Tag Archives: small groups

5 Steps to Develop Daily Bible Reading Habit

04 Thursday Dec 2025

Posted by in Bible, Christian Living, Ministry

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How do you start a habit? Or, better, how do you become disciplined in doing something specific over and over again so that doing it becomes second nature?

Starting a habit is easy. Or, maybe better, starting a habit is not a habit. 

Developing and sustaining a habit is difficult and requires discipline over weeks, months, and years.

Everyone knows that good habits (like daily exercise) are important and will make your life better. And everyone knows that bad habits (like eating a gallon of ice cream before bed every night) need to be avoided, or they will make your life worse.

But how do you actually do this?

I want to share my thoughts on building a habit in one specific area I’m working on for my work at Asbury Church. (The graphic below is for a workshop I’m doing this month.) The ideas here can be used more broadly to develop and sustain a habit in any area of your life.

Asbury Church is a Bible reading church. We say this all the time at Asbury!

And we mean exactly what the words say. We literally read the Bible at Asbury.

It can be easy to give lip service to the idea of reading the Bible but not actually do it. We read the Bible in our worship services. We read the Bible in our Monday morning staff chapel. We read the Bible in our midweek communion service. You get the idea.

And we work hard to lead our people to read the Bible in private daily.

We have often done this by preaching through one book of the Bible at a time. Our senior pastor, Andrew Forrest, creates Bible reading guides that we give out that have the entire text of the book we are reading through divided up into short daily readings. Andrew will offer a short commentary to help people better understand what they are reading. Andrew frequently says, “The commentary is not the point. The Bible is the point.” 

You can see the Bible reading guides Andrew has written here.

In 2026, we are leaning into reading the Bible even more. We are asking our people to read the Bible in a more disciplined way.

2026 is Year Through the Bible at Asbury Church.

We are going to read through the entire Scripture over the course of the year. It is going to be hard. And it is going to change the lives of everyone who joins us!

Our number one discipleship priority for Year Through the Bible is simple: We want to see people develop a robust daily habit of reading the Bible. People who do not have a habit of daily Bible reading will develop one. And people who already have a daily Bible reading habit will strengthen it.

Given this, the most basic question in my work is this:

How can I help people actually develop the habit of daily Bible reading? 

I am sure that anyone who does what I am suggesting here will develop a habit of daily Bible reading.

This will work if you do it.

The hard part, as we all know, is doing, not knowing what to do.

Here is how to install the habit of daily Bible reading into your life.

1. Decide what you are going to eliminate. 

I assume your life is already full. Few people have tons of margin they are just waiting to fill with good habits. The challenge is you already feel like you have 30 hours of stuff to do in 24. 

Therefore, the first thing you need to do is eliminate something you do every day that tends to be about 30 minutes. If I had to guess, I would bet that for at least 90% of people, this would be mindlessly watching television or doom scrolling social media before bed.

Is the content you are consuming making you more hopeful? Is it energizing? Is it helping you become the kind of person you want to be? 

Probably not.

Reading the Bible will.

If you are serious about building a habit of reading the Bible every day, you will make the hard choice to eliminate something so you will have margin to add a new habit.

2. Decide when you are going to read the Bible every day. (This is where most people start talking about habits, but I think the previous step is important.)

I know you already know this. Again, it is the doing that is hard, not the knowing.

The first thing you need to do to “win” in developing a daily Bible reading habit is to decide when you are going to do it. You need to literally develop a concrete specific plan. 

When are you going to read the Bible? 

If you do not pre-decide this, you won’t do it. It is that simple.

Short cut: For almost everyone, the short cut to developing a daily Bible reading habit will be to do it first. Get up, grab your coffee, and spend the first 30 minutes of your day reading Scripture and talking with the Lord.

Let me ask you right now: Can you tell me when you read the Bible every day? If you can, congratulations! You have a daily Bible reading habit. If you cannot, you almost definitely do not read the Bible every day.

Advanced Tactic: Try to think about the difference between your consistent routines and times when the routine is disrupted. Is there a way you can frame when you read the Bible that accounts for those differences? As I mentioned in the short cut, first is what works best for me. I plan to read the Bible first thing in the morning and so I get up in time to do that first before I do anything else. And when I fail to read the Bible on a given day, it is almost always because I did not have a plan to read the Bible first.

3. Decide where you are going to read the Bible every day.

It is important that this be consistent. Is the place you read the Bible on weekday mornings overrun with children watching cartoons on Saturday morning? Then, you need somewhere else to read the Bible. Think about your environment in as much detail as you can. Where can you consistently read the Bible at the time you are planning to read it without be interrupted or distracted?

4. Decide where your Bible and anything else you need will be. Keep your Bible in the same place. You will not develop a habit of reading the Bible daily if you can’t find it! Ideally, your Bible will be where you are planning to read the Bible. If you are going to sit in the same chair every morning, then leave the Bible on the table next to the chair. This may have the bonus of being a topic of conversation with family or friends who see it in a conspicuous place. And, if you slip up and forget early on in implementing this habit, you will have a visible reminder which will give you a chance to pick it back up.

5. Do it with other people.

Join a small group to hold each other accountable and to discuss what you are learning and places you have questions.

Community is helpful in forming any habit. This is a basic part of the success of Weight Watchers (dieting) and CrossFit (exercise) to name just two examples.

At Asbury Church, we are launching new small groups that will form for the purpose of helping people read through the Bible together in 2026.

