On June 25, 2024 Doctrine, Spirit, and Discipline: A History of the Wesleyan Tradition in the United States will be released. And I need your help!

In some ways, I have been working on this book my entire scholarly career. I started this project in earnest seven years ago. This is the most ambitious writing project I’ve undertaken. I believe it is also the most important book I’ve written.

Why?

One of the main problems I have been trying to solve throughout my work in the church and the academy is identifying the core content of the Wesleyan/Methodist theological tradition. What does it mean to be Wesleyan or Methodist?

My sense has been that many different parts of the Wesleyan tradition have been undergoing a crisis of identity for various reasons. Some have pursued cultural respectability at the expense of coherence and clarity. Others have moved away from the riches of their heritage in the Holiness Movement to generic evangelicalism. Much more could be said on this.

In Doctrine, Spirit, and Discipline, I argue that there is an identifiable theological tradition running through the Wesleyan/Methodist theological tradition in the United States. It was clearly articulated by John Wesley in the beginnings of Methodism in Britain. And this theological vision, along with the method that gave it its name, was embraced explicitly by the founders of the first denominations founded in the United States. 

My sense is that the Wesleyan theological tradition is in a time of both fragmenting and realigning. I don’t think we can know yet how things are going to sort out. There are even very good reasons to think that denominational identity will not have the purchase in the future that it has had in the past.

With all this change and uncertainty, there is one thing of which I am confident: I am convinced the founding vision of John Wesley and the first Methodists is as relevant for our day as it was for theirs, if not more so. 

Before we can do anything else, we need to know who we are. Getting clear of our identity requires knowing our history. We need to know where we’ve come from.

Doctrine, Spirit, and Discipline is my attempt to tell the story of the Wesleyan tradition in the United States in a way that intentionally, though I am sure imperfectly and incompletely, tells the story through a broader lens than it has been typically told.

I also do the best that I can to wrestle with the issues and challenges facing the church today. I do this because I am convinced that our past is an essential guide for a better future.

I have been humbled by the endorsements this book has received. This book has been described as “the definitive history of the Wesleyan movement in the United States.” Here are a few endorsements, you can read more at the landing page Zondervan has created for the book.

“Kevin Watson’s newest book, Doctrine, Spirit, and Discipline, is not just the latest history of Methodism in America. Rather, it’s a tour de force. Previous historical accounts have viewed the institutions that resulted in the United Methodist Church as the truly legitimate Methodist trajectory, while offering just a fleeting look at other Wesleyan denominations. But rather than seeing African American, Holiness, and Pentecostal church bodies as schismatic and somewhat peripheral to the Methodist story, Watson treats them as central. Why? Because these groups, though smaller in size than better-known, larger institutions (Methodist Episcopal/Methodist/United Methodist), often maintained Wesley’s theological foundation more consistently. Watson sees Wesley’s formulation of “doctrine, spirit, and discipline” as the “common foundation for a broad tradition”—not broad theologically, but broad geographically, ethnically, and denominationally. This book, then, is not only necessary reading for all American Wesleyans but also an essential corrective to the overall narrative of the Methodist legacy in the United States.”
—DOUGLAS M. STRONG, Paul T. Walls Professor of Wesleyan Studies, professor of the history of Christianity, Seattle Pacific University

“I was captivated on the first page of Doctrine, Spirit, and Discipline. Immediately the reader is taken into the early life of John Wesley with this theme developed through his own personal life and expanded as he leads this great awakening throughout England and then more thoroughly developed in the US. However, Kevin Watson does not shy away from the power struggles, the issues of slavery, and the divisions even to this present day. He gives very generous history of the Black church, the Pentecostal movement, the Holiness movement, and various denominations which comprise what is known as the pan-Wesleyan movement today. In all this it is obvious the themes that continue to hold this diverse group together from the beginnings of John Wesley. It is written in such a way that is inspirational and at the same time with a strong researched theological and historical foundation. This book is a treasure for the classroom, leaders in the pan-Wesleyan movement both lay and clergy, and those outside the movement to discover the strength of the doctrine, spirit, and discipline initiated by John Wesley that has been effective for some 250 years. Yes, a book for now and future generations.”
—JO ANNE LYON, general superintendent emerita, the Wesleyan Church

“A faithful witness to the people called Methodists in England and in America, this colossal volume expeditiously moves from Wesley to American Methodism and its extended branches to the current state of Wesleyanism today. Watson masterfully retells a well-chronicled narrative in terse, accessible, lucid prose, covering not just the contours of Wesleyan history with its highs and lows but also its various doctrinal developments and disputes and ecclesial divisions. The moral of the story, as indicated by the quote from which the title is taken, is that Methodism at its best is a blazing, fiery force of renewal and at its worst an inert, acculturated institution. Although coming in at nearly 500 pages, this volume is concise and highly accessible. Well-illustrated, highly detailed, and informative, Doctrine, Spirit, and Discipline is suitable for the classroom and will make a fine addition to any shelf of classic volumes on Methodist history.”
—PETER J. BELLINI, professor of church renewal and evangelization in the Heisel Chair, United Theological Seminary

“This book is destined to become the standard reference work for everyone who wants a better understanding of the Wesleyan tradition. More important, however, is that anyone who seeks the blessing of holiness in his or her own life will find inspiration and encouragement on every page. Churches that preach the life-giving message of sanctification, including the Salvation Army, owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Dr. Watson for this outstanding work.”
—KENNETH G. HODDER, USA national commander, the Salvation Army

I need your help.

Please pre-order my book. There is much about the publishing world I don’t understand. One thing I do know is that pre-orders are crucial to a book’s success. You can pre-order the book on Amazon here (affiliate link) or directly through Zondervan here. Amazon has a pre-order price guarantee and books like this are typically discounted as they get closer to the release date. Zondervan is currently offering a 30% sale!

I don’t think I’ve ever made a direct request like this before. It would be a big help to me if you would place a pre-order for this book now. If you do, you can also get immediate access to chapters 1 & 2 by entering your email and book order number at the bottom of the page here: https://zondervanacademic.com/doctrine-spirit-and-discipline

I am so excited to see something I’ve been working on for so long finally be released. Thank you so much for your support!

Kevin M. Watson is Director of Academic Growth and Formation at Asbury Theological Seminary. He is anchored at the Seminary’s Tulsa Extension Site. He is also the Scholar in Residence at Asbury Church in Tulsa, OK.