiness. This sanctification is being “born of the Spirit,” with “real” and “relative” changes occurring in our lives. As God’s power renews us, we grow in grace and the image of God, come to love God and humanity more fully, and gain Christ’s mind and character. [Note 3] Fundamentally, through grace and faith, justification and sanctification should bear fruit in individuals and communities in this world, today. [4] But Wesley went further, arguing that Christians neglecting what he called acts of piety and mercy after justification “cannot reasonably expect that [they] shall ever be sanctified.” [5] As we’ll see below, care for the poor and marginalized was, for Wesley, a component of these important acts of mercy. Thus, from its earliest days, the Methodist movement was committed to ministry among the poor and less fortunate, which Wesley himself modeled through his work in the fields, towns, and cities of England, as well as through his charitable giving. [6]

John and Charles Wesley argued that both seekers and believers should engage in the acts of piety and acts of mercy, which together form the means of grace. They understood the means of grace to be “channel[s] through which the grace of God is conveyed” [7] and through which the Christian disciple might see Christ, face to face. [8] Acts of piety include public and private prayer, reading and searching the Scriptures, public worship, receiving communion, and fasting; the Wesleys identified these practices as “explicitly authorized in Christian tradition and Scripture” for experiencing divine grace. [9] Acts of mercy, which, again, are an aspect of the means of grace [10], begin with almsgiving but also include feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, assisting strangers, visiting the sick and those in prison, comforting the afflicted, and instructing the ignorant. [11] (We can see biblical bases for these perspectives in numerous passages, such as Matthew 6, Luke 22:7–20, and Acts 2:42–47; 17:17, 19–21; and 20:7–8, 36–38.) Similarly, in his third sermon on “The Sermon on the Mount,” John Wesley called Christians to be “peace-makers,” which encompasses “[doing] good unto all men [sic],” [12] including family, enemies, and the poor. “Goodness” should focus on “[the] bodies of all men [sic]” and address hunger and nakedness. [13] Note, too, that in his sixth sermon on the “Sermon on the Mount,” Wesley stressed the importance of having right intentions and seeking to glorify God alone when engaging in acts of mercy. In other words, one does not “buy” one’s way into heaven; rather, one genuinely loves others and simultaneously worships God through acts of mercy. (See Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5–7.)

Second, John Wesley was concerned about how Christians make and spend money, and he framed his underlying concepts and practical recommendations by appeals to good stewardship and generosity toward those in need (which was both an act of obedience and a means to avoid the corrupting influence of wealth). In his sermon, “The Good Steward,” Wesley wrote that Jesus repeatedly represents his followers as “stewards.” [14] All that we have, including “worldly goods” and money, comes from God. [15] This is foundational. With that in mind, it is not surprising that, in his sermon, “The Use of Money,” Wesley spends significant time arguing that we must not ruin our health or harm others as we generate income. [16] Furthermore, in “The Use of Money,” Wesley (famously) advocates that his followers should gain all they can, save all that’s possible, and give all they can, but Wesley emphasizes giving, for the advantage of others [17], first for one’s family, then for the church, then all people, and especially the poor. [18] Similarly, in his sermon, “The More Excellent Way,” Wesley urges each of us to act as a “general benefactor” (VI.1): we’ll gain our reward in heaven by “laying out” rather than “laying up.”

This all flows back to good stewardship. As stewards, we are to use all the provisions God provides, including our income, in the manner that the “master pleases” and “according to [his] will.” [19] At the Final Judgment, we will be called to account: did we rightly use our gifts (vis-à-vis God’s will)? [20] Were we “general benefactors,” “restoring” to God what we did not need by “feeding the hungry” and “clothing the naked”? [21] Answers to such questions will impact how the Lord receives us: will we be invited to “enter… into the joy of [the] Lord”? [22]

For Wesley, then, money is a gift of God intended to address need, such as food for the hungry, drink for the thirsty, clothing for the naked, rest for the weary, and aid to orphans and widows. Christians are not called to steward merely by saving; they are called to marshal resources to provide caring support to as many as possible for as long as possible. Therefore, Christians will also reign in their own spending on personal pleasure (e.g., food, drink, clothing, entertainment) to make more money available to help those in need.