If you do these five things, you will develop a habit of reading the Bible daily. And you can apply this to any habit you want to build.

1. Decide what to eliminate so you have margin to do it.

2. Decide when you are going to do it.

3. Decide where you are going to do it.

4. Decide where the things you need to do it will be.

5. Do it with other people.

P.S. You should join us in reading through the Bible in 2026. We are reading The One Year Bible (ESV). You can grab a physical copy here. Or, you can read along in YouVersion by downloading the app and searching “The One Year Bible” in plans. (Be sure to include “The” and it will be the first search result. It is the one with a green leaf at the bottom left of the cover.) If you start the YouVersion plan on January 1, you’ll be on pace with us all year.

Kevin M. Watson is a Pastor and the Senior Director of Christian Formation at Asbury Church in Tulsa, OK. He is also on the faculty at Asbury Theological Seminary, anchoring the Seminary’s Tulsa, OK Extension Site. His most recent book, Doctrine, Spirit, and Discipline describes the purpose of the Wesleyan tradition and the struggle to maintain its identity in the United States.Affiliate links, which help support my work, used in this post.

John Wesley’s Theology: A Great Question (and Better Answer) about Band Meetings

13 Tuesday May 2025

Posted by in Accountability, Christian Living, Holiness, Methodist History, Teaching, Wesley

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I want to share one of my favorite memories from teaching this semester.

I had the privilege of teaching The Theology of John Wesley, which is one of the core classes at Asbury Theological Seminary this spring. Every student, regardless of degree, must take The Theology of John Wesley to graduate with a Master’s Degree. This is one of the ways Asbury anchors its identity and resists institutional drift. And I love it!

The class also gave me the opportunity to re-read core texts on John Wesley’s theology. First, we read sixty (yes, 60, not 6) of John Wesley’s sermons, including all of the original Standard Sermons. (Whether you want 44 or 52 in the list, they are all in the Collins and Vickers edited volume of Wesley’s sermons!) And we read my colleague Professor Kenneth J. Collins’s John Wesley: A Theological Journey and The Theology of John Wesley: Holy Love and the Shape of Grace. These are both masterful!

The class is a deep dive into Wesley’s theology. It is thorough and has been expertly crafted through decades of experience. I taught the class exactly the way it has been taught by those who have gone before me this semester. I had a blast because I was able to teach in an area I really enjoy teaching. And I was able to continue learning and growing as a follower of Jesus Christ and as a teacher.

Ok, so here is the memory I wanted to share:

One of the places there is always lively discussion, if students are tracking and understanding the material, is around John Wesley’s conviction that one who has experienced justification and the new birth does not commit outward sin. This is based on John Wesley’s reading of the canon of Scripture, particularly passages like 1 John 3:7-10:

Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. (ESV)

Collins brilliantly summarizes this in John Wesley: A Theological Journey:

Justification delivers from the guilt of sin, regeneration from its power or dominion, and entire sanctification from its being. Unfortunately, these distinctions are often neglected in contemporary Methodism where a decided “shift” has taken place; that is, freedom from the power of committing sin is attributed not to the new birth, as it should be, but to Christian Perfection, with the result that freedom from the being of sin is then relegated to the afterlife and glory. (190)

The conversation in class around freedom from the power of sin in regeneration led to a great question. I reached out to Professor Collins to get his perspective and his response was so good I asked for his permission to share it with my students and then to share it with all of you here. Here is how I framed the question:

How do I best talk to students about the correct definition and understanding of the new birth in connection with the band meeting, which both has a prerequisite of the new birth (and more), and weekly questions connected to sin.

I.e., if a students says, If someone does not commit outward sin after they receive justification and the new birth, why are the band meeting questions focused around sin? (I.e., “What known sins have you committed since we last met?”)

Here is Dr. Collins’s reply:

First of  all,  given the small numbers of people in the band meetings there may not be many responses to the weekly, sin-probing questions among the children of God, but there will likely be at least some responses over time.  Real Christians do at times break faith and commit sin of the high hand, so to speak.  The way forward then would be and must be one of repentance, of doing the first works afresh.  So then, when Wesley affirmed that a born again believer is free from the power and dominion of sin (“The Marks of the New Birth,” “The Great Privilege of Those that are Born of God”) he  was not teaching that real Christians would never sin again (a common misunderstanding among my students) but that Christian believers would have grace sufficient to remain faithful and to walk in a trusting and accountable way in the graces of regeneration.   How do we bring all of this together?  How can we summarize this basic and precious gospel truth which Jesus Christ, himself, affirmed (John 8:34-36)  and which John Wesley repeatedly taught?  I offer the following summary of the several elements here, though this language is not Wesley’s but my own.   However, I do believe that such language captures Wesley’s basic meaning.  And so here goes:    “Willful, intentional sin,  breaking faith with Christ,  should be the grave exception in the Christian life and not the rule.”  Our problem today, however, in American Christianity in general, and even at times in Methodism in particular,  is  that we have made sin the rule and grace the exception.  We need to turn this upside down.   Jesus Christ died for far more than to leave people in the bondages of which they are ashamed. 

