A Blueprint for Discipleship: Wesley's General Rules as a Guide for Christian Living

Do no harm.
Do good.
Practice the spiritual disciplines.
Watch over one another in love.
--John Wesley's General Rules

Why is this so hard?

Does being a part of the Wesleyan tradition make any difference in living out your faith? Does Methodism offer guidance as we look to the future and seek renewal?

Methodist Christians sometimes exhibit the most unchristian attitudes and behavior. People notice. And it's reflecting badly on the church, but we can--individually and collectively--correct the problem.

Allow God to enter more deeply into your life until it's hard to tell where you end and God begins.

"Most American Christians are struggling to practice their faith," Watson writes. "…Methodists can hold on and try not to let our tradition die, but mere survival is not God's deepest desire for us or the church. Instead, we must choose to live by stubbornly depending on God's Spirit, allowing our lives to give witness to who Christ is."

A Blueprint for Discipleship offers a practical approach to Christian discipleship that's distinctly Wesleyan. Watson addresses the overwhelming desire of many Methodist Christians who want a more meaningful relationship with God but aren't sure how to start.

Reawaken to the power and vitality of your spiritual heritage. Repent of apathy and spiritual complacency to reclaim, in the words of Wesley, "the form and power of godliness."

Kevin M. Watson is the author of A Blueprint for Discipleship: Wesley's General Rules as a Guide for Christian Living and the co-author of Reclaiming the Wesleyan Tradition: John Wesley's Sermons for Today.  An ordained elder in the Oklahoma Conference of The United Methodist Church, he is finishing up his PhD in the History of Christianity and Wesleyan Studies at Southern Methodist University. His dissertation explores the role of small group formation in early Methodism.  Staring in the fall of 2011, Kevin will teach at Seattle Pacific University in the area of Historical Theology. Watson blogs at deeplycommitted.com