Full Tables, Closed Doors, Open Fields: The Changing Shape of Grace as American Methodists Move from Immigrant Society to Indigenous Church

John Wesley created an independent Methodist Church in 1784 in order to provide the sacraments to its members in America. The system created, however, did not seem to have the same understanding of the Lord's Supper that Wesley had, and it did not allow for the frequency to receive Communion that Wesley desired. Steven Bruns analyzes the writings of Wesley and those early Methodists involved in this process to discover what actually happened and why. In this book, Bruns looks at figures such as Francis Asbury, Freeborn Garrettson, Thomas Coke, William Waters, and many other leading figures of American Methodism to uncover their understanding of God's grace, the Lord's Supper, and the nature of the Church.

Steven David Bruns is the Chair of the Ministry and Theology Department at Central Christian College of Kansas. He is an ordained Elder in the Free Methodist Church.