Second, I think the very great value of  such questions for the saints that played out in the band meetings during Wesley’s lifetime is that they are a wonderful means of grace that ensure that responsibility and accountability will remain in place.   Think of  band members, for example, who are sorely tempted during the week but who in the midst of  that temptation are reminded by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth,  that they will have to confess such a sin (if it is committed) before several trusted and beloved others in just a few days.   At that  point the power of the temptation is broken (1 Cor. 10:13) by the light of the prospect of upcoming fellowship,  accountability and love.   That’s precisely the point!   In other words, the questions of the band meetings are themselves a wonderful means of grace, used by the Holy Spirit,  as a means by which faithful Christian discipleship is strengthened and lived out to the glory of God.  Put another way, evil and sin love the darkness; however, Wesley made sure that the infrastructure of Methodism in general, and the band meetings in particular would be flooded by an abundance of light in the form of relationship, accountability and the richest love.   In short, those questions are both precious and necessary  for serious Christian discipleship. 

So good!

Want to know more about the band meeting? Scott Kisker and I wrote a book that is designed to reclaim this practice. Check it out here.

Reflections on Teaching and Learning at Asbury

24 Thursday Apr 2025

Posted by in Life, Methodist History, Ministry, Teaching, Underground Seminary

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I have previously shared here about my conviction that the culture or atmosphere of the classes I teach is more important than being sure I say all the words I want to say or get all the content in before the class ends. 

I am not sure I always get this right. Actually, I’m sure I don’t always get this right. 

However, I am increasingly confident that students are most impacted by the things that happen in my classes because I intentionally create an atmosphere that is open to the Holy Spirit than they are by the lectures that I give. And maybe even more than that, I find that students are more willing to listen to what I have to say when they are convinced that I care about them. So, I think that prioritizing the culture or atmosphere of classes I teach enhances student learning and engagement with the content of the course.

And I don’t think this goes the other direction.

This week, I’ve found myself reminiscing on the things I saw the Lord do over the past month. I wanted to share a few highlights here.

I taught back-to-back intensives a few weeks ago. And they were such a blessing!

Before my Basic Christian Doctrine class, I put together the second Underground Seminary event. We called it “What They Don’t Teach You in Seminary.” It was led by Rodney Adams, the Executive Director of Asbury Church. Rodney gave a detailed behind the scenes look at how a large church like Asbury is run, the strategic decisions he makes as Executive Director, and the challenges of leading that are particular to a church. (You can read about the original announcement here.)

From my perspective, it was a fantastic success. There were 23 people who came to this meeting, which was immediately before a class that had 16 students. I am encouraged both by such a strong turnout and that the Underground Seminary idea is building energy for what is happening at Asbury-Tulsa. It is energizing to me to have people in the building talking to each other about ministry. I am best at inviting people to things I passionately believe in. Asbury Church is one of those things for me.

During the class itself, I had a sense that the Lord wanted to minister in some ways to the specific people in the room. I am still learning and growing in how to lead and take risks appropriately in this space. These students were so gracious and hungry for Jesus. It was wonderful. The highlight of the weekend for me was checking in with someone at the end of class that I had particularly felt a burden to pray for and they said, “I feel like myself again for the first time in a year.”

Thank you, Jesus!

Several students stayed with members of Asbury Church. On Sunday morning, one of the students ran into the family that had hosted them, and they were so excited to see each other. The hosts sat with the group of students and my family in worship. I was so blessed by such a tangible connection of my church loving my students well and seeing church and academy connected in such a lovely way.

The next week I had another hybrid. First Methodist Church in Tulsa hosted a Holy Spirit Conference that was amazing. I was invited to lead a breakout on spiritual parenting. This is something I have thought a lot about and am passionate about but had not had a chance to teach on to a group of people. I learned a lot in preparing and was challenged and blessed in thinking it through in order to lead the workshop. I drove straight from First Methodist to Asbury to prepare to teach my second intensive in two weeks, The Theology of John Wesley (with 23 students).

I love getting to teach this material. It has been a blessing to systematically read through Wesley’s sermon corpus in a short window of time. (I highly recommend this if you are a leader in a Wesleyan context and have not done this.) The biggest gift for me personally was rereading two great books by one of the academics I most respect, Dr. Kenneth J. Collins. The two books are core texts for The Theology of John Wesley (which is a required class for every major at Asbury Theological Seminary) and I highly recommend them both. Read Collins’s John Wesley: A Theological Journey first to get a sense of Wesley’s life. It is a great book because it unpacks Wesley’s own life and legacy, but from a rich theological lens. 

After you read this, you should read The Theology of John Wesley: Holy Love and the Shape of Grace. In my opinion, this is Collins’s masterpiece. Reading this book in preparation to teach helped me teach with greater clarity than the last time I taught this material. Collins does a masterful job explaining core concepts like justification, the new birth, and entire sanctification. He is fearless in his fidelity to the witness of Scripture and Wesley’s understanding of it.

In addition to this class just being a delight, there were some powerful moments where the Spirit met us. Rev. Graeme Collett, one of the associate pastors at Asbury Church, preached for the Asbury Seminary chapel service on Friday. Graeme has become a good friend and one of the best surprises in our move here to Tulsa. And unlike any sermon I’ve experienced here yet, the Lord gave Graeme a clear word for this specific class at this specific time. (And this is saying something, because we’ve had an embarrassment of riches in terms of the quality of preaching we’ve had in our chapels here!) The highlight was Graeme’s burden to anoint students to remind them of their callings and to seal the work of the Holy Spirit in them. I believe every single person in the room came forward for prayer at some point. Lots of beautiful Holy Spirit tears and ugly crying. It was one of those times you are just aware the Lord is doing deep work in people right before your eyes. I am so thankful for Pastor Graeme’s leadership and for the Spirit’s presence with us in chapel.

