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The 19: Questions to Kindle a Wesleyan Spirit
Wesley’s historic questions have been asked of those considered for full connection (ordination) since as early as 1784, the first Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, presided over by Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke. The questions also have a broader Wesleyan context. Many of these questions were originally used with the people Wesley called “Helpers,” lay men and women to whom Wesley gave responsibility for leadership in the Methodist societies. They were class leaders, stewards, local preachers and travelling preachers. The questions addressed topics Wesley believed to be essential for persons responsible for leading others in discipleship and mission in the world.The nineteen questions cover topics from faith in Christ to spiritual practices to debt. The questions around commitment to the rules of the Church have a contemporary urgency in this season of division. Building from her blog on the 19 Questions, Are You Going On To Perfection, at www.artofholiness.com, Carolyn will thoughtfully unpack each question in a historical and personal way.
114 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 19, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 2, 2023
Quotes from the book:
To be made perfect in love is to be committed to becoming bolder, more loving, more vulnerable, more courageous in our approach to relationships. This is a heart-level transformation, a journey from shame to acceptance and the standard for those who follow Jesus. It is a lifestyle so saturated in love that it has lost its capacity to be controlled by fear or shame.
Probably no one will be talking about your great sermon or your great program or your snappiest tweet when you die. They will talk about how well you loved God and other people.
“Sanctification is an impartation, not an imitation.” The whole work of sanctification is the transformation of lives for the transformation of the world. The Spirit takes control of our minds and purifies our thoughts.
Kevin Watson writes, “Early Methodists were asked to invite others into their lives and to be willing to enter deeply into the lives of other people so that together they would grow in grace. They were committed to the idea that the Christian life is a journey of growth in grace, or sanctification. And they believed that they needed one another in order to persevere on this journey.”
In fact, Wesleyan doctrine can be summed up in two words: grace and holiness
The United Methodist Church celebrates free will. The United Methodist Church celebrates practical acts of mercy and justice. We trust in the means of grace and believe God will show up in practical acts of piety. The United Methodist Church celebrates the sacramental life, specifically baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
UMC Polity: Our structure is designed to create a well-ordered, flexible community. The real beauty of our polity is that when it is working well, it isn’t highly visible. It serves the organization without being heavy-handed.
Wesley stated this outright. He wrote to John Smith, “What is the aim of any ecclesiastical order? Is it not to snatch souls from the power of Satan for God and to edify them in the love and fear of God? Order, then has value only if it responds to these aims; and if not, it is worthless.” Polity exists to serve the mission, not the other way around. If our full allegiance is not to the cause of making healthy, committed followers of Jesus locally and globally, we are missing the mark.
I love Jesus, and I sense that within The UMC’s system of connection and covenant I can serve him well. I complain with the best of them about charge conference and end-of-year reporting, but I manage to accomplish those tasks because they are part of a bigger ministry life that I love dearly.
It was the network of class meetings and Wesley’s insistence that new Methodists be thoroughly organized for discipleship. Whitefield once said, “My brother Wesley acted wisely; the souls that were awakened under his ministry he joined in class, and thus preserved the fruits of his labor. This I neglected, and my people are a rope of sand.”
The heart of a United Methodist is whole-life discipleship.
What happened in an early Methodist meeting? In a word, accountability. Conversation began with a question that has come to define Methodists ever since: “How is it with your soul?” This isn’t a “How are you?” question. It is meant as an invitation to share transparently around what Jesus is doing in our lives and how that impacts our spiritual development.
Kevin Watson says, “Early Methodists were asked to invite others into their lives and to be willing to enter deeply into the lives of other people so that together they would grow in grace.
John Wesley once wrote, “Unless God has raised you up for this very thing, you will be worn out by the opposition of men and devils. But if God be for you, who can be against you? Are all of them together stronger than God? O be not weary of well doing!”
This is why anyone embracing spiritual leadership must first deal with their own money issues first before they can lead others. It is also why pastors must be unashamedly interested in how their people relate to money. Our Book of Discipline charges elders and local pastors with stewardship of a church’s giving records, for the purpose of pastoring people at the point of their finances (par. 340.2.c). This isn’t about us; it is about God, who demands our undivided allegiance.
Be present to the work, Wesley teaches us. Be in the right places, on time, with the right attitude, so you can be there when Jesus shows up.
To be made perfect in love is to be committed to becoming bolder, more loving, more vulnerable, more courageous in our approach to relationships. This is a heart-level transformation, a journey from shame to acceptance and the standard for those who follow Jesus. It is a lifestyle so saturated in love that it has lost its capacity to be controlled by fear or shame.
