Thank you for the compliment. I think that is a really important distinction. Wesley’s approach seems most powerful when it kept Christ at the center and helped people actually live their faith out in everyday life. I feel that it made discipleship feel real and practical, not just something you believe or talk about on Sunday.
I also agree with your point about legalism. It tends to show up when the focus shifts from belonging to Christ to just belonging to the group. When that happens, it is easy for the heart of it to get lost, and what was meant to help people grow can turn into something more about performance or fitting in. That's something history has shown over and over again.
A friend of mine and I were talking recently about the difference between just believing in Jesus and actually living as His disciple. Someone can go to church, say all the right things, and still stay on the surface, just checking the box. But a disciple is someone who is trying to build their life around Jesus and let that shape how they live, how they treat people, and how they share their faith with others. We see a lot of disciples being made in the Recovery Church.
That is what I think Wesley was really getting at too. Not just people who show up, but people whose lives are genuinely being changed and who naturally pass that on to others.
I also agree with your point about legalism. It tends to show up when the focus shifts from belonging to Christ to just belonging to the group. When that happens, it is easy for the heart of it to get lost, and what was meant to help people grow can turn into something more about performance or fitting in. That's something history has shown over and over again.
A friend of mine and I were talking recently about the difference between just believing in Jesus and actually living as His disciple. Someone can go to church, say all the right things, and still stay on the surface, just checking the box. But a disciple is someone who is trying to build their life around Jesus and let that shape how they live, how they treat people, and how they share their faith with others. We see a lot of disciples being made in the Recovery Church.
That is what I think Wesley was really getting at too. Not just people who show up, but people whose lives are genuinely being changed and who naturally pass that on to others.