Book Review
The Soul of Methodism: The Class Meeting in Early New York City Methodism by Philip F. Hardt
(Lantham, MD: University Press of America, 2000)
reviewed by Steven W. Manskar, Director of Accountable Discipleship, General Board of Discipleship

In The Soul of Methodism (available from Cokesbury), Philip Hardt provides an excellent glimpse of the rise and subsequent decline of the Methodist class meeting in New York City. He examines the history and development of the class meeting in both England and America. Hardt concisely analyzes the role of the class meeting in Methodist spirituality and discipleship. This is a useful book for pastors and lay leaders who are interested in learning about the roots of the Methodist movement.

Hardt is correct in calling the class meeting the "soul of Methodism." Those small groups of women and men provided catechesis, pastoral support, and accountability for Christian formation among the Methodists for nearly 150 years. For the first century of the movement's history, every Methodist was expected to meet weekly in his or her class. The classes were originally intended to be small groups that were led by a lay leader. The leaders were responsible and respected men and women who exhibited maturity in Christian faith. They were responsible for the Christian formation of their peers, who were often assigned to them according to where they lived. These small group meetings included prayer, hymn singing, Bible study, and accountability for Christian discipleship. They were the place where Christian faith was learned and people received the support they needed to help them live out their faith in daily life. The class meeting and the class leaders provided the day-to-day pastoral care and support that enabled the system of traveling preachers, or circuit riders, to thrive and spread across the American frontier.

Hardt gives an excellent analysis of the reasons for the decline and ultimate demise of the class meeting in the predominantly white Methodist Episcopal Church of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. (It is important to note that the class meeting and class leaders, although they have declined, have never completely disappeared from the predominantly African American Methodist churches.) Some of the reasons for the decline were the gradual increase in class size, the difficulty in finding qualified and willing leaders, and the movement of Methodism in America from a "sect" to a church. Hardt's analysis is worth reading.

Finally, in his last chapter, Hardt offers some thoughts on how the class meeting can be "retraditioned" for today. He offers some good ideas about the need to reclaim Wesley's vision for Methodists of today and the important role of small groups in Christian formation. However, Hardt neglects to say anything about Covenant Discipleship groups. These are small groups for mutual accountability and support for Christian discipleship modeled after the Methodist class meeting. They have been developed and resourced by the General Board of Discipleship since 1985. Given the topic and purpose of the book, Hardt's neglecting to mention the contribution of Covenant Discipleship groups to helping churches reclaim Wesley's vision for mission and ministry today is a significant omission.

The Soul of Methodism by Philip Hardt is a worthy contribution to the church. Reading it will help pastors and lay leaders appreciate the importance of the class meeting to the development of The United Methodist Church. It will also help readers catch a vision for "retraditioning" the class meeting for the church today.

posted 3-6-02