In historical Wesleyan theology, care for the poor is an act of obedience to God, but it is also conducive to one’s spiritual maturation. By contributing to the care of the poor and those in need, one actively combats wealth’s potential spiritual dangers. Wealth can turn our hearts toward love of the world [23] and love of money, which is “the root of all evil.” [24] Freely giving reduces these risks.

Third, John Wesley was not concerned simply with individual charity. He also advocated for structural change in society by means of modifying public policy and law. In his pamphlet, “Thoughts on the Present Scarcity of Provisions” (1773), Wesley traced what he saw as connections between widespread hunger in Britain [25], the production of alcohol, and the chasing after luxury items by the affluent. [26] As a result, Wesley wanted to see substantive, government-driven social and economic reforms that he believed would make available more land and jobs, plus the levying of export and luxury taxes to discourage spending on luxuries. [27] Furthermore, in 1778, Wesley wrote and published a nearly 100-page booklet in which he concluded that slavery “is a violation both of justice and religion,” encourages vice in master and slave, and undermines “freedom [which] is unquestionably the birth right of all mankind.” [28]

Finally, given that John Wesley regularly admonished his listeners and readers to care for the poor, it’s understandable that the poor and marginalized remained important to later generations of Methodists. Evidence includes many American Methodists’ concerns (and abolitionist actions) regarding slavery in the United States [29] and the establishment globally of schools, colleges, and hospitals by Methodist denominations. [30]

Several of the later, reforming Wesleyan-Methodist denominations in the United States that broke away from the Methodist Episcopal Church were particularly attuned to issues of social justice and the poor. The Wesleyan Church, for example, was formed in 1843 as an intentional “abolitionist denomination” and immediately called for the end of slavery in the United States. Wesleyans were active in the Underground Railroad and planted “anti-slavery churches” in the South prior to the Civil War. Later, in 1848, “the first convention on women’s rights in American history was held in the Wesleyan Chapel at Seneca Falls, New York.” [31] Similarly, the Free Methodist Church was established in 1860 to promote “freedom for all people from slavery, free seats in every house of worship, [and] freedom for women to serve in all roles in the church[,] including pastoral ministry.” [32]

In addition to advocating for and working among the poor and marginalized, these denominations and the Methodist Episcopal Church and its successors, such as the United Methodist Church, established schools and colleges that have educated generations of students, many of whom were first-generation college students, refugees, and economically disadvantaged students who received financial support. Although many of these Wesleyan-Methodist schools and colleges are small, Christian liberal arts colleges, like Houghton College (Wesleyan) or Roberts Wesleyan College (Free Methodist), others founded by the MEC have become major research universities, including Duke University, Emory University, Southern Methodist University, and Syracuse University. Some of these institutions have de-emphasized their historical religious missions, but they continue to provide educational, economic, and health-care-related opportunities for people of all races and economic statuses. Wesleyan-Methodist care for all people persists, directly and indirectly.

Those seeking to live out their Christian faith in the context of the Wesleyan-Methodist tradition should recognize that there are both short-term and eternal implications for salvation and holiness in every aspect of the acquisition and employment of money, and consumption should not be construed solely as a personal matter among those following a disciplined Christian life. For the heirs of John and Charles Wesley, spiritual growth and vitality cannot be separated from care for the poor and marginalized, nor from the careful use of financial resources as an act of obedience, stewardship, and faithfulness.

Charles Wesley (statue in front of Estes Chapel, on the campus of Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, Kentucky)

Notes:

1. For a short introduction to the life and work of John Wesley, see William J. Abraham, Methodism: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2019), 2–16. Introductory information on Wesley’s field preaching and organization of converts and followers into classes and bands can be found in Abraham, Methodism, 9. For a more detailed discussion of John Wesley’s life, see, for example, Howard A. Snyder, The Radical Wesley and Patterns for Church Renewal (Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 1996), 13–64.