We lost track of time and went more than thirty minutes over, but that is one of the special things about these intensives. It didn’t matter! Sometimes people will say in ministry that “the trains have to run on time.” The great thing about the intensives I teach is that there is one train and we’re all on it! So, we got where we were supposed to go when we were supposed to get there.

The second highlight of the Theology of John Wesley hybrid was a word I felt like I got from the Lord on Saturday morning, before the last day of the intensive. As I was praying that morning, I had the impression that the Lord wanted me to start the day by inviting people to share testimonies to what they had seen the Lord do so far in our time together.

I need to admit that this is often hard for me. Sometimes I’m afraid nobody is going to say anything, and it will bomb. I’ve gotten more comfortable holding space as time has gone on, but it is still an area I’m growing in. And I felt that Saturday morning. 

Goodness was I wrong to be concerned. There were so many wonderful testimonies people were ready to share about how the Lord had met them. God is so good!

That part went so well, the Lord nudged me to notice the second thing I had written down as I had been praying that morning: 

“Deliverance?”

In part, I think this came from witnessing a powerful deliverance at the Holy Spirit Conference the Wednesday night before my class started. I also think it came from reflecting on how important deliverance ministry was in John Wesley’s own ministry. (For more on this, see Dr. Peter J. Bellini, Thunderstruck! The Deliverance Ministry of John Wesley Today )

I gave what felt like a pretty timid invitation to receive prayer for deliverance if someone felt like they needed it. I am not going to go into details here for a variety of reasons, except just to say that the Father, again, showed me His desire to communicate with His children. I also experienced the power and authority of Jesus Christ in a deeper way that I don’t think I can adequately express. It was just a blessing.

I have so much to learn. One thing that I have found really helpful is thinking about my classes as laboratories. Here is what that image means to me: in a lab, you do something real but you also reflect on it and can interrogate the experiment itself. So we can meet in a small group in my Wesleyan discipleship class and talk authentically about the state of our souls. And we can also then ask how the conversation felt, what could we do differently? Was there something that felt unhelpful or could have been more helpful? Lowering the stakes and explicitly thinking of the time together in class as a learning environment gives permission to make mistakes and raises the expectation for pursuing excellence. I love that combination.

I’ve seen this with prayer for healing in my classes. I’ve seen this with seeking to hear the Lord’s voice and be guided by the Holy Spirit. And I’ve seen it in lively classroom conversations about deep matters of theology. It is challenging. And it is fun.

I can’t wait to see what the Holy Spirit does next!

P.S. Did you know that I am launching a Fellowship Program at Asbury Church? We are hiring two Fellows that will be paid full-time positions, with benefits. Starting this August. More details about the Fellowship Program and how to apply here.

My Wesleyan Discipleship Class and What God Is Doing in Tulsa

15 Wednesday Jan 2025

Posted by in Class Meetings, Life, Ministry

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For the first time in my career as a seminary professor, I have had to be concerned about whether the classroom would fit all the students who were signing up to take my class. For the first time, I have had to tell people who wanted to take vacation time off work and pay their own way to travel to Tulsa just to sit in on the class as auditors (which means they get no academic credit!) that I could not let them in the class. 

Oh, and this class is just an elective. 

What is happening?!

A few years ago, I taught a class that was unlike any other I had taught. I have had a handful of great experiences as a seminary professor. But this class was different.

If you had asked me when I was teaching Methodist History at Candler School of Theology, for example, to describe the best class I’d taught, I would have talked about feeling like the students really “got it.” They left the class with a mastery of the key concepts and ideas I wanted them to receive. They were engaged and genuinely interested in the material. And having a better understanding of the meaning of Methodism, they had a deeper commitment to working, by the grace of God, to renew the Wesleyan theological tradition.

And yet, I often felt like something was missing. Or maybe better, it felt like something hadn’t quite come into alignment in terms of what I was trying to do overall.

In the Fall of 2022, I had the opportunity to teach a course that, at the time, I would have said was the best class I had ever taught. But it also occurred during the most painful and confusing time of my life.

On the one hand, I had certainty during the class that exactly what I was wanting to see happen was happening in my students during the class. As a teacher, you don’t always know what is happening with your students. But sometimes you do. Sometimes it is not awesome. And you know it. And sometimes you know that your students are experiencing exactly what you are hoping they experience. And that is so awesome you can’t really appreciate it until it happens, or at least I didn’t know it could be that good until it was.

On the other hand, I found out in the last half of the semester that I had not been selected for a position I had applied for and, as a result, I was being terminated at the end of the semester.

The class was a great experience for me. I loved those students so much. I was thankful I got to finish this class and the other one I was teaching. It was also one of the most gut-wrenching things I’ve ever done.

I walked through it the best I could. I’m sure I made mistakes. I am so thankful for the healing that has happened and continues to happen.

One thing that was really challenging was the sense that I had finally figured something out. It felt like magic in the classroom. And I was gutted that I was not going to get to continue doing the things I had learned that worked.

But God.

The Lord, in his kindness to me, opened a door to teach at Asbury Theological Seminary, the school I’d been yearning for more connection with for years, in the city (Tulsa, OK) I had been feeling drawn to for years.

