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Reviews
BOOK REVIEW: Wesley’s Rules apply to Christian life today Andrew C. Thompson, May 22, 2009
By Andrew C. Thompson Special Contributor
A Blueprint for Discipleship: Wesley’s General Rules as a Guide for Christian Living Kevin Watson Discipleship Resources, 2009 Paperback, 128 pages
The Rev. Kevin Watson’s new book offers the church a practical guide to discipleship couched in a distinctly Wesleyan context.
John Wesley’s General Rules and the early Methodist movement became much more familiar to many people through Bishop Reuben Job’s 2007 book, Three Simple Rules (Abingdon). But whereas Bishop Job’s book is written in his distinctively devotional style, Mr. Watson’s text moves nimbly from historical example to sermonic illustration, and finally to pastoral encouragement about how to make discipleship a concrete reality in daily life.
Wesley developed the General Rules in the early 1740s to provide a guide by which the members of the Methodist Societies at the time could grow in holiness of heart and life. The Rules, in three parts, call on persons who have responded to God’s grace through faith to “continue to evidence their desire of salvation” by doing no harm, doing good and attending upon all the ordinances of God.
The strength of Mr. Watson’s approach in presenting the rules is to draw the vital connection between the scriptural call to love God and neighbor and the language of the Rules themselves.
Many Methodists are fascinated with Wesley’s biography, but aren’t sure how it relates to the practice of their faith today. Mr. Watson connects the two through early chapters on the role of grace in salvation and the reality of sanctification as a dynamic and constantly transforming process.
The heart of the book comes in three chapters that explain the General Rules and present them as a guide for Christian life today. Mr. Watson offers John Wesley to the reader not, as he points out, to make disciples of Wesley; instead he wants to show the relevance of Wesley’s approach to making disciples of Jesus Christ today.
That’s where the General Rules come in. Mr. Watson shows how doing no harm, doing good and engaging in committed spiritual practice represent the best way in which the love of Jesus is known and shown.
Subsequent chapters on how the General Rules help Christians achieve a balanced approach to faith and on the importance of mutual accountability underscore the practical usefulness of Wesley’s approach.
The author also draws amply on anecdotes and examples from his own ministry, which lend a particularly reader-friendly quality to the book. He succeeds in presenting a blueprint for discipleship. And the quality of the writing, combined with such features as questions for discussion at the end of each chapter, mean that the book is also an ideal blueprint for a small group or Sunday school study.
The strength of Mr. Watson’s approach in presenting the rules is to draw the vital connection between the scriptural call to love God and neighbor and the language of the Rules themselves. 
