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How long did this kind of small group structure last?

It continued through the Wesleys' lifetime. When the movement began to become a denomination, the small groups shrank into a single category, the class meeting.

Why did they shrink?

The Methodist movement demanded a high degree of commitment. Every year they would rewrite the society book with the list of members. I sat in Wesley's chapel, looking at the society lists in John Wesley's handwriting. He wrote every single name, every year, all 2,000 members. If someone dropped out of some small group, he knew that their name was coming off. He would ask why.

When British Methodism became a denomination in the late 18th century, the whole thing changed. The high requirements for membership of a movement had to be adjusted: Are you going to kick me out of the United Methodist Church because I don't show up every Wednesday? Would you deny me the sacraments? Would you excommunicate me over not giving my penny a week for the poor?

What difference has learning all this made for your own ministry?

When I was a pastor, if you had come to me and said, I'm having trouble with my prayer life, I would have asked you what books you had read, and I would then have recommended the two best books that you hadn't read yet. The basis of my ministry was that knowledge leads to transformation.

Now, I would still ask what books you had read, but I would also ask, What are your prayer practices, and who are the people who taught you to pray, and how did they pray? And then, based on what I learn about your personality and your formative influences, I would seek to get you into the sphere of influence that matches your personality type, and into prayer practices that suit that personality type.

I would try to help you into the sphere of influence of living human guides, spiritual friends who can help you develop new ways to pray that suit the kind of person you are. I now understand Christian spiritual formation and discipleship to involve three interrelated dimensions: knowledge, experience, and a small group that can support me as I grow in grace and discover my place in the body of Christ.

Do we need structures that demand accountability?

No, I think we need structures that allow more voluntary accountability. Voluntary accountability is very important to me, because the difference between a cult and what I'm describing is exactly the issue of voluntary. It's not the church telling me I have to do this or else. As a seeker, I respond to the call of God when I am ready.

There are people who long to go deeper with God, and they don't have anybody to guide them. They can't find a group that's clear enough about the spiritual journey to say, "If you really want to connect with God, here's how you do it." In AA you have to have a mentor, but you also have to have a meeting. So where are the mentors, and where are the meetings? That's the key question for those who desire more of God, more of the life of the Spirit.

Copyright © 2003 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

A ready-to-download Bible Study on this article is available at ChristianBibleStudies.com. These unique Bible studies use articles from current issues of Christianity Today to prompt thought-provoking discussions in adult Sunday school classes or small groups.

The website for The Upper Room includes resources for small group ministry.

Christianity Today sister publication Christian History featured John and Charles Wesley in its Winter 2001 issue. Christian History marked John Wesley's 300th birthday with a column on how Wesley changed America.

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August 2003, Vol. 47, No. 8