Top Ten Wesleyan Books

I’ve been thinking about the influence John Wesley’s theology has on my life. Here is my list of books that have been most influential in shaping my understanding of Wesleyan theology.

I am not listing Wesley’s own writings on this list. I toyed with constructing a list of the top ten pieces of Wesley’s own writing. But I decided I’d set aside the primary material and list those books that have helped me interpret and make sense of Wesley’s often divergent and sometimes scattered thoughts.

I should also say that after the first book listed, the rest are not ranked in order of importance. So, here goes…

1. Responsible Grace: John Wesley’s Practical Theology, by Randy L. Maddox. This book has been the most influential book of all for helping me to think through Wesleyan theology. I use the book every year in my courses, and I often discover helpful ideas that I missed in previous readings.

2. Reasonable Enthusiast: John Wesley and the Rise of Methodism, by Henry D. Rack. This book introduced me to the historical elements of Wesley’s life and surroundings. It helped me to see the genius of Wesley’s ministry and how he responded to the culture in which he lived.

3. John Wesley, edited by Albert C. Outler. This book actually has a great deal of Wesley’s own writings in it.  But I included it on this list, because Outler does a wonderful job of introducing the material and giving readers a sense of the scope of Wesley’s theology.  Besides, it was one of the first books on Wesley’s theology that I read carefully.

4. A Theology of Love: The Dynamic of Wesleyanism, by Mildred Bangs Wynkoop.  To be honest, the material on John Wesley’s theology in this book is not very well written. But Wynkoop shows the powerful connection between John Wesley’s thought and the centrality of love for Christian theology. For this reason, the book has been influential.

5. God of Nature and of Grace: Reading the World in Wesleyan Ways, by Michael E. Lodahl. Lodahl weaves together lines from a Wesleyan hymn with his ruminations on issues of creation, science, and theology of nature. The result is inspiring, and the reading is enjoyable.

6. Grace and Responsibility: A Wesleyan Theology for Today, by John B. Cobb, Jr. I read this book as a doctoral student, and it provided a way to bring together some themes in process theology that I found helpful with themes in Wesley’s theology that I appreciated.

7. The Theology of John Wesley: Holy Love and the Shape of Grace, by Kenneth J. Collins. Ken’s book presents a strong argument for the superiority of Wesleyan theology in comparison to other theological options. And I like the way he concludes each chapter by relating Wesley’s material to contemporary issues.

8. Divine Grace and Emerging Creation: Wesleyan Forays in Science and Theology of Creation, edited by Thomas Jay Oord. While editing the chapters (of which I do not have a contribution), I realized how important Wesleyan theology is for the contemporary science and religion dialogue. More needs to be written, however.

9. Grace, Faith and Holiness: A Wesleyan Systematic Theology, by H. Ray Dunning. I read this book each year with my theology students, and I have been shaped by Dunning’s view of Wesleyan theology.  Over the years, I’ve come to disagree with Ray on some issues. But the book remains a largely persuasive effort to bring Wesleyan ideas into a coherent whole.

10. The Cambridge Companion to John Wesley, edited by Randy L. Maddox and Jason E. Vickers. I must admit that I haven’t read every entry in this companion.  But I find myself going to it often to peruse its essays on topics pertaining to Wesley’s thought and Wesleyan theology.