Five Means of Grace: Leader Guide: Experience God's Love the Wesleyan Way (Wesley Discipleship Path Series) - Softcover

Heath, Elaine A.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1501835556 ISBN 13: 9781501835551

Publisher: Abingdon Press, 2017

Synopsis

John Wesley gave the Methodist movement (and all Christians in general) a discipleship pathway to follow. Wesley began with Three Simple Rules (or "General Rules"), and followed this instruction a year later with the Five Marks of a Methodist (or "Character of a Methodist"). Wesley observed the need for continuous renewal of relationships with God and others, so he established a recurring annual process for God's people to make One Faithful Promise: The Wesleyan Covenant for Renewal. The study by Heath turns to the practices at the center of Wesley's understanding of spiritual growth: the means of grace.

This book/study guides readers through the five means of grace that John Wesley called "instituted," meaning these are spiritual practices in which Jesus himself participated and which he encouraged his followers to do. One of the beautiful aspects of Wesley's theology is that spiritual practices are seamlessly integrated with practices of loving our neighbors well. This is why Wesley said there is no holiness but social holiness. A life of genuine prayer inevitably leads to a life of hospitality, mercy, and justice.

Through this book/study participants will consider how each of the five means of grace help us as communities of faith to pray more deeply and live more missionally as followers of Jesus Christ. These means are the ordinary channels that God uses to draw us into a fruitful relationship. These five means or channels are:

1. Prayer
2. Searching Scripture
3. Receiving the Lord's Supper
4. Fasting
5. Conferencing (communion, fellowship)

About this title

About the Author

Elaine A. Heath is visiting Professor of Evangelism, Nazarene Theological Seminary. Her scholarly work is interdisciplinary, integrating pastoral, biblical, and spiritual theology in ways that bridge the gap between academy, church, and world. Her current research interests focus on community as a means of healing trauma, emergent forms of Christianity, and alternative forms of theological education for the church in rapidly changing contexts.

Heath is the author of numerous books and articles, the most recent of which is Healing the Wounds of Sexual Abuse: Reading the Bible with Survivors (2019), a republication with updates of a previous volume: We Were the Least of These: Reading the Bible with Survivors of Sexual Abuse (2011). Her other publications include Five Means of Grace: Experience God's Love the Wesleyan Way (2017), The Mystic Way of Evangelism, Revised and Updated 2nd Edition (2017), God Unbound: Wisdom from Galatians for the Anxious Church (2016), Missional.Monastic.Mainline (co-authored with Larry Duggins, 2014), Longing for Spring: A New Vision for Wesleyan Communities (co-authored with Scott Kisker, 2010), and Naked Faith: The Mystical Theology of Phoebe Palmer (2009).

Heath's vocational journey includes having served as Dean of the Divinity School at Duke University, and the McCreless Professor of Evangelism at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University. She is a pioneer in new forms of theological education. In that capacity Heath is co-founder of the Missional Wisdom Foundation, a non-profit educational organization that equips clergy and laity to develop diverse forms of Christian community and social enterprise. Most recently she co-founded Neighborhood Seminary, a contextualized model of missional theological education for laity. Heath is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church and served in pastoral ministry prior to her academic ministry. She lives with her husband at Spring Forest, an intentional Christian Community and farm in rural North Carolina where she serves as Abbess.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Five Means of Grace: Leader Guide

Experience God's Love the Wesleyan Way

By Elaine A. Heath

Abingdon Press

Copyright © 2017 Abingdon Press
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-5018-3555-1

Contents

How to Use This Leader Guide, 
Session 1 The Means of Grace Are Spiritual Practices, 
Session 2 One: Prayer, 
Session 3 Two: Searching the Scriptures, 
Session 4 Three: The Lord's Supper, 
Session 5 Four: Fasting, 
Session 6 Five: Christian Conferencing, 
Appendix: Five Means of Grace, 
The Means of Grace Are Spiritual Practices, 
1. Prayer, 
2. Searching the Scriptures, 
3. The Lord's Supper, 
4. Fasting, 
5. Christian Conferencing, 
Notes to the Appendix, 

CHAPTER 1

Session 1

The Means of Grace Are Spiritual Practices

INTRODUCTION

A prodigy is someone with extraordinary talent who seems to instantly pick up a skill or craft that takes others a long time to learn or master. However, even prodigies realize they need to practice, and most people have also experienced what it means to learn a set of practices in order to do a job, play a musical instrument, or enjoy a sport.

