This year Methodists around the world will be celebrating the three-hundredth anniversary of John Wesley's birth. That celebration will inevitably inspire reflection on some of his many contributions to Methodism. The Covenant Discipleship Quarterly is a testament to one of the greatest; namely, his understanding of Christian formation and the important part that a covenant-based accountability plays in it. But we have a legacy of Covenant Discipleship, not just because of Wesley's leadership. It is also due largely to the work of one of the unsung heroes of early Methodism — the class leader.

In fact, it is pretty safe to say that if there had been no class leaders, there might not have been any Methodist classes. Wesley once remarked, "In the Methodist discipline, the wheels regularly stand thus: The Assistant, the Preachers, the Stewards, the Leaders, the people" (Works III:428). The "Leaders" were the men and women who had the regular and personal contact with the people. It was their task to see where and how others lived. Their duties are still contained in "The General Rules" as found in the Discipline.[See www.umc.org/churchlibrary/discipline/doctrinalstandards/doctrinal_standards.htm.] It is [the class leader's] duty:

1. To see each person in his [or her] class once a week, at least, in order:

(1) to inquire how their souls prosper;
(2) to advise, reprove, comfort or exhort, as occasion may require;
(3) to receive what they are willing to give toward the relief of the preachers, church, and poor.

2. To meet the ministers and the stewards of the society once a week, in order:

(1) to inform the minister of any that are sick, or of any that walk disorderly and will not be reproved;
(2) to pay the stewards what they have received of their several classes in the week preceding.

From these "General Rules," Wesley saw three main duties for the class leaders:

• They were to meet with the class to encourage spiritual accountability.
• They were to receive the contributions of class members to help meet the needs of the Society and its ministry among the poor.
• They were also expected to visit the sick.

It is not uncommon for some churches to continue to use the leader model for carrying out annual stewardship campaigns. We often carve up our membership roll into geographic areas and ask a "leader" to solicit pledges.

Class leaders were also expected to visit the sick. Not only were the laity responsible for holding one another accountable for their discipleship, but they also were responsible for the work of pastoral care and for holding one another accountable for their stewardship.

In 1786, in the eighty-third year of his life, Wesley wrote a sermon "On Visiting the Sick." It seems as if it were written specifically to guide class leaders in this duty. In the sermon, Wesely talks about the "the means of grace" and the "ordinances of God." He continues to talk about "works of piety" and "works of mercy," familiar terms to those exposed to the General Rule of Covenant Discipleship. Wesley saw visiting the sick as a work of mercy, and he believed that works of mercy were essential to our Christian formation.

Wesley considered the sick to be all those who were "in a state of affliction, whether of mind or body; and that whether they are good or bad, whether they fear God or not." The sick were people in need. He considered visiting the sick to be more involved that just simply sending assistance. It involved going to see them, where they were. "To send them assistance is, therefore, entirely a different thing from visiting them. The former, then, ought to be done, but the latter not left undone." Wesley was utterly convinced that visiting the sick is the duty not just of pastors, but of every Christian. The role models for this in early Methodism were the leaders of the classes.

The most astonishing thing is that to Wesley, visitation is not to be seen as means of grace only to the sick. He says that if we do not go, we lose an excellent means of grace into our lives. Visitation of the sick becomes a means of grace when we become personally aware of the suffering of the poor. Wesley observed, "One great reason why the rich, in general, have so little sympathy for the poor, is, because they so seldom visit them. . . . Hence . . . one part of the world does not know what the other suffers."

In short, what might be succinctly described as pastoral care to the poor and sick is essential to our Christian formation. Through such care, we offer grace; and in the same process, we receive grace.

Modern Methodism seems to have forgotten certain aspects of this. As Methodism grew and as clergy became more educated and specialized, pastoral care become more clinical in its understanding. Pastoral care was eventually seen by some as specialized services that required years of training to provide. There is still certainly a place for that in the life and ministry of the church. But what we sometimes lose sight of is Wesley's conviction that pastoral care is to be provided not just by the well-trained.

The temptation is often to use laity in the ministry of pastoral care just because there is a shortage of ordained clergy to function as pastors. Many annual conferences are experiencing shortages of clergy and are thinking of ways to encourage laity to become more involved in pastoral care and visiting the sick. On the other hand, larger churches may see visitation as a way to encourage laity to stand in the gap between pastoral staff and the congregation to provide pastoral care in the absence of staff clergy. This is looking to laity to perform acts of pastoral care because of missional reasons. In other words, laity are encouraged to be involved in pastoral care because there is a need for them to do this. This is certainly true. Laity do need to be involved in pastoral care because there is a need. More significantly, we are all involved in pastoral care as an act of mercy because it is essential to our spiritual growth. Pastoral care is what the baptized do who are growing in grace. This is also a legacy left to Methodists by Wesley.

Dr. Barry E. Bryant is Associate Professor and Chair of Wesleyan Studies at Memphis Theological Seminary in Memphis, Tennessee.

Posted 5-15-03

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