Category Archives: Dissertation

QUOTE Methodism has continually adopted new methods as expediency provides them. The camp meeting shaped prairie Methodism. Asbury called camp meetings Afishing with a large net.@[1] It is hard to imagine in this century the human hunger for socialization and … Continue reading →

QUOTE  It is an gross oversimplification, however, to say that Methodism on the American frontier went Awhere the people were.@[1] Early Methodism, according to Lovett Weems, Aseemed more at home in rural settings@ and was more successful there.[2] Asbury developed … Continue reading →

QUOTE Francis Asbury preached the gospel on the empty prairies during a vast migration of people from urban to rural areas. Prairie Methodists simultaneously built churches and communities in the rural wilderness. They faithfully replicated Epworth and Wroot[1] across the … Continue reading →

QUOTE Unit 7: Methodist Historical DNA and Modern Cell Churches: Is There A Match? Lecture: Prairie DNA The historical process by which John Wesley=s discipleship system adapted to the frontier in the United States is described in the excerpt below … Continue reading →

QUOTE WESLEY’S TWELVE RULES OF A HELPER 1. Be diligent. Never be unemployed. Never be triflingly employed. Never while away time, nor spend more time at any place than is strictly necessary. 2. Be serious. Let your motto be, “Holiness … Continue reading →

QUOTE WESLEY’S RULES OF THE BAND DRAWN UP DECEMBER 25, 1738. THE design of our meeting is, to obey the command of God, AConfess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.@ To … Continue reading →

QUOTE HEALTHY LEADERSHIP CORE Methodism is a community defined by a rule, and more specifically, rules. The General Rules shape behavior at the level of the class meeting, the band rules for the band society. Wesley=s Ahelpers@ or lay preachers … Continue reading →

QUOTE AMERICAN DIFFERENCES[1] Methodist DNA evolved differently on the prairies of the United States, where the parish church was the Methodist church. Class membership was necessary for membership and receiving the sacraments. Churches began as class meetings, shepherded between visits … Continue reading →

QUOTE A person grew up through the Methodist discipleship system in the following stages: 1. To join the society a person had to seek out a sponsor who was a practicing Methodist. This demonstrates the relational characteristic of the discipleship … Continue reading →

QUOTE DISCIPLESHIP SYSTEMS John Wesley was a complex man living in complex times. The Industrial Revolution brought a vast migration of people from rural to urban areas. The Methodist Societies became a spiritual village within the city for many dislocated … Continue reading →