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A Wesleyan Perspective on the Integration of Faith and Work Jason Wellman Jwellman16@Georgefox.Edu Masthead Logo Digital Commons @ George Fox University Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations 2-1-2019 My Daily Labor to Pursue: A Wesleyan Perspective on the Integration of Faith and Work Jason Wellman [email protected] This research is a product of the Doctor of Ministry (DMin) program at George Fox University. Find out more about the program. Recommended Citation Wellman, Jason, "My Daily Labor to Pursue: A Wesleyan Perspective on the Integration of Faith and Work" (2019). Doctor of Ministry. 297. https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/dmin/297 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Digital Commons @ George Fox University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctor of Ministry by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ George Fox University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. GEORGE FOX UNIVERSITY MY DAILY LABOR TO PURSUE: A WESLEYAN PERSPECTIVE ON THE INTEGRATION OF FAITH AND WORK A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF PORTLAND SEMINARY IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF MINISTRY BY JASON WELLMAN PORTLAND, OREGON FEBRUARY 2019 Portland Seminary George Fox University Portland, Oregon CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL ________________________________ DMin Dissertation ________________________________ This is to certify that the DMin Dissertation of Jason Wellman has been approved by the Dissertation Committee on February 14, 2019 for the degree of Doctor of Ministry in Leadership and Spiritual Formation Dissertation Committee: Primary Advisor: Kurtley Knight, DMin Secondary Advisor: Bo Sanders, PhD Lead Mentor: MaryKate Morse, PhD Copyright © 2019 by Jason Wellman All rights reserved All scripture quotations unless noted are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ii DEDICATION This is dedicated to Scioto Ridge United Methodist Church in Hilliard, OH and all who have experienced the transformational love of Jesus within the broad stream of Wesleyanism. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS To the congregation, Leadership Board, and staff of Scioto Ridge United Methodist Church, thank you for your constant support, encouragement, and prayers. You have sustained me along this journey. To the faculty of Portland Seminary, thank you for your guidance, prodding, and shaping me as a pastoral leader. Especially, thank you to Dr. MaryKate Morse for being a guide on my journey. Thank you to Rev. Dr. Kurtley Knight for your constant encouragement, and for reading, re-reading, and reading again of all my work. You have been a constant cheerleader. Thank you to the Leadership and Spiritual Formation Cohort for the remarkable journey. It’s been more formative than I could ever imagine. Especially, thank you to Chris Fillingham, Ken Van Vliet, and Mike Larson. You have become my anam caras. Thank you to Rochelle Dean and Susan Nash for your editing work. You have made me sound much smarter than I am. Thank you to Jim Heilman and Rev. Todd Richards for helping me think through the reflective questions and capturing the heart of our Wesleyan theology. Lastly, and most importantly, thank you to my family. To my wife, Sarah, I could not have completed this journey without your love, support, and willingness to tackle the demands of our family in my absence. I love you beyond words. To my kids, I missed some baseball games, school activities, a trick-or-treat, and many bedtimes. And yet, you always encouraged me and pushed me to keep going. Being called your father is the greatest title I have. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION .............................................................................................................. III ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................. IV ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................ VII CHAPTER ONE: RECAPTURING THE VOCATION OF THE LAITY: THE SACRED VS. SECULAR DEBATE ............................................................................................... 1 A Story ...................................................................................................................... 1 The Problem .............................................................................................................. 3 The Sacred vs. Secular Debate Throughout Church History ....................................... 6 Early Church and Middle Ages (100-1500) .......................................................... 8 The Reformation (1500-1800) ............................................................................ 13 Modernity (1800-1900) ...................................................................................... 16 Post-Modernity/Contemporary (1900 to Present) ............................................... 20 Summary ................................................................................................................. 22 CHAPTER TWO: WORK FROM A BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE................................ 24 Overview ................................................................................................................. 24 Difficulties in Establishing a Theological Definition of Work .................................. 25 The Importance of Work in Theological Development ........................................ 25 Problems with Defining Work ............................................................................ 26 The Dominant Presentations of Work: Protology, Ontology, and Pneumatology 32 Creation ................................................................................................................... 34 The Fall ................................................................................................................... 38 The Redemption of the World .................................................................................. 42 The In-breaking of the Kingdom .............................................................................. 45 A Definition of Work............................................................................................... 48 Summary ................................................................................................................. 48 CHAPTER THREE: DEVELOPING A WESLEYAN PERSPECTIVE OF WORK ..... 51 Overview ................................................................................................................. 51 Challenges in Wesleyan Theology ........................................................................... 52 A Practical, Integrative, and Participatory Theology ................................................ 55 Wesley and the Image of God .................................................................................. 61 The Natural Image and Work ............................................................................. 64 The Political Image and Work ............................................................................ 67 The Moral Image and Work ............................................................................... 70 An Analysis of Calvin’s Common Grace vs. Wesley’s Prevenient Grace ................. 72 Reflections on Wesleyan Theology for Integrating Faith and Work ......................... 80 Summary ................................................................................................................. 81 CHAPTER FOUR: TELEOLOGY, WORK, AND STEWARDSHIP ........................... 83 Overview ................................................................................................................. 83 Wesleyan Teleology ................................................................................................ 84 Holy Work—Love of God and Neighbor ................................................................. 86 Work as Stewardship ............................................................................................... 89 v Wesley’s Ethical Standards for Work....................................................................... 92 “The Use of Money”—A Sermon on Work.............................................................. 93 Gain All You Can ............................................................................................... 94 Save All You Can ............................................................................................. 100 Give All You Can ............................................................................................. 102 Reflections on the Teleological Nature of Work..................................................... 106 Summary ............................................................................................................... 107 CHAPTER FIVE: AN INTEGRATED LIFE: THE GENERAL RULES AND WESLEYAN FORMATION ....................................................................................... 108 Overview ............................................................................................................... 108 Spiritual Formation in the Wesleyan Tradition ....................................................... 109 The Society Meeting and the General Rules ........................................................... 112 Formation Through Class Meeting ......................................................................... 117 The Decline of the Class Meeting
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