Anglicans, Methodists, and John Wesley

This morning, I noticed an article in the North American Anglican about the historical ties between Episcopalians/Reformed Episcopalians and Methodists. This interesting treatment brought to mind my own background. Much of my family had been Anglican or Episcopalian in the past, but we lived in a rural southern area where the only church options were Baptist and Methodist. Some of the family, including me, chose the Methodist option. Over time, as I read about Methodism, I discovered the Anglican background of the Wesleys and came to appreciate the Creeds, the Book of Common Prayer, and the Thirty-Nine Articles.

John Wesley had his issues with some establishment tendencies, and he developed some idiosyncrasies in theology and in practice. Nevertheless, John Wesley still valued the Anglican way. The societies that he organized were originally small groups meant to function within the Church of England at home and abroad. Several of his sermons were eighteenth-century adaptations of the sixteenth-century Anglican Books of Homilies. He loved the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, and when he suggested worship practices for his newly independent American followers, he sent a simplified version of the Prayer Book. He also provided a basic theological confession based on the Anglican Thirty-Nine Articles. 

Decades ago, I decided that I did not accept all of John Wesley's theology or Methodist organizational structures, but Wesley is still an example for Anglicans and other Christians. He remains a witness to Scriptural truth and Christian living. Wesley's ministry is a reminder that Christians must put the Gospel above other concerns. The truth of Christ's gospel must be preached and believers must be nourished and given pastoral care even when church structures are weak or corrupt.