Wesley & Health Care

By Mark W. Wethington, Ph.D., President
Wesley Heritage Foundation, Inc.*

John and Charles Wesley understood that redemption is inclusive of all creation. This means that God desires the healing of the body and the spirit. For John Wesley healing includes physical, mental, and spiritual health.

For this reason John Wesley wrote Primitive Physic (1747). Wesley offers practical guidance for healthy living and treating illnesses. Wesley developed this medical guide because of his vast knowledge and interests in science and practical living. He did so because he understood that healing was an essential part of the ministry of Jesus Christ.

Wesley practiced his “practical medicine” and lived 87 years. Interestingly, what some physicians of Wesley’s time called “Wesleyan quackery” is considered by medical professionals today to be sound and worthy of consideration. Wesley was a pragmatic thinker who clearly saw the integral relationship between spiritual, physical, and mental health.

Out of the combination of his ministry and scientific study, Wesley was moved by the Spirit to establish free medical clinics for the poor. They served people who had little or no access to health care. Sound familiar?

It should sound very familiar when we consider the immoral and broken health care system of the United States in 2009. People who can afford health insurance enjoy a higher quality of life than those who can afford little or no access. These days we pray and hope for some kind of universal health care system that will give everyone access to quality, affordable care.

Five years ago, when pastor of a United Methodist Church in North Carolina, I and a retired physician in my congregation worked together to establish a free medical clinic for people who are uninsured and who live at or below 150% of the Federal Poverty Level. The clinic (Moore Free Care Clinic – www.moorefreecare.org) has grown to a patient registry of 2000 people with a waiting list of 300. The recession has accelerated the need. Some days as many as 12 people call the clinic asking to become new patients. The stories are heart-wrenching. Often tears pour out at the other end of the phone when they are told that we don’t have sufficient providers to take in new patients (we are dependent upon volunteer physicians).

The church’s ministry, theological education, and healing ministries have an essential interconnection. There are two ways the Wesley Heritage Foundation in recent times is seeking to draw together the Wesleyan emphasis upon piety and mercy.

First, we are grateful to Bishop Francisco Mendoza of the Methodist Church of Venezuela, who is translating Wesley’s Primitive Physic into Spanish. In a recent email exchange with him he wrote, “I am amazed to realize how advanced was the medical knowledge of John Wesley.” The Foundation hopes to have this translation available by early 2010.

Secondly, in the past year the WHF has established a Mercy Endowment. One way this endowment could be used is by assisting Methodist churches in Latin America to organize health care programs. We are engaged in some of these initiatives by taking the Moore Free Care Clinic “on the road” to Peru. Three medical teams have gone. Last year we took care of approximately 650 people in three days in a Methodist Church on the outskirts of Lima.

Here is just one example of Wesleyan connection between:

• a book of medical cures, Primitive Physic, published by John Wesley in 1747,
• the translation of this volume into Spanish, and
• the formation of medical teams out of North American UM churches that channel the grace of healing to our Latin American brothers and sisters.

Recommended Reading

Guide for Covenant Discipleship Groups
This is a basic resource for members of Covenant Discipleship Groups and those considering joining or starting a group.
Available from Discipleship Resources at www.UpperRoom.org/bookstore or (800) 972-0433 for $12.00.

Accountable Discipleship: Living in God's Household
This book focuses on pastoral leadership in the Wesleyan tradition. Those who read and study this book will be invited to discover their own ministry as pastoral leaders.
Available from Discipleship Resources at www.UpperRoom.org/bookstore or (800) 972-0433 for $13.00.

Opening Ourselves to Grace
This four-video, six-week Bible study presents a clear and contemporary understanding of Wesleyan spiritual practices.
Available from Discipleship Resources at www.UpperRoom.org/bookstore or (800) 972-0433 for $24.00.

Upcoming Events

WesleyanInstitute

October 22-24, 2009
Holman United Methodist Church
Los Angeles, CA
www.WesleyanInstitute.org

Recommended Reading

John 10:10 Challenge

The next 10 weeks represent a rare window of opportunity to provide health care for all people in the United States. We invite people of all faith to participate in the John 10:10 Challenge. Start a team challenge or invite others to join.
http://www.1010challenge.org/site/c.olIZIfNYJwE/b.5337789/k.C006/Home.htm

The United Methodist Way

This 20-minute Flash presentation shows how following John Wesley's rules in both doctrine and practice leads to transformed lives and a transformed world.
Download for use in your church

Covenant Discipleship web site:
www.gbod.org/smallgroup/cd

John Wesley’s Sermons
http://gbgm-umc.org/UMHISTORY/Wesley/sermons/

Duke Center for Studies in the Wesleyan Tradition
www.divinity.duke.edu/
wesleyan/texts/

Methodist Review: A Journal of Wesleyan and Methodist Studies
www.methodistreview.org