Last Spring, I was given the opportunity to teach this same class again for Asbury at our main campus in Wilmore, KY. Seven students enrolled in a class that was brand new and not even in the ATS catalogue yet. I was so thankful to get to teach again. 

My second time through the class showed me that the previous class was not a fluke. 

The things I learned were repeatable, which is a key principle of disciple-making work.

But looking back I also think there was some spiritual interference. For example, just before the intensive part of the class (where we all gathered for 20 hours of class in 2.5 days), I lost my voice! I mean I really lost my voice, for the first time in my life. It was bizarre. The Lord gave me just enough strength to communicate each day of the intensive and it improved just enough for me to manage to preach in chapel after my class ended before I headed back to Tulsa.

Tomorrow evening, I will start teaching my Wesleyan Discipleship class for the third time. 

And this time 34 students are coming to Tulsa. 

34 students! 

As far as I know, this is the largest class we’ve ever had in Tulsa. And it is an elective.

And I have this deep confidence in my spirit that collectively this class is going to experience the blessing of the Lord’s presence with us.

At every intensive I’ve taught in Tulsa, the Spirit has been present in a powerful way. It has felt to me like Asbury Theological Seminary’s Tulsa Extension Site is a laboratory of the Holy Spirit. We dive deep into the content and information of the course, while also actively seeking to experience the things we are learning about. 

A course on Wesleyan Discipleship is tailor made for just that. We will learn about band meetings and class meetings, laying the historical and theological foundation for these core practices. And we will not only learn about the class meeting, we will experience it in a laboratory where we can do the real thing, talk about it, and discuss how we can practice it more effectively.

By the grace of God, we will learn about the stages of growth in faith and how to help people move from being spiritual infants all the way to spiritual parents.

And the Father will be given permission to do whatever He wants to do during our time together.

The past year and a half has been so good. So fun. 

Today, I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve. I cannot wait to see what God does tomorrow and this weekend! 

Please pray for me to teach well and for all of us to be open and receptive to receive what the Spirit has for us!

Thank you, Jesus.

Interested in studying with me in Tulsa? Check out Asbury Theological Seminary here: https://asburyseminary.edu

Podcasts Featuring My New Book: Doctrine, Spirit, and Discipline

21 Thursday Nov 2024

Posted by in Book Review, Life, Methodist History

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This is a short post to share two podcasts appearances from this week.

The prompt for both invitations was the release of my new book Doctrine, Spirit, and Discipline: A History of the Wesleyan Tradition in the United States. #affiliate I did quite a few interviews in the weeks the book was released in late June. The first print run sold out in a few weeks. The timing of these conversations is great because Doctrine, Spirit, and Discipline is back in stock!

If you enjoy these kinds of conversations, I think you’ll enjoy both episodes as they went in significantly different directions.

I was interviewed by Dr. Brian Russell on his podcast Deep Dive Spirituality. This was my second time on Dr. Russell’s podcast. I really enjoyed the conversation with him about my new book. My favorite part of the conversation, however, was when he asked me what I am most hopeful about the future. He set it up with a great image. Audio only is available here.

YouTube version here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EYBwB2T2aw

I was also interviewed by Rev. Jeffrey Rickman on his podcast Plain Spoken. We also talked about the book and spent time talking about implications of the book’s argument for theological education and developments in the Global Methodist Church. Check out my conversation with Rev. Rickman here: https://plainspokenpod.substack.com/p/american-methodist-history-and-its

Thanks to Brian and Jeffrey for having me on their podcasts! I hope you’ll check them both out.

Join My Seminary Course in Wesleyan Discipleship in Tulsa [January 2025]

24 Thursday Oct 2024

Posted by in Accountability, Class Meetings, Holiness, Methodist History, Ministry

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I am teaching a course on Wesleyan Discipleship in Tulsa as a January-Term course at Asbury Theological Seminary this coming January (2025). You should join me! 

What is the course about?

Here is my description of the course:

Wesleyan Discipleship explores the history, theology, and practice of discipleship through a Wesleyan lens. Particular attention is given to the role of communal formation in eighteenth-century Methodism. John Wesley’s theology of discipleship is explored, along with a variety of aspects of Christian formation in community in early Methodism. Particular attention is given to the way Wesley’s theology of social holiness was expressed in early Methodist small groups, especially the class meeting and the band meeting. Students will apply the historical and theological understanding of Wesleyan discipleship to contemporary ministry contexts.

Why I am FIRED UP about this class:

This class will have an intensive on site here in Tulsa from the evening of January 16th through January 18th, 2025. I LOVE the time together with students at intensives! This class beautifully lends itself to teaching in this format. 

Hybrid classes have 20 hours of in-person instruction over 2.5 days. (The rest of the course requirements are met through online engagement and completion of online modules.) It is intense! But I have also found, perhaps surprisingly, that it is also an opportunity for a spiritual retreat for students. 

The in-person experience gives us the opportunity to worship together. We will start the class by attending worship at the Thursday evening service at Asbury Church, where Rev. Andrew Forrest will be preaching. Andrew is an exceptionally gifted preacher of the Scriptures and a brilliant communicator. I love being able to start class off by tangibly connecting the church and academy by walking across the parking lot to go to worship.

We will also have an Asbury Theological Seminary – Tulsa chapel service for the class and students in the area on Friday January 17.

I will get to spend hours talking about my scholarly passion – the importance of community and connection for the Christian life. I love getting to teach students and engage their questions around these topics!

