The Connection between Mission and Religious Experience in Australasian Methodism (original) (raw)
Throughout the twentieth century, Methodist religious experience shifted from a focus on radical disjunctions such as conversion and entire sanctification to a focus on members being nurtured through the agencies of the Church and the application of the Gospel to society. Revivalism was a widely adopted means during the nineteenth century but became less popular from the early twentieth century when it was replaced by a focus on more tightly controlled denominational agencies. The older revivalism was increasingly seen as a relic of the past unsuited to the newer status that Methodism had achieved as a modern and progressive Church. Though some mid-century Methodists were drawn to the Charismatic movement, the average churchgoer settled for a life of moral and civic uprightness, and the more activist Methodist was drawn to social engagement rather than a focus on revivals or intense personal devotion. This shift led to a lack of certainty about the mission of Methodism. When it was thought there was a “heaven to gain and a hell to shun” the mission of Methodists was clear – to rescue as many from the latter as possible. When such certainties were questioned or rejected altogether the mission of the Methodist Church became less clear and competing ideas of mission began to emerge leading to a lack of clarity about Methodism’s mission. In light of declining membership in Methodist and Uniting Churches the recovery of missional clarity is crucial to the survival of this ecclesial tradition.
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