Discipline as Doctrine

If you've been a United Methodist very long, there's a good chance that you have been confronted with this quote from John Wesley:

“I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America. But I am afraid, lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power. And this undoubtedly will be the case, unless they hold fast both the doctrine, spirit, and discipline with which they first set out.”

This is the opening paragraph of a short piece titled “Thoughts Upon Methodism,” dated August 4, 1786. Just to put this in context, Wesley himself was 83 years old, and had been engaged almost every day for the past 48 years in preaching, teaching, discipling, and pastoring the Methodist movement across Great Britain. Just the week before he wrote this he oversaw the General Conference at Bristol. By Wesley's own account, “everything was transacted with great calmness; and we parted, as we met, in peace and love.”
You see, in spite of the tranquility of the conference, there had been some hints that they could have had some “warm debates.” There were those who wanted the organization to embrace new ideas, get with the times, step up and demand their place in the culture. They saw Wesley's age in the lines of his face, and some just couldn't hardly wait for their turn to be in charge. Wesley knew this, and it grieved him. As he continued to write out his thoughts upon Methodism, he he brought up how Methodists came to be Methodists, and then he closed:

“[Methodism] is only plain, scriptural religion, guarded by a few prudential regulations. The essence of it is holiness of heart and life; the circumstantials all point to this. And as long as they are joined together in the people called Methodists, no weapon formed against them shall prosper. But if even the circumstantial parts are despised, the essential will soon be lost. And if ever the essential parts should evaporate, what remains will be dung and dross.”

What was it that he saw as the key to Methodist success? What was the “doctrine, spirit, and discipline” that he found to be at the heart of the Methodist movement? Although “Thoughts Upon Methodism,” being a short piece, doesn't go very deep into the details, it does start us down the right path so we can flesh out the details of what he referred to as we peruse the depth of his Works.
He summed up the essence of the doctrine that gave life to Methodism as

“the Bible is the whole and sole rule both of Christian faith and practice. Hence they learned, (1.)That religion is an inward principle; that it is no other than the mind that was in Christ; or, in other words, the renewal of the soul after the image of God, in righteousness and true holiness. (2.)That this can never be wrought in us, but by the power of the Holy Ghost. (3.)That we receive this, and every other blessing, merely for the sake of Christ: And, (4.)That whosoever hath the mind that was in Christ, the same is our brother, and sister, and mother.” He then set the standards for the efficacious preaching of this doctrine could be summed up by a focus on “salvation by faith, preceded by repentance, and followed by holiness.”

However, it was the Methodist experience that the best preaching wasn't enough. It became obvious that there had to be a way to hold each Methodist accountable for changing the way they lived their lives in response to the preached message, so that holiness truly could be the result of being a part of this movement. Out of this came the Methodist structure of Societies and Classes. This, Wesley came to be convinced, was necessary in spite of the fact that there was nothing in the scriptures that required this structure. This insistence on that which he recognized as prudential, even if not instituted by the Scripture, was an important part of what he was referring to when he wrote about the “few prudential regulations” that “guarded” a “plain, scriptural religion” and created an environment that allowed it to flourish in a culture that despised religious fanaticism.
This understanding of the need for disciplined accountability in a Christian's life for the Gospel to truly be transformative was what Wesley feared would be set aside, leaving Methodists as a people who had “the form of religion without the power.” As one reads Wesley's sermons, one becomes aware that as much as he taught about Jesus and grace, about repentance and forgiveness, about our sin and Christ's atonement, was that he also taught about how none of that meant anything unless we were willing to be changed by it. And this sanctification was something that required a cooperative effort on our part; a willingness to order our lives in such a way as to be open to the guidance, teaching, and leading of the Holy Spirit. That there were prudent ways to hold ourselves and each other accountable for this cooperation, so as to make this work of the Holy Spirit something more than what God does to us; making it something God is doing with us, and what we do with God as we respond to His love.
The doctrine of the Methodist Movement wasn't just “salvation by faith, preceded by repentance, and followed by holiness.” It was a doctrine of prudential discipline, as well. It was this doctrine that formed a people that changed the world. It wasn't a statement about sexuality, or a resolution demanding that governments do right things. It was a people who lived out a personal discipline so as to be able to be used by God.
Anybody think we might have been getting it wrong for a while now?