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What can Wesleyans offer to ease economic anxiety? Robin Russell, Mar 20, 2009
UMNS PHOTO REPRODUCED WITH PERMISSION FROM THE METHODIST COLLECTION OF DREW UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
Methodism founder John Wesley
By Robin Russell Managing Editor
When times get tough, faith should matter. So how does Wesleyan theology provide some measure of comfort to people who believe in God but who are nevertheless anxious about grim economic news?
If you’re a Calvinist—who believes in the complete sovereignty of God, even when bad things happen—you might have an easier time coming up with answers. Obviously God meant for all this to happen, and for a good reason, right?
But what do Arminians, who see God as not all-controlling when it comes to human activity, bring to the mix? What might a Wesleyan pastoral response look like, for United Methodists who may be having trouble sleeping at night?
For one thing, Calvinists and Arminians can agree that God is in control, says Ted Campbell, an associate professor of church history at Perkins School of Theology at SMU in Dallas.
“We can trust God’s care and providence, despite differences about predestination and pre-determination,” he said. “Divine grace is always available—on the Wesleyan view, universally available!”
Andrew Thompson, a student at Duke Divinity School (and the “Gen-X Rising” columnist for the Reporter), agreed, saying that while Wesleyan Arminians would differ with John Calvin’s teachings on the issue of election, they claim “just as high a view of God’s sovereignty as Calvinists.”
“God is the Lord of creation, and all things will be brought to fulfillment by Him,
Mr. Thompson said. “This is not the static fatalism of Calvinist predestinarianism, but rather a hope-filled reliance on the constant and dynamic work of the Holy Spirit in our individual lives and in the midst of the church.”
What’s more, he said, Wesleyans believe in a strong doctrine of assurance—based on Romans 8:16: “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.”
Mr. Thompson concludes: “So when it comes to needing to find solace in the trials and anxieties of life, we rely on the power and presence of the Holy Spirit—who is, after all, the one who ‘makes intercessions for us with sighs too deep for words’ (Romans 8:26).
That biblical chapter was also cited by the denomination’s episcopal and agency leaders in an “open letter to United Methodists,” along with verses from the Old Testament psalms and prophets, including Isaiah 41:10.
“To the Israelites, having lost everything and living in exile,” they wrote, “God offered assurance: ‘Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you.’”
Signed by Bishops Gregory Palmer and John Hopkins, and Table of General Secretaries Chair Neil Anderson, the letter also reminded United Methodists that, “our faith does not rise and fall with the financial markets but resides in the enduring love of God who is present with us as we struggle and strive to love God and our neighbors. . . . At all times, but especially in fearful and dangerous days, we followers of Jesus are called to live in hope and in the assurance that God is present with us.”
And, in good Methodist fashion, they also urged church members to continue practicing the Wesleyan values: Do no harm, do good and stay in love with God.
Dr. Ken Carter, senior pastor of Providence UMC in Charlotte, N.C., cites another United Methodist resource that has provided encouragement for him this Lent. He’s been reading the book Cultivating Fruitfulness, a study guide to Bishop Robert Schnase’s popular book, Five Practices of a Fruitful Congregation.
He especially recommends the section “What do people need from the church?” where Bishop Schnase writes: “People need to know that God loves them, that they are of supreme value, and that their life has significance.
“People need to know that they are not alone; that when they face life’s difficulties, they are surrounded by a community of grace; and that they do not have to figure out entirely for themselves how to cope with family tensions, self-doubts, periods of despair, economic reversal, and the temptations that hurt themselves or others.
“People need to know the peace that runs deeper than an absence of conflict, the hope that sustains them even through the most painful periods of grief, the sense of belonging that blesses them and stretches them and lifts them out of their own preoccupations. People need to learn how to offer and accept forgiveness, and how to serve and be served.”
In seeking their own spiritual comfort, United Methodists should remember to also strive for social and economic justice for others, says William J. Abraham, Albert Cook Outler Professor of Wesley Studies at Perkins.
“The way to deal with a grim economy is to put in place fiscal and economic policies that have a real chance of fixing it!” Dr. Abraham said. Calvinists and Arminians alike should not “expect the ends without the relevant means,” he added. “Otherwise our pieties and theologies are forms of escapism.”
For Dr. Campbell, the troubled economy prompted him to remember sermons given by Dr. Leighton Farrell, former pastor at Highland Park UMC in Dallas, who urged United Methodists to completely entrust their finances to God.
“The thing that amazed us week after week in this very affluent congregation was that his sermons on money and stewardship were so utterly uncompromising,” Dr. Campbell recalled. “The basic idea was: You owe God everything. Ten percent of your money or an hour of your time every week won’t do. God wants you, all of you, and that demands 100 percent loyalty.
“We have to figure out how we’re going to offer that to God, but Dr. Farrell’s messages allowed no compromises, no deals, no percentages, no excuses. I saw in his messages the idea of entire sanctification, entire dedication to God.”
United Methodists could even become a model for others of sound economic practice, Dr. Campbell said. Wesleyans in the 18th century, he pointed out, established a kind of “mini-economy” of their own, and the church’s General Rules (1743) support this by stating that Methodist people should “prefer” each other in doing business.
“One could make the case that our economies are very bloated today—including our church and home economies,” Dr. Campbell said. “How could we create simpler church and home economies that hold the gospel and our most central commitments at the center of everything we do?
“Could the financial crisis force us to ask what is most important to us?”
UMNS PHOTO REPRODUCED WITH PERMISSION FROM THE METHODIST COLLECTION OF DREW UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
Mr. Thompson concludes: “So when it comes to needing to find solace in the trials and anxieties of life, we rely on the power and presence of the Holy Spirit—who is, after all, the one who ‘makes intercessions for us with sighs too deep for words’ (Romans 8:26). 
