John Wesley and the means of grace: An approach to Christian religious education

Educators within conservative Wesleyan denominations, including the Church of the Nazarene, need a Wesleyan approach to Christian religious education to offset the influence of American evangelicalism. Existing resources are dated or limited in addressing John Wesley's contributions to education.;Wesley's understanding of means of grace offers a rich approach to Christian religious education. The means of grace provide a strong theological and pedagogical framework leading toward an educational approach of formation, discernment and transformation.;Wesley emphasis on the means of grace emerges from his sacramental heritage, his controversy at Fetter Lane, and his ongoing emphasis on these practices during the Methodist Movement. Wesley's theological approach is anchored in his understanding of grace as a transformative relationship and his belief that this relationship can be known by gracious analogy for the sake of holiness of heart and life.;Wesley included enduring practices in the instituted means of grace (prayer, fasting, scripture, Eucharist, and Christian gatherings); these provide a framework for understanding the relationship between sacramental practice and educational "ways of knowing." Wesley's prudential means of grace offer an approach for discerning new educational practices, while acts of mercy encourage a broad understanding of transformation.;The dissertation opens with the contemporary problem in the Church of the Nazarene. The next three chapters include a detailed analysis of Wesley's educational thoughts and practices, revealing interpretive limitations that invite a new approach grounded in the means of grace.;Wesley's understanding and use of the means of grace is analyzed in relation to his personal and social context, especially his sacramental heritage. Specific practices reveal a relationship between sacramental thought and educational theory, including different ways of knowing God. The means of grace suggest three interactive approaches for organizing education: formation, discernment, and transformation. Formation socializes participants into Christian character, while discernment teaches participants to investigate and interpret God's activity within life. Transformation empowers participants actually to become means of grace, to live lives of holiness in order to transform the world at large.