And most important, we will spend time talking about and practicing ways to reintroduce these tried and tested methods that gave Methodism its name.

At the end of the course, students will have the kind of knowledge gain you would expect from a typical seminary course. But they will also have experience participating in class meetings, experiencing small group dynamics, and reflecting on various challenges and opportunities of leading small groups like class and band meetings.

I think of this course as like a laboratory. We will learn a lot about the concepts, but we will also engage them in a hands-on way. In a laboratory you can not only experience a class meeting, but you can also talk about your experience of a class meeting. In my view, this is essential for becoming an expert practitioner. You need not only a theoretical framework and some practical experience, but you also need a place to talk about your experience so you can acknowledge, address, and overcome obstacles and challenges.

I am more confident than I have ever been that groups like the Wesleyan class meeting and band meeting will be at the center of Christian discipleship in these new and strange times we are entering.

These intensives are aptly named. They are not easy. J-term is not a short cut. In fact, it is a three-week academic sprint. My goal is to maximize the 20 hours we get to spend together to suck the marrow out of the class and be as fully equipped to make disciples of Jesus Christ in the contemporary church as possible. 

I want students who come hungry and ready to learn and grow. And that is what we are seeing here in Tulsa. It is SO FUN!

How is the course being taught?

I am teaching this course as a hybrid course at Asbury Theological Seminary at our Tulsa, OK Extension Site (housed at Asbury Church).

What is a January-Term, or J-Term, course?

A J-Term course is a full three credit course that is offered entirely within the month of January. This coming J-Term will start on January 2, 2025 and conclude on January 24, 2025.

What is a hybrid course?

A hybrid course is a course that has parts that are online and parts that are in person. This specific course will have four online modules based on four main sets of reading, students will write a reflection paper that summarizes the content of the reading, critically engages it, and applies it to their own ministry context.

The in-person part is January 16-18, 2025 at Asbury Church’s Development Center in Tulsa, OK. The in-person meeting will be from 6:00pm-9:00pm January 16, 8:30am-5:30pm January 17, and 8:30-5:30pm January 18. The in-person meeting is required for completion of the course. It is also the highlight of the entire course!

Does this course meet the Wesleyan Discipleship and Spiritual Formation requirement for ordination in the Global Methodist Church?

The Convening General Conference of the Global Methodist Church, which met a few weeks back, updated the educational requirements for ordination. And one of the changes that was made was the addition of a course called “Wesleyan Discipleship and Spiritual Formation.” I don’t mean to brag, but I believe this course hits the bullseye for what the GMC is looking for here! So, yes, if you are seeking ordination in the GMC, this course meets the Wesleyan Discipleship and Spiritual Formation course requirement. You can take this course and meet all GMC ordination requirements with either an Asbury Theological Seminary M.Div. or our 60 credit (exactly 20 courses) Master’s in Christian Ministry (MACM).

Should I take this course if I am not in the Global Methodist Church?

Yes! 

If you want to help your church more effectively make discipleship of Jesus Christ, this course is for you. 

I am passionate about Wesleyan Discipleship, not because I am most passionate about John Wesley, but because I believe the Wesleyan theological tradition has a proven track record of excellence in intentional and effective disciple making. We do well to learn from experts who have gone before us. This course is not specifically for students from any one denominational tradition. I mentioned the GMC above only because there is obvious relevance for the GMC because they just made this exact course a required course to be ordained an elder in the GMC. (Your church or denomination should too. This topic really is that essential for succeeding in the 21st century church.)

Can I take this course if I am not an Asbury Theological Seminary student?

Yes! The easiest way to do this would be to apply now to become an Asbury Theological Seminary student. We have a variety of degree programs, and I would be thrilled to talk to you about any of them! There is time to apply now and start this January.

If you are interested in applying to Asbury Theological Seminary or for this course in particular, reach out to me here (scroll down to the bottom of the page) and I will get back to you soon. Be sure to include your email so I know how to reach you. 

Not ready to apply to one of our Master’s degree programs? You may be able to apply to take the course as a non-degree seeking student. You also may be able to audit the course. Both require an application and auditing requires permission from the instructor. For either of these, reach out to me at the link immediately above.

I am open to considering some auditors. Auditors do not receive any academic credit for the course and do not turn in any assignments. They are given permission to sit in on the in-person part of the class and participate in class discussions and activities. However, I will only open the class up to auditors if there are open seats after the registration period closes. (I would assume auditing the course would not satisfy denominational ordination requirements, but you should check with your own denominational leaders.)

What is the official title of the course?

The course is cross listed as a Spiritual Formation course and a Theology course. So you can sign up for either TH650 Wesleyan Discipleship or SF650 Wesleyan Discipleship.

What are the assigned readings in the course?

Students will read a few short essays from John Wesley. And they will read these three books (affiliate links):

The Class Meeting: Reclaiming a Forgotten (and Essential) Small Group Experience, Kevin M. Watson

The Band Meeting: Rediscovering Relational Discipleship in Transformational Community, Kevin M. Watson and Scott T. Kisker

Real-Life Discipleship: Building Churches that Make Disciples, Jim Putman

I cannot wait for this class! I hope to see you here in Tulsa January 16-18, 2025.

Powerful Moments at West Plains Annual Conference: A Reflection

21 Friday Jun 2024

Posted by in Christian Living, Class Meetings, Life, Ministry

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When Rev. Mike Schafer, President pro tem, of the West Plains GMC Annual Conference reached out to me last fall and asked me to preach and teach at the upcoming conference, I was thrilled! And the West Plains Annual Conference exceeded my expectations.