2. José Míguez Bonino, “‘The Poor Will Always Be with You’: Can Wesley Help Us Discover How Best to Serve ‘Our Poor’ Today?” in The Poor and the People Called Methodists, 1729–1999, edited by Richard P. Heitzenrater (Nashville, Tennessee: Kingswood Books, 2002), 192. Bonino points to differences between the poor in early-stage industrialization versus the poor in an era of globalization, the shrinking state, and privatization—all operative today (186, 187). Nevertheless, he celebrates John Wesley’s advocacy for works of mercy and efforts to understand the sources of poverty (187), as well as his refusal to blame the poor for their economic condition (188). 

3. John Wesley, “The Scripture Way of Salvation” in John Wesley’s Fifty-Three Sermons, edited by Edward H. Sugden (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1983), sections I.4, III.4 and 5. In this note and all others in this post, Roman numerals with Arabic numerals in citations to Wesley’s sermons refer to sections and subsections; page numbers refer to those in John Wesley’s Fifty-Three Sermons, edited by Sugden.

4. For other representative discussions of this point, see Abraham, Methodism, 45–47; Paul Wesley Chilcote, Recapturing the Wesleys’ Vision: An Introduction to the Faith of John and Charles Wesley (Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP Academic, 2004), 25–31; and David Wright, How God Makes the World a Better Place: A Wesleyan Primer on Faith, Work, and Economic Transformation (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Christian’s Library Press, 2012), 18–20, 50–51.

5. Wesley, “The Scripture Way of Salvation,” in Sugden, III.4 and 5.

6.  Wesley practiced what he preached regarding the use of money and charity. He maintained a frugal standard of living throughout his life and gave away much of his income from his publishing activities each year.

7. John Wesley, “The Means of Grace,” in Sugden, II.1 (171), IV.3 (179). Wesley calls these activities “works of piety” and adds fasting to the list in “The Scripture Way of Salvation,” in Sugden, ed., John Wesley’s Fifty-Three Sermons, III.6 (730).

8. Wesley, “Upon Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, Discourse III,” in Sugden, I.8 (260–261). Charles uses the terms “forms… of outward righteousness” and “channels of thy grace” in a poem on John 2:13; see S. T. Kimbrough and Oliver A. Beckerlegge, eds., The Unpublished Poetry of Charles Wesley, Vol. 2 (Nashville: Kingswood Books, 1990), 219.

9. Ted A. Campbell, “Means of Grace and Forms of Piety,” in The Oxford Handbook of Methodist Studies, edited by James E. Kirby and William J. Abraham (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011), 280–282, 284.

10. For more on this point, see Randy Maddox, “‘Visit the Poor’: John Wesley, the Poor, and the Sanctification of Believers,” in The Poor and the People Called Methodists, 1729–1999, edited by Heitzenrater, 64; Randy Maddox, “Wesley’s Prescription for ‘Making Disciples of Jesus Christ’: Insights for the 21^st Century Church,” Quarterly Review Vo. 23, no. 1 (2003): 15–28; and Joerg Rieger, “Grace Under Pressure: What Really Matters in the Church,” 43.

11. Wesley, “Upon Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, Discourse VI,” in Sugden, 0.2 and I.1 (311).

12. Wesley, “Upon Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, Discourse III,” in Sugden, II.4 (263).

13. Wesley, “Upon Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, Discourse III,” in Sugden, II.5 (264).

14. Wesley, “The Good Steward,” in Sugden, 0.1 and 1.1 (736).

15. Wesley, “The Good Steward,” I.7 (738).

16. Wesley, “The Use of Money,” in Sugden, I.1–I.6 (636–639); III.6 (645).

17. Wesley, “The Use of Money,” 0.2 (635–636).

18. Wesley, “The Use of Money,” III.3 (643–644).

19. Wesley, “The Good Steward,” I.1 (736). Justice and mercy, particularly toward the poor, “please the master.” See, for example, Job 31:13–28; Amos 2:6–7; 4:1; 5:7, 11; 8:4; and Habakkuk 3:13–14.

