A substantial work, The Oxford Handbook of Methodist Studies comprises forty-two essays written by forty-four contributors. This is a useful publication. Yet anyone who has edited a multi-authored handbook of this magnitude understands how challenging it is to attain an immaculate end product. Typically, the chapters come together in a way that resembles a box of mixed chocolates: some textured, replete with flavor, others a mite gooey—not all that bad, but not especially palatable. And a handful are so awful they wind up being spat out as politely as possible. Gushy reviews are unlikely because, with scores of authors represented, weaknesses are inevitable.
The Handbook's essays are organized under six parts. The first, the “History of Methodism,” is perhaps the most cohesive and well-written section. J. C. D. Clark set the foundations for Methodism's development in the United Kingdom in his opening chapter, “The Eighteenth-Century Context.” While his assertion that the term “Enlightenment” is a “late nineteenth-century term” seems to ignore eighteenth-century, Continental (especially German) literature, this essay provides an otherwise solid foundation for this section. Richard Heitzenrater and John Wigger provide succinct and well-researched chapters on early Methodist leaders, the Wesleys and Francis Asbury. Other important material on Methodism's evolution in the United Kingdom and America is provided by David Hempton, Manfred Marquardt, and Donald Dayton. It is Dayton who traces Methodism's links with the Holiness-Pentecostal tradition, a point I will highlight below.
Part 2, “Ecclesial Forms and Structures,” is also well ordered, with solid contributions from each of its five contributors. Russell Richey explicates Methodism's long-standing commitment to maintaining connections with a broader church subsisting among other Methodists, both in America and Great Britain. James Kirby, Thomas Edward Frank, Dennis Campbell, and Ted Campbell examine the emergence of the Methodist form of episcopacy, church discipline, and the church's understanding of the channels through which Methodists receive God's grace.
The third part of the Handbook, “Worship: Sacraments, Liturgy, Hymnody, Preaching,” presents some of the book's weakest chapters. There are exceptions. Karen B. Westerfield Tucker's overview of liturgical developments and Geoffrey Wainwright's essay on the sacramental understanding of Methodists represent important contributions. On the other hand, the reader will find the editors' inclusion of Swee Hong Lim's essay on “Music and Hymnody” completely mystifying. Lim admits up front that his aim is to “look specifically at the practice of music and hymnody in various Asian contexts that are not necessarily Methodist” (333). And that is pretty much what he does. Ignoring Methodism's vast contribution to hymnody (he barely mentions Charles and John Wesley); Lim instead provides a general essay on the role of music and hymnody in Asia.
David Chapman's examination of Methodism's “Catholic spirit” may be the strongest essay in fourth section, “Spiritual Experiences, Evangelism, Mission, Ecumenism.” Phillip Meadows's overview of Methodism's understanding of evangelism is well-organized and should be of interest to pastors and other church leaders seeking to gain insight into the Methodist tradition's strengths in a postmodern society.
The fifth section on “theology” organizes the topic into nine categories: scripture and revelation; the Trinity; original sin; grace; Christology; pneumatology; Christian perfection; assurance; and election. Readers who are interested in understanding the foundations of John Wesley's perfectionism will find Barry Bryant's examination of Wesley's speculative anthropology, in his essay on original sin, especially useful. William Abraham's essay on the intricacies of Wesleyan perfectionism and its transition in North America is superb.
Finally, in the sixth and last part, “Ethics and Politics,” the contributors examine such topics as theological ethics and moral theology, feminism, and Methodism in African politics. D. Stephen Long and Stanley Hauerwas's provocative recommendation that the Beatitudes should be actualized as communal norms among Methodists also argues that holiness of heart, properly understood, is not antithetical to happiness.
This final segment of the Handbook, however, falls short, not in what it does present but rather because of the vital topics it ignores. While racism, feminism, and African affairs, which receive extensive treatment, have long been recognized as important topics, little or no attention is directed toward more contentious topics among grassroots Methodists. The topic of war receives only a couple of passing reflections, and landmark issues like disability, abortion, stem-cell research, and euthanasia are ignored altogether. Albert Outler, Stanley Hauerwaus, and other Methodist scholars have drawn attention to these topics in the past. It is odd that they were given short shrift in a work of this scope.
This Handbook lacks a clear methodological framework. While the editors organized the essays they received under the six sections, the reader is never presented with a coherent, overarching theme and at times wonders why some essays are found under one heading when they seem to fit better under another. What the reader gets is a reference or resource book comprising a group of essays organized under six headings.
Yet another caveat is in order. The Handbook's style with respect to objectivity/subjectivity is uneven and