One of my favorite moments of the conference was when Mike described something he had never had happen in his entire ministry: an Annual Conference attendee asked if they could bring a friend! That gives an idea of the atmosphere and spiritual environment in West Plains.

I showed up planning to preach one message, and instead spoke on Matthew 13:44:

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sees all that he has and buys that field. [NRSV]

I shifted because the Spirit did something when Mike prayed for me right before my sermon. I don’t remember exactly what he prayed, but it had something to do with the Spirit opening me up to receive what he wanted to say, even if it was different than what I’d planned. I had been wrestling with a sense that what I had prepared was not quite right and Mike’s prayer brought clarity that I was supposed to change courses and trust the Lord.

The truth is that I don’t really remember most of what I said because it was so unscripted. That is not a comfortable place for me. And I didn’t think I did a great job. When Mike gave an altar call after my sermon, I went to the altar and repented and apologized to the Lord because I just felt like I missed it with my message.

I am grateful for the exceptionally gracious feedback I received from many people in West Plains about how the Lord had used the sermon for them.

God is good!

The ordination service was powerful as well. A few things really stood out to me. First, the unity in the room, not only among the ordinands, but also among the clergy and laity in attendance was palpable and a joy. When Bishop Jones went through the Historic Questions, it was the first time in my ministry I wasn’t wondering if people meant “No” even though they were saying “Yes.”


Bishop Jones led in a way that kept the focus on the main thing and the seriousness of what was happening. That was a gift to experience. 

Two other things happened in the ordination service that were beautiful. First, immediately after ordination, Bishop Jones celebrated Communion and the newly ordained served the rest of the congregation. It was so well done! Second, after Communion, Bishop Jones gave an invitation to receive a call to ministry during the final song. I saw at least three people from the congregation respond to that invitation! I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed that before. It was so hopeful and encouraging to just have a strong focus on the significance of ordination and even more so on the Triune God who speaks and calls us to serve.

Rev. Schafer asked me to speak on Wesleyan discipleship, focusing on class and band meetings on Saturday morning. If you know me, it is pretty easy to convince me to do that! I have been thinking quite a bit about the old(er) Barna survey that is outlined in the book Maximum Faith (you can find a summary of the ten stops of the Christian life here). I summarized those findings and the way they point to the need for relational connection and deeper discipleship across the church in the United States. This, in my view, only increases the importance of returning to our Wesleyan heritage of intentional discipleship through small groups.

I had a blast teaching that material!

Finally, I got to experience two of the three TED-style talks given by folks in West Plains. Wow! The first talk was about a fire ministry after the massive fires in Texas last year. Even more than that, it was a powerful testimony about God’s work in one woman’s life. The second talk was by a rancher and a lawyer who felt called to co-pastor the GMC church in their town. The commitment to the local church and the authority of Scripture was powerful! I wish I’d been able to stay for the final one and the rest of the afternoon!

Preaching and teaching at a place like the West Plains Conference is an enormous privilege. It still surprises me to be asked to speak in places like this. I love doing it and it is a blessing to me. Every time, I think, I can’t believe I get to do this! God has been so kind to me and I am thankful.

One final thing about my time at this conference. Mike Schafer will become the first Connectional Operations Officer for the Global Methodist Church, starting August 15, 2024. Leadership in West Plains recognized Mike for his service as the first President of the West Plains Conference and gave thanks for this new role. One of the people who praised Schafer’s leadership in West Plains commented that he was exactly the right person to serve in this new key leadership role in the GMC because he had not spent his entire career trying to receive this kind of position. I loved the way that was put! And it rings true of my experience with Mike. His selection for this role is encouraging to me and a hopeful sign of things to come for the Global Methodist Church. (You can read more about Rev. Schafer and his new role here.)

Thank you, West Plains, for having me! And special thanks to Emma Stonum for sharing the photos I’ve used in this post.

Reminder: My new book releases next Tuesday, June 25th

My new book Doctrine, Spirit, and Discipline: A History of the Wesleyan Tradition in the United States releases on Tuesday, June 25th. I wrote a post about the book here. Please check it out. This is the first book I’ve directly asked folks to pre-order. Doing so helps the long-term success of the book in a variety of ways. It would really help me out if you would take a moment to head to Amazon (affiliate link) or Zondervan and order the book now. I am really encouraged by the early interest in this book! Thank you so much to all of you who have already pre-ordered it.

In this time of rapid change and chaos, it is imperative that we reground ourselves in our identity. This book explains the core identity of the Wesleyan theological tradition and points to lessons from the past that will help us be more faithful in the present and future.

Thank you!

Pursuing Social Holiness Now in Paperback

28 Monday Mar 2016

Posted by in Accountability, Christian Living, Methodist History, Wesley

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Pursuing Social Holiness: The Band Meeting in Wesley’s Thought and Popular Methodist Practice is now available in paperback! This is good news because it means the book is much more reasonably priced. The book was initially published in a hardcover edition that was listed at $78. And many of you let me hear about it!

Because of the initial price of the book, I have tended not to promote it too much when I speak within the church. Now that it is available in a more economical format, I want to let you know about it. The retail price for the paperback edition is $35. I know this is still not cheap, but it is about as good as it gets for an academic book. Right now you can save 30% off the paperback edition. Click here and use the promotional code AAFLYG6.

