Our worship of Christ is essential in the ordering of life. Putting God first in all aspects and responding to His call must be the central focus of each Christian. When God is not glorified, a disordering occurs for the individual that ripples into society. In this chaotic and fallen state, creation worships itself or a distorted view of the Creator—the truth about God is traded for a lie. Thus, human desire gets fractured, “resulting in behaviors that elevate self-sovereignty, damage and objectify the other, and darken the path of human desire.”

Dr. Randy L. Maddox (RM), who is the William Kellon Quick Professor of Wesleyan and Methodist Studies at Duke Divinity School and a leading scholar on the life and work of John Wesley, sat down with Holiness Today to discuss John Wesley’s contribution to worship in the church.

We often teach that the “Reformation period” ended in the late 1700’s, as the separation of church and state became viewed as a powerful and preferred ideal within Western political imaginations and structures. Interestingly, however, there are some who include the Reformation as merely the first half of the current “Modern period.”1

It may seem a stretch to try to connect the sixteenth century English Reformation with the Wesleyan movement, but given John Wesley’s ministry as a priest within the Church of England and his vital role in the formation of the Wesleyan movement, the connection is stronger than some might think. The revival that swept up figures like John and Charles Wesley in the eighteenth century or even later Wesleyan figures like Francis Asbury, Phoebe Palmer, and H.

This year the Protestant world turns its face toward Wittenberg to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. Many voices participated in the events of those years roughly around 1500-1648.

“Oh, really?” is a common reply I hear when I tell another Catholic that this October will mark the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. They respond as if it’s something they are supposed to know, don’t, and aren’t sure whether to feel out of the loop or just curious about why I would even mention it. For many of us Catholics, the anniversary is not even on the radar.

The bestselling toy in the history of the German-based Playmobil toy company is Martin Luther. Putting Martin Luther on the market for the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation was quite an ingenious strategy. A great deal of   hype surrounds Martin Luther in Germany in 2017, including television specials, publications, and year-long events in various cities.

Reformation Before Luther

My computer often reminds me of important spiritual truths. For example, when it begins to respond sluggishly, erratically, or unreasonably, I perform a “System Restore” exercise that resets all operations to an earlier point in time. This reset button allows the computer to perform as it did before problems started.

Jacob Arminius (1559 – 1609) was a Dutch pastor and scholar who spent most of his career as a pastor in Amsterdam. He served as professor of theology at the University of Leiden for about 6 years before dying of tuberculosis in 1609.  His pastoral spirit and sensibilities cannot be overestimated and were clearly present throughout the entirety of his career, including his theological writings.