20. Wesley, “The Good Steward,” III.3 (744).

21. Wesley, “The Good Steward,” III.5 (746). This is consistent with Matthew 25:31–46.

22. Wesley, “The Good Steward,” III.6 (747).

23. Wesley, “The Good Steward,” III.3 (745). See also Donald W. Dayton, Rediscovering an Evangelical Heritage: A Tradition and Trajectory of Integrating Piety and Justice (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2014), 153–158, on church designs, pew rentals, and preaching to the poor among nineteenth-century American Wesleyans.

24. Wesley, “The Use of Money,” 0.2 (635).

25. John Wesley, “Thoughts on the Present Scarcity of Provisions,” in The Works of John Wesley, Vol. XI, Thoughts, Addresses, Prayers, Letters (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan [reprint of London: Wesleyan Conference Office, 1872]), 54.

26. Wesley, “Thoughts on the Present Scarcity of Provisions,” 56.

27. Wesley, “Thoughts on the Present Scarcity of Provisions,” 58.

28. John Wesley, Thoughts Upon Slavery (London, 1778). https://docsouth.unc.edu/church/wesley/wesley.html (79).

29. See Dayton, Rediscovering an Evangelical Heritage: A Tradition and Trajectory of Integrating Piety and Justice, 58, 113, chapter 7 (especially 119–120), and discussion of parallels with early feminism in chapter 8; and Abraham, Methodism, 83.

30. Abraham, Methodism, 88–92.

31. https://www.wesleyan.org/about/our-story (accessed April 27, 2025).

32. https://fmcusa.org/history#fm-timeline (accessed April 27, 2025).

Appendix 1: A Short Summary of John Wesley’s Teaching on Grace, Faith, Justification and Sanctification

In his sermon, “The Scripture Way of Salvation” (1765), Wesley argues that the (true) end of religion is salvation, and the means is faith (made possible by God’s free grace) (“Scriptural Way” 0.1; 723). But he also explicitly states that this religion / salvation is not simply about going to heaven (I.1; 723). It is a present salvation, an entire work, from “dawning of grace” to glorious consummation (I.1; 723). This was a consistent position of Wesley’s. In a much earlier sermon, “The Spirit of Bondage and Adoption” (1739), Wesley asserted that salvation is not simply freedom from damnation. It’s spiritual transformation that moves beyond religious observance to the opportunity to become one who fully loves God and fellow human beings. Through the Spirit (“Spirit of Bondage” III.1; 133), guilt and the power of sin can end (III.4; 134), and one can become “zealous of all good works” (III.7; 135). This is holiness: obedience to God’s will (IV.4; 138), including “weightier matters of the law, in justice, mercy, and the love of God” (“The Means of Grace” I.2; 169). Where the spirit of love is, life is “under grace” (“Spirit of Bondage” 0.5; 126).

Wesley repeatedly emphasizes God’s free gift of grace and grace’s absolute centrality and necessity in the whole process of salvation. In his sermon, “The Means of Grace” (1739), he refers to “preventing, justifying, [and] sanctifying grace” (II.1; 170–171), which align with the stages of salvation that he envisioned, from the Spirit first awakening us to our spiritual danger before we become Christians (“Spirit of Bondage” II.1; 129), through justification, and then on to sanctification. Faith is the basis by which we are “saved, justified, and sanctified” (“Scriptural Way” II.4; 727). Faith is more than “bare assent” to propositions. Even devils have such faith (“The Marks of the New Birth” [1741], I.2; 201). One must acknowledge “the necessity and merit of [Christ’s] death and the power of His resurrection” as the only means to save and exercise “reliance,” “trust,” and “cleaving” (“Salvation by Faith” [1738], I.5; 21).

Justification is “pardon” and forgiveness of sin; its price is Christ’s blood. In the same moment that justification occurs, however, sanctification begins (“Scriptural Way” I.4; see also “On Sin in Believers,” II.2; 672). For Wesley, the end or goal, therefore, is not just being pardoned but being transformed into a holy person, one whose heart is “stamped” with the image of God and who has the mind of Christ and heavenly “tempers” (“The New Birth” [1743], III.1; 573). This leads necessarily to love for neighbors (“The Marks of the New Birth” III.3; 207). Without such holiness, we have no chance of seeing God (“The New Birth” III.2; 574). Thus, salvation, taken as a whole, has ramifications for individual lives and communities today.