Probably no one will be talking about your great sermon or your great program or your snappiest tweet when you die. They will talk about how well you loved God and other people.
“Sanctification is an impartation, not an imitation.” The whole work of sanctification is the transformation of lives for the transformation of the world. The Spirit takes control of our minds and purifies our thoughts.
Kevin Watson writes, “Early Methodists were asked to invite others into their lives and to be willing to enter deeply into the lives of other people so that together they would grow in grace. They were committed to the idea that the Christian life is a journey of growth in grace, or sanctification. And they believed that they needed one another in order to persevere on this journey.”
In fact, Wesleyan doctrine can be summed up in two words: grace and holiness
The United Methodist Church celebrates free will. The United Methodist Church celebrates practical acts of mercy and justice. We trust in the means of grace and believe God will show up in practical acts of piety. The United Methodist Church celebrates the sacramental life, specifically baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
UMC Polity: Our structure is designed to create a well-ordered, flexible community. The real beauty of our polity is that when it is working well, it isn’t highly visible. It serves the organization without being heavy-handed.
Wesley stated this outright. He wrote to John Smith, “What is the aim of any ecclesiastical order? Is it not to snatch souls from the power of Satan for God and to edify them in the love and fear of God? Order, then has value only if it responds to these aims; and if not, it is worthless.” Polity exists to serve the mission, not the other way around. If our full allegiance is not to the cause of making healthy, committed followers of Jesus locally and globally, we are missing the mark.
I love Jesus, and I sense that within The UMC’s system of connection and covenant I can serve him well. I complain with the best of them about charge conference and end-of-year reporting, but I manage to accomplish those tasks because they are part of a bigger ministry life that I love dearly.
It was the network of class meetings and Wesley’s insistence that new Methodists be thoroughly organized for discipleship. Whitefield once said, “My brother Wesley acted wisely; the souls that were awakened under his ministry he joined in class, and thus preserved the fruits of his labor. This I neglected, and my people are a rope of sand.”
The heart of a United Methodist is whole-life discipleship.
What happened in an early Methodist meeting? In a word, accountability. Conversation began with a question that has come to define Methodists ever since: “How is it with your soul?” This isn’t a “How are you?” question. It is meant as an invitation to share transparently around what Jesus is doing in our lives and how that impacts our spiritual development.
Kevin Watson says, “Early Methodists were asked to invite others into their lives and to be willing to enter deeply into the lives of other people so that together they would grow in grace.
John Wesley once wrote, “Unless God has raised you up for this very thing, you will be worn out by the opposition of men and devils. But if God be for you, who can be against you? Are all of them together stronger than God? O be not weary of well doing!”
This is why anyone embracing spiritual leadership must first deal with their own money issues first before they can lead others. It is also why pastors must be unashamedly interested in how their people relate to money. Our Book of Discipline charges elders and local pastors with stewardship of a church’s giving records, for the purpose of pastoring people at the point of their finances (par. 340.2.c). This isn’t about us; it is about God, who demands our undivided allegiance.
Be present to the work, Wesley teaches us. Be in the right places, on time, with the right attitude, so you can be there when Jesus shows up.
June 14, 2022
As the United Methodist Church prepares to split, our congregation will have to vote on whether to stay with the UMC or to disaffiliate. In my information gathering, this book was recommended. It used the 19 questions that Wesley said should be asked of all candidates for ministry to discuss the church today and what is happening within it. Moore is more traditional/conservative, which I like. This little book is easy to read with clear examples.
November 15, 2023
Disappointing in Retrospect
In The 19, Carolyn Moore works through the 19 questions Wesley wrote for new preachers. She makes many good points, but it seems that she is laying the groundwork for her eventual departure from the United Methodist Church. This was an act of abandonment of her church in the hour of its greatest need. The book is difficult to take seriously in the light of her later actions because they put her sincerity into serious question.
In The 19, Carolyn Moore works through the 19 questions Wesley wrote for new preachers. She makes many good points, but it seems that she is laying the groundwork for her eventual departure from the United Methodist Church. This was an act of abandonment of her church in the hour of its greatest need. The book is difficult to take seriously in the light of her later actions because they put her sincerity into serious question.
January 12, 2021
When I was ordained I answered each of these questions. Carolyn Moore helped me to take a few moments and reflect on those questions again. This is a great book for those wanting to understand what it means to have a Wesleyan Spirit.
May 10, 2020
A good book explaining the Wesley questions asked of ordinands for the Methodist Church. Carolyn Moore puts the questions in easy to understand explanations.
June 18, 2018
A call to arms for the United Methodist Church to reclaim pastoral integrity and scriptural authority.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews