Ebook
Are we Methodists ready for the work of God to be unleashed? Are we ready for Methodism to be the catalyst of yet another New Pentecost? God has decisively acted in Christ, and Christ says, "Do this." Therefore, there is only one real answer, since "not ready" is not a valid response. For United Methodism to be revived, there can be no more such excuses. Christ showed us his presence and power through Constant Word and Sacrament praxis during the time of the Acts 2 church. Christ then again showed us his same divine presence and power through Constant Word and Sacrament praxis during the Methodist-Evangelical Revival. We have now been given two millennia to view this work of God. We Methodists were born of this work of God. How much more being made ready to unleash it do we require?
“Jesus Christ speaks as the Word of God and works in Sacrament.
Therefore, the church’s clergy should be uncompromisingly committed
to Word and Sacrament ministry. Joe Stallings powerfully makes this
case by relying on Scripture, the church fathers, the Reformers,
the Wesleys, and many contemporaries. As a pastor, he refers to his
own ministerial experience, and he writes clearly for all. For
decades, the United Methodist Church and other churches have
feverishly tried every available means of renewal. Here Rev.
Stallings proposes that the church simply invite Jesus Christ into
its midst. What a novel idea.”
—Paul T. Stallsworth, pastor, Whiteville United Methodist Church,
Whiteville, North Carolina
“Dr. Joe Stallings is a United Methodist pastor committed to the
recovery of Wesleyan theology and the Wesleyan way of being the
church in the world. This book is an important step forward in that
recovery. While many UM pastors acknowledge John Wesley’s charge
for the people called Methodists to constantly celebrate the
Sacrament of Holy Communion, Joe has not only acknowledged it, but
put it into practice in his ministry. This work is a solid and
sound presentation of why a truly Wesleyan understanding of our
sacramental heritage necessitates not only the Word proclaimed, but
also the full recovery of the practice of Constant Communion in the
worship life of the church.”
—Allan R. Bevere, pastor, Ashland First United Methodist Church,
Ashland, Ohio; author of Who Is Jesus
“In recent times, many have lamented the spiritual and numerical
decline of the American connection of the United Methodist Church.
Just as many have proposed untenable solutions to the current
malaise. Many imagine that the UMC will be raised from the dead if
it aligns with the prevailing values of the secular society. In
Unleashing the Work of God, Joe Stallings properly analyzes
the problem and offers a surefire solution that will lead to
revitalization and a recapturing of our Wesleyan heritage. At its
core, Methodism is a revival movement that is fully dependent on
the constant use of Word and Sacrament. This is a must-read for
anyone who desires to awaken the sleeping giant that is the
American UMC.”
—William P. Payne, Professor of Evangelism and World Missions,
Ashland Theological Seminary; author of American Methodism: Past
and Future Growth
“Joe Stallings understands that worship is the central act of the
people of God, and that Scripture and Eucharist are the core of our
worship experience. He has made this the emphasis of his ministry
for years. His heart burns for a revival in the church through a
return to the centrality of Word and Table. Here are the means for
making disciples who will then go into the world in Jesus’ name as
salt, light, and leaven. This book is a textbook and a guidebook
for renewal.”
—Steve Harper, retired Professor of Spiritual Formation and Wesley
Studies, Asbury Theological Seminary
“Here is a book that takes us to the very heart of Wesleyan
renewal. If persons enter into a new life in Christ through the
power of the Holy Spirit, Joe Stallings argues, then constant word
and constant sacrament are as essential for us today as they were
for Wesley's movement. He is both a prophet calling the church to
reclaim its essential nature and a herald of good news that if we
do, the Spirit will renew us in the love revealed in Jesus Christ,
making us vibrant communities of faith and faithful participants in
God's mission. May we heed his exhortation and receive the promises
of God!”
—Henry H. Knight III, Professor of Wesleyan Studies and Evangelism,
Saint Paul School of Theology, Leawood, Kansas
“Pastor Joe Stallings makes a compelling case that renewal and
revival in the Wesleyan tradition requires consistent worship that
is deeply sacramental and faithfully balanced around word and
table: faithful preaching and teaching, and faithful and continuous
administration of the Lord's Supper.”
—Cliff Wall, pastor, Clarksbury United Methodist Church, Harmony,
North Carolina
“As Methodism was raised by God to ‘spread Scriptural holiness
(holiness in heart and life) throughout the land’ (John Wesley),
Joe Stallings urges his readers to return to the ‘simple focus’ of
making disciples and transforming the world, empowered by the
practice of the Wesleyan means of grace with constant Word and
Sacrament at its very center. This book is both practical and
prophetic.”
—Lorna Khoo, Methodist minister, Singapore; pioneering Director of
the Charles Wesley Heritage Centre in Bristol (UK); author of
Wesleyan Eucharistic Spirituality
“In an age when sacramental practice had gone cold in the Church of
England, the Lord's Table was at the very center of the revival led
by the Wesley brothers. We who seek revival today would do well to
heed the theological and pastoral wisdom of Joe Stallings and
re-center the Eucharist in the life of the church today.”
—Drew Mcintyre, pastor, Grace United Methodist Church, Greensboro,
North Carolina
“This book is filled with insights into one thoughtful pastor’s
spiritual journey and insights into the theological culture of
Wesleyan and Methodist life. Implicitly, Dr. Stallings shows that
Scripture, tradition, experience, and reason provide the resources
to understand why the Bible, the Lord’s Table, and the path of
Christian discipleship are inseparable means of God’s grace. He
emphasizes that if worship is constantly centered on Word and
Sacrament, grace abounds in disciplined Christian living. His book
celebrates the constant power of God’s grace in the past, with the
present, and for the future of the church, with great hope.”
—William B. Lawrence, Professor Emeritus of American Church
History, Southern Methodist University
“Methodism has always been a Word of God movement. Many do not
know, however, that it was birthed as a means of sacramental
renewal. Joe Stallings aptly challenges us that a full-bodied
Methodism is not possible apart from fully embracing evangelical
preaching of God’s Word coupled with constant Holy
Communion.”
—Richard Fitzgerald, pastor, Salina First United Methodist Church,
Salina, Kansas
W. Joseph Stallings is a devout Wesleyan theologian, a Christian
evidential apologist, and a longtime pastor in the North Carolina
Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. He is also the
author of The Genesis Column (2018).