Grace in Christian language is properly understood as an unmerited gift from God, freely available to all despite our human shortcomings and flaws. Nothing we can do or say will earn God's faithful love and grace. Yet to stay in love with God — "to attend to God's ordinances" — John Wesley taught all Christians that five practices are indispensable channels for experiencing (not earning) God's grace.

This opening session will help your class

1. explore the concept of grace and why it is a foundational topic for spiritual growth;

2. offer initial impressions of the five means of grace as a baseline for understanding; and

3. commit together to create an environment of support, prayer, and trust.

GATHERING (5 Minutes)

Invite participants to listen as you read aloud the following lines from Charles Wesley's twenty-three-stanza hymn "The Means of Grace." Invite students to reflect silently on the words for two minutes. After the silence, have them turn to a person next to them to share what words, phrases, or ideas resonate with them.

Long have I seemed to serve you, Lord,
  with unavailing pain;
Fasted and prayed and read your word,
  and heard it preached in vain.

Oft did I with your assembly join,
  and near your altar drew;
A form of godliness was mine,
  the power I never knew.

To please you thus, at length I see,
  vainly I hoped and strove:
For what are outward things to you,
  unless they spring from love?

(A Collection of Hymns for the Use of the People Called Methodists, no. 91, adapted)

This hymn was written in 1740 as a response to a few early Methodists who questioned the value of worship, Holy Communion, and other means of grace for stimulating or deepening Christian faith. Ask a participant to open the session with a word of prayer.

REFLECTIONS ON THE READING (10 Minutes)

Have the class brainstorm a list of the kinds of groups they are involved in outside the church. That list might include civic organizations, service clubs, recreational sports leagues, work teams, and so on. After the class has come up with that list, have them explore more deeply one or two of the groups on the list. Write up a list of practices that are necessary for each member of the group. For example, for a sports team practices might include "eye-hand coordination" or "blocking and tackling."

As a class, have everyone reflect on the question, "How does being part of a group shape the practices for the individual members of that group?" Then make the connection to the Christian church. Tell the class that for Methodists there are five means of grace (or five channels for God's grace) that help Christians stay in love with God:

1. Prayer

2. Searching the Scriptures

3. The Lord's Supper

4. Fasting

5. Christian Conferencing

VIDEO SEGMENT (15 Minutes)

Video segment featuring Elaine A. Heath, author of Five Means of Grace, in conversation with theology professor Joerg Rieger.

VIDEO DISCUSSION QUESTIONS (10 Minutes)

1. What did you hear? Do you have any stories from your childhood or youth in which someone became God's grace to you? Were these mountaintop experiences or everyday graces?

2. If spiritual practices (prayer, searching the Scriptures, the Lord's Supper, fasting, and Christian conferencing) are really about nurturing our relationship with God, then what are some ways we can be open to the Holy Spirit when we do these things?

3. When we open up to God we discover God's heart for the world. What are some of the real places grace might be sending you and your church?

4. What would a new encounter with God over the next six weeks mean in your life? Your friends' and family's lives?

THE JOURNEY AHEAD (10 Minutes)

A. The Five Means

Have the class refer again to the list of five means of grace that will guide these sessions ahead. As a group, discuss each of the five means, and ask people to share their initial understanding of what that channel means for experiencing God's grace.

• What does it mean, for example, to pray?

• Why is this one of the five identified as important or indispensable?

• What questions do you have about this means of grace?

B. Experiencing God's Love in This Group

Together, come up with a list of ground rules that will define this group's time together. What can participants expect from each other in relation to each of the following commitments:

• being prepared for each session

• listening and contributing to each session

• honoring differences

• resolving conflict

• encouraging honesty and protecting confidentiality

• praying for each other

• being punctual and honoring each other's time

• creating an atmosphere of joy, love, and laughter

After the class comes up with these shared values, have the list printed and displayed for all future sessions. Class members might even choose to sign the list to ritually commit to sharing those values.

LOOKING AHEAD AND CLOSING PRAYER (5 Minutes)

Have the class share joys and prayer concerns, and invite them to be in prayer for each other over the upcoming week. Invite someone to close in prayer.

CHAPTER 2

Session 2

One: Prayer

INTRODUCTION

Prayer is an indispensable means for experiencing God's love. John Wesley includes it in his other foundational teachings about the three simple rules for Methodists, the five characteristics or marks of a Methodist, and the faithful covenant promise that can restore and refresh a dry spirit. Apart from regular communication with God, personally and corporately, it's not possible to sustain a relationship.

