The Once and Future Wesleyan Movement

Jones argues that several unique factors remain available to The UnitedMethodist Church today from the period of rapid growth between 1800 and1840. Drawing on the image of Loren Mead’s Once and Future Church and Moises Naim’s analysis in The End of PowerJones argues that a viable future for United Methodism is to recapturethe dynamism of being a movement with many of the characteristics ofearly 19th century Methodism coming to the fore. It will draw on threekey works about Methodism in the first half of the 19th century: NathanHatch’s Democratization of American Christianity John Wigger’s Taking Heaven by Storm and Gregory Schneider’s The Way of the Cross Leads Home.. The book talks about how the Wesleyan form of church contains importantresources for the future of Christianity. It focuses on the UnitedStates and the first half is broadly applicable to all denominations inthe Wesleyan tradition. The last half of the book discusses obstaclesthat are currently preventing the United Methodist Church from achievingits potential. It closes with a hopeful vision of what a renewed UnitedMethodism might look like..