Book Review: Wesley and the People Called Methodists

Information about the book

Richard P. Heitzenrater. Wesley and the People Called Methodists, Second Edition. Abingdon Press, Nashville. 2013.  Cokesbury. Amazon.

Summary

From the Amazon Description: This second edition of Richard P. Heitzenrater's groundbreaking survey of the Wesleyan movement is the story of the many people who contributed to the theology, organization, and mission of Methodism. This updated version addresses recent research from the past twenty years; includes an extensive bibliography; and fleshes out such topics as the means of grace; Conference: "Large" Minutes: Charles Wesley: Wesley and America; ordination; prison ministry; apostolic church; music; children; Susanna and Samuel Wesley; the Christian library; itinerancy; connectionalism; doctrinal standards; and John Wesley as historian, Oxford don, and preacher.

This book is a very detailed review of the early years (1700s) of Methodism. It focuses on John and Charles Wesley and the people and activities around them through Wesley's death.

Impressions

I read this book in preparation for the BeADisciple class Methodist Identity: Our Story.  I have found that my "investing" my reading time in a reference book related to the class that my experience of the class is greatly enhanced.  I read this one before the class started, over the summer months.  I found it to be very detailed, well organized, and actually, if not an easy read, then also not a difficult read.

I found the following aspects of the book to be particularly interesting:

1. The first section reviewed the English Reformation and the Church in England.  I have never considered how this would influence the development of Methodism and the Wesleys themselves. 
2. I was particularly interested in watching how Wesley's faith and viewpoint matured over his lifetime. It was definitely not a stagnant faith. It grew and matured.
3. John (and Charles) Wesley's idea that they weren't Christian until they experienced assurance of God's love and forgiveness was - well - a shocker.
4. I appreciated watching the dynamic of "will we or won't we" break away from the Anglican Church.
5. In general, reading about how Methodism grew and changed was very interesting to me.

I would recommend this book to someone who would like to take a deep dive into the origins on Methodism during John Wesley's life.

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