This session will help your class

1. start with prayer rather than doctrine, because prayer is involved in every means of grace;

2. learn why prayer and vulnerability are necessary to persist through inevitable suffering; and

3. discover creative prayer resources.

GATHERING (5 Minutes)

Invite participants to read in unison from Psalm 130:1-2 (CEB):

I cry out to you from the depths, Lord —
  my Lord, listen to my voice!
    Let your ears pay close attention to my request for mercy!

Invite students to reflect silently on those words for a minute. Then read the following stanza of a poem Charles Wesley wrote in 1739 on the psalmist's cry for help, which is a lament:

Out of the depth of self-despair,
  To thee, O Lord, I cry;
My misery mark, attend my prayer,
  And bring salvation nigh.

(A Collection of Hymns for the Use of the People Called Methodists, no. 768)

Ask a participant to open the session with a word of prayer for someone or some people who are facing very deep trouble in our world.

REFLECTIONS ON THE READING (10 Minutes)

Tell participants that prayer is "gazing into the face of Jesus who gazes back with infinite love." Elaine Heath reminds us that it's not possible for God to lose or diminish God's love for each of us. But we can safely let down our guard — a guard that keeps God at a distance — through vulnerability, trust, and honesty. "Prayer is the very breath of God, breathing life into us, opening us to who God is, to who we are, and to this world that God loves."

Invite the class to work together to come up with a list of various types of prayer. Guide the class to think about descriptors such as "lament" (or "cry for help"), "thanksgiving," "praise," "intercession," and so forth.

VIDEO SEGMENT (15 Minutes)

Video segment featuring Elaine A. Heath, author of Five Means of Grace, in conversation with theology professor Joerg Rieger.

VIDEO DISCUSSION QUESTIONS (10 Minutes)

1. Recall the advice of Elaine Heath's mentor: Don't teach new believers doctrine — first teach them how to pray [and] as they experience that love over time they will have what they need to discern good and bad theology. Do you agree? Why or why not? How might prayer give access to things "deeper" than doctrine?

2. In addition to listening for God's voice in Scripture and hymns, Joerg and Elaine say that prayer is listening to God's voice in the experiences of those who suffer oppression and deprivation. How is Jesus's heart, experience, and call found in the cries of those who suffer (see Matt 25:31-46)?

3. Is there a connection between being honest — telling the truth in prayer — and aligning ourselves with God and God's mission/work in the world? How are the Psalms a good example of this kind of real-world honesty?

4. Heath and Rieger discuss prayer as a struggle to know God and recognize what God wants us to do. How can prayer be a part of a shared struggle to see what is true and how God wants us to live and love?

REFLECTIONS ON SCRIPTURE (10 Minutes)

Invite the class to recite the Lord's Prayer, and then read aloud the version from the Common English Bible in Matthew 6:9-13:

Our Father who is in heaven,
uphold the holiness of your name.
Bring in your kingdom
so that your will is done on earth as it's done in heaven.
Give us the bread we need for today.
Forgive us for the ways we have wronged you,
just as we also forgive those who have wronged us.
And don't lead us into temptation,
but rescue us from the evil one.

Have the class reflect together on barriers that prevent us from praying. What barriers are the most difficult to overcome? Ask, "Do you tend to practice one kind of prayer? What are some resources that might introduce you to other creative forms of communication with God?" (If possible, bring some examples of prayer helps, such as hymnals, books of prayers, devotional guides, daily orders for morning and evening prayer, and so forth.)

LOOKING AHEAD AND CLOSING PRAYER (5 Minutes)

Have the class share joys and prayer concerns, and invite them to be in prayer for each other over the coming week. Have each person choose someone in the group to pray for during the next week. Don't identify the person in class, but encourage each participant to bring a brief note next week to give to the person held up in prayer. So that nobody is left out, the leader should pray by name and bring a note for each person in the group. Invite someone to close this session in prayer.

CHAPTER 3

Session 3

Two: Searching the Scriptures

INTRODUCTION

Reading the Bible is for the explicit purpose of Christian transformation. Scripture tells us that we need to change our hearts and lives (the Greek concept metanoia). The stories, prayers, and commandments show us how this transformation happens over and over again.

Especially during a crisis, a well-formed Christian instinctively turns to Scripture for grace, wisdom, and guidance. This session will help your class determine

1. the conditions under which a person can "search the Scriptures" and encounter therein the living God;

2. apparent obstacles to seeing and hearing God through Scripture when we do read the Bible; and

3. how one goes about reading the Bible so that scriptures come to mind helpfully when we need them.