This book is a revision of the work I did for my PhD dissertation and is the product of several years of research and writing on the band meeting in early British Methodism. The book is the only study of meaning and significance of the band meeting in Methodism that has been written.

I’ve been speaking quite a bit over the past few years on the role of Christian conferencing, social holiness, the class meeting, and the band meeting in a variety of contexts. I have focused on the class meeting in my recent writing for the church because the class meeting is the most appropriate entry point for transformation-driven small groups for people who don’t have much experience with them. My recent focus on the class meeting does not mean that I don’t think the band meeting was important too! The band meeting, which was focused on confession of sin for the sake of growth in holiness, was crucial for early Methodism and its mission to “spread scriptural holiness.” Methodists need to know this history and wrestle with its potential relevance for contemporary Christian formation.

Here’s a summary of the book from the back cover:

Kevin M. Watson offers the first in-depth examination of an essential early Methodist tradition: the band meeting, a small group of five to seven people who focused on the confession of sin in order to grow in holiness. Watson shows how the band meeting, which figured significantly in John Wesley’s theology of discipleship, united Wesley’s emphasis on the importance of holiness with his conviction that Christians are most likely to make progress in the Christian life together, rather than in isolation. Watson explores how Wesley synthesized important aspects of Anglican piety and Moravian piety in his own version of the band meeting. Pursuing Social Holiness is an essential contribution to understanding the critical role of the band meeting in the development of British Methodism and shifting concepts of community in eighteenth-century British society.

Here is what some noted scholars in Methodist Studies have said about Pursuing Social Holiness:

“This is a brilliant study of one of the foundational institutions of eighteenth-century Methodism…. Anyone who wants to understand the rise of Methodism should give this account careful consideration. This is a book we have long needed.”

– John Wigger, author of American Saint: Francis Asbury and the Methodists

“This groundbreaking study offers the most detailed account to date of band meetings in early Wesleyan Methodism…. Highly recommended.”

– Randy Maddox, William Kellon Quick Professor of Wesleyan and Methodist Studies, Divinity School

“Watson’s work on the band meeting is the definitive history of this practice of small-group confession within eighteenth-century English evangelicalism…. This is a must-have for scholars of Methodism and eighteenth-century religious history.”

– Scott Kisker, Associate Dean of Residential Programs and Professor of Church History, United Theological Seminary

I hope you will consider picking up a copy of this book in order to learn more about one of the core practices of early Methodists in their pursuit of social holiness.

Now Available: The Class Meeting

17 Tuesday Dec 2013

Posted by in Accountability, Christian Living, Class Meetings, Methodist History, Ministry, Wesley

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Life has been hectic the last month and a half! My thoughts recently turned to this blog and I realized that I had not announced here that The Class Meeting: Reclaiming a Forgotten (and Essential) Small Group Experience is now available. The book can be purchased in print directly from Seedbed at the previous link. (It is only available in print directly from Seedbed.) It can also be purchased electronically through a variety of e-formats, including Amazon Kindle. This link will take you directly to Amazon’s Kindle listing for the book.

Seedbed has created a page for the book that has much more information: http://classmeeting.seedbed.com/

Seedbed has also included a page that contains links to reviews written online: http://classmeeting.seedbed.com/reviews/

My previous post included several of the advanced reviews that the book received.

Finally, I wrote a post for Seedbed.com that was published on the day the book was released. I also did a video interview that they published. You can view the post here and the interview here.

I am encouraged and grateful for the enthusiasm I am seeing for reclaiming the Wesleyan class meeting. Thank you for your support!

The Class Meeting: Reclaiming a Forgotten (and Essential) Small Group Experience (Coming Soon)

24 Monday Jun 2013

Posted by in Accountability, Class Meetings, Wesley

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Seedbed has just posted a press release to their website about the book I will be publishing with them on the class meeting. You can read the entire release here. The working title of the book is: The Class Meeting: Reclaiming a Forgotten (and Essential) Small Group Experience. The purpose of the book is to help people form class meetings. In order to accomplish this purpose, the book provides an introduction to the class meeting and its central role for the early Methodist movement, as well as a practical guide to reclaiming this distinct kind of small group. The book is designed to be an eight week small group resource that helps a group to actually become a class meeting. The hope is that after the book is over, the group will continue meeting as a class meeting. To further facilitate this, the book includes questions for discussion and a transformation question that progressively guides the group to the heart of the class meeting: Discussing the state of each person’s relationship with God.

In the speaking I have done on the class meeting in various contexts, people have consistently asked me to recommend a resource that would help them guide a group toward becoming a class meeting. These requests, and the lack of a resource that is focused on a return to the class meeting, led me to write this book. My hope is that The Class Meeting will help people to actually start life-changing class meetings, not just learn about the small groups that were at the heart of early Methodism.

I am very excited about this book! I believe the class meeting continues to have enormous potential for Christian discipleship in this time and place. And from many of the conversations that have occurred here, I know that many of you do too. I am praying for the Holy Spirit to raise up a network of class meetings.

I will provide further updates on the release of the book here. As the press release states, Seedbed anticipates that the book will be in print this fall.

Kevin M. Watson is Assistant Professor of Historical Theology & Wesleyan Studies at Seattle Pacific University. You can keep up with this blog on twitter @kevinwatson or on facebook at Vital Piety.