Discipleship in Three Dimensions: A Critical Examination of John Wesley’s Doctrine of Holiness and its Implications for Contemporary Small Group Discipleship

Abstract

Abstract This paper critically examines John Wesley’s understanding of holiness, and the system he created to encourage it, in order to begin to understand its implications for contemporary small group discipleship. First, it is argued that Wesley understood holiness primarily as a transformation of the affections that required response from the believer. Wesley’s discipleship system was designed to facilitate that response. The system itself is then analysed to determine how this process was intended to operate. Wesley’s model is then critiqued in light of small group theory and transformative learning theory. Finally, principles are advanced that could guide a church in adapting Wesley’s system for contemporary use. Throughout it is argued that Wesley’s model flourished because of a shared understanding of the Christian life and the provision of a complex ecology of groups. It is a model that, when adjusted and simplified, could provide significant benefits for the contemporary church.