I have added a few resources over the past few days to the Wesleyan Resources Page. If you are interested, I have listed a few resources under the headings of “Wesley’s Works,” “Wesley Biographies,” and “Wesleyan Theology.”

I will continue updating this page in the days, weeks, and months to come.

On another note: I would like to be able to have a table of contents at the top of that page so that all of the headings could be listed at the top, and then people could click on, say “Wesley Biographies,” and it would take them to the list of Wesley Biographies. The only problem is – I don’t know how to do that. If you do and are willing to help me, please shoot me an email at deeplycommitted (at) gmail (dot) com, or bless me with your wisdom in the comments.

I have made a few changes to deeply committed. The most obvious change is that I have changed themes. This allowed me to have a header with a bit more interest. (Bonus points to the first person who correctly identifies what the header is a picture of.)

Another significant change is that I have deleted the “Documents” page and I have added a “Wesleyan Resources” page. The purpose of this page is to provide links to some important Wesleyan Resources. I will try to update this page periodically. I started by providing links to the two different versions of Wesley’s works that are currently in print. I will also add works on Wesley biographies, Wesleyan theology, Methodist history, and more. You can go to the Wesleyan Resources pages by clicking here, or click on the Wesleyan Resources tab at the top of this page.

I also have updated a few things here and there throughout the blog. I updated the “About Me” page, and cleaned up a few other things. I hope these updates are helpful improvements.

By the way, if you have any suggestions about how to improve this blog, or comments about what you would like to see in the future, please feel free to give your input in the comments.

Bridwell Library, the library for the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University, is amazing! Every four months or so Bridwell has a different exhibit which highlights some of the great items that are contained in Bridwell’s special collections. The current exhibit is called “Welcome Additions” and it shows some of the wonderful items that Bridwell has acquired in the last year or so.

I needed a study break last week, so I wandered into the exhibit. I was delighted to see an original letter that written by John Wesley on one side, and written by Thomas Coke on the other.

The first picture is the one by Wesley and the second is the one written by Coke.

Bridwell also has a copy of the Minutes that was given to a “fellow laborer” which was, I believe, the practice for itinerant preachers, they were given a copy of the minutes with an inscription like the one pictured, signed by John Wesley. This one is dated 1789, so Wesley would have been about 86. Here is a picture of the Minutes signed by Wesley:

Now isn’t history fun and exciting?!? (Note: You should be able to click on each picture to see a larger version.)

Dr. David Hempton gave two excellent lectures the beginning of this week here at SMU. Both of his lectures offered glimpses into his forthcoming book, Evangelical Disenchantment: Nine Portraits of Faith and Doubt. Intereestingly, his lecture series was titled: Evangelical Enchantment and Disenchantment, so I was somewhat surprised to notice that the title of the book so clearly draws your attention to one side of what he focused on in his lectures.

Dr. Hempton’s first lecture was titled “Culture Wars: George Eliot and Fundamentalism.” In this lecture Hempton look at the author Mary Ann Evans, whose pen name was George Eliot, and her relationship with evangelicalism. Hempton discussed three aspects of evangelical enchantment that initially appealed to Eliot: the offer of a fresh start (the new birth), disciplined spirituality, and mobilization and transformation by lay agency and an emphasis on hymn singing. Hempton’s discussion of Methodist hymnody, in particular, caught my attention. He argued that the 1737 Hymnbook that Wesley published in Georgia was probably the first hymnbook published in America. He also discussed at length the importance of the 1780 edition.

The symbol of Eliot’s disenchantment was Rev. Cumming who Hempton compared to a modern day Hal Lindsey or Tim LaHaye. Eliot despised the lack of love that she saw in Cummings ministry and his rather gleeful proclamation that others were going to hell.

One of the primary themes I gleaned from this lecture was that the closer evangelicalism came to dogmatism and exclusivism, the more disenchanting it was to the folks in Hempton’s study.

Hempton’s Second lecture was titled “Artists in Revolt: Vincent Van Gogh and James Baldwin.” I will try to post a brief summary of that lecture and some further thoughts in the next few days.