GATHERING (5 Minutes)

Charles Wesley's hymns and poems drew from thousands of images and phrases in Scripture. Invite participants to suggest favorite hymns or praise songs that draw directly from Scripture.

Ask a participant to open the session with a word of prayer or, if courageous, sing together the first stanza of "And Can It Be that I Should Gain" by Charles Wesley (The United Methodist Hymnal, no. 363).

And can it be that I should gain
  an interest in the Savior's blood!
Died he for me? who caused his pain!
  For me? who him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be,
  that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
Amazing love! How can it be
  that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

REFLECTIONS ON THE READING (10 Minutes)

Invite participants to share an experience when a passage from Scripture or a sermon on a Bible passage changed their heart or mind about a particular problem or crisis. Look for examples of comfort as well as an encounter with the living and awesome God.

Next invite participants who are willing to share how the Bible was or can be used inappropriately to judge or oppress the faith of others. Acknowledge that the Bible is sometimes used as a weapon to cause harm, but steer the conversation toward the right ways to search the Scriptures so that God's grace is experienced through love. Before playing the video, briefly discuss the following questions:

1. If reading the Bible is a means of grace, how often should a Christian search the Scriptures?

2. What are some annoying barriers that get in the way of searching the Scriptures?

VIDEO SEGMENT (15 Minutes)

Video segment featuring Elaine A. Heath, author of Five Means of Grace, in conversation with theology professor Joerg Rieger.

VIDEO DISCUSSION QUESTIONS (10

Minutes)

1. Has the Bible been a go-to place to recognize God's call for you? What do you think about the "four scopes" strategy for searching the Scriptures?

2. What might be obstacles to seeing and hearing God through Scripture when we do read the Bible?

3. How can reading the Bible together help us experience grace and realign our lives with God's purposes?

REFLECTIONS ON SCRIPTURE (10 Minutes)

Use the steps of Lectio Divina (repeated and adapted here from pp. 31–33 in Five Means of Grace) to pray, that is search, the Scriptures with John 5:1-15. Read the text aloud to the group more than once and share with each other what you experience.

Lectio Divina has four movements, which don't always follow in the sequence set forth below. The reading is done with an orientation toward listening to the Holy Spirit who may speak through the text. This principle is in keeping with the Confession that guided Wesley, that the Bible reveals the word of God. To prepare for reading one should quiet oneself and open one's heart to the Holy Spirit in readiness for whatever may be given. The intention is to hear whatever the Holy Spirit may say through the text and to pray with it and then live into it in whatever ways God asks.

Reading is the first movement. Read through John 5:1-15 slowly, at least twice. As the reader moves slowly in a listening manner through the text, he or she may sense a phrase, word, sentence, or concept emerging from the text, drawing the reader's attention. At that point the reader should pause. As Wesley instructs in his preface to the Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament, the pause allows the text to examine the reader.

This pause is the second movement of Lectio: meditation. In this part, the reader reflects on the word, image, or phrase that surfaced from the reading. It is time for a deeper listening to what God wants to share from that word. What and how a reader experiences meditation upon the text is unique to each person and to each passage of scripture.

Once the reader has experienced the emergence of the Word from the text and has paused to allow the Word to speak in some way, he or she is ready for the third movement of Lectio, which is prayer. This step is much like Wesley's instructions to allow the biblical text to search one's heart and to comfort, convict, challenge, or instruct the reader in the way of holiness. The reader begins to pray with whatever was revealed from the text during meditation.

The ongoing commitment to live what's been revealed, as a response to God's love and grace, is the fourth movement of Lectio, which is contemplation. This process is also consistent with Wesley's instructions to immediately put into practice whatever is given to us as we read the Bible. Contemplation means that I will consciously think and pray along these lines, look for the opportunity that will surely arise, and act upon that opportunity with God's help.

LOOKING AHEAD AND CLOSING PRAYER (5 Minutes)

Have the class share joys and prayer concerns, and invite them to be in prayer for each other over the coming week. Invite someone to close in prayer or read a few verses from Psalm 119.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Five Means of Grace: Leader Guide by Elaine A. Heath. Copyright © 2017 Abingdon Press. Excerpted by permission of Abingdon Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Edition details

• Publisher: Abingdon Press
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1501835556
• ISBN 13: 9781501835551
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 80