Understand the Methodist Way — from the inside out

Maybe you've been sitting in a Methodist pew for years, singing Charles Wesley's hymns, taking communion at the open table, and sensing that there's a deep river of meaning running beneath the surface of every Sunday morning — but you've never quite had the map to find it.

Or perhaps you're newer to faith, or new to Methodism, and you want more than a pamphlet. You want to understand why Methodists believe what they believe, where those convictions came from, and how they connect to the choices you make from Monday through Saturday.

That's exactly why I built this course.

What drew me to Wesleyan theology wasn't just its intellectual richness — though it is extraordinarily rich, from the Quadrilateral's elegant method of doing theology to Wesley's breathtaking vision of a grace that reaches every human being before they even know to ask for it. What drew me was how livable it is. Wesley wasn't primarily a seminary professor; he was a pastor on horseback, a field preacher in the rain, a man who organized coal miners into accountability groups because he believed holiness was something you practiced in community, not just professed in private. That integration of deep doctrine and embodied discipleship is what I want to pass on.

I've tried to write this course the way a good mentor teaches: with enough scholarly rigor that you genuinely understand what you're learning, enough historical color that the past comes alive, and enough pastoral warmth that the whole thing connects to your actual life. We'll go from the Holy Club at Oxford all the way to the denominational headlines of today — and at every step, the question underneath the history is: What does this mean for how I follow Jesus?

Whether you're preparing to join a Methodist congregation, trying to make sense of a tradition you grew up in, or simply a Christian who wants a richer understanding of the church's living heritage, I want this to feel less like a course and more like a long, honest, encouraging conversation. Come as you are. Bring your questions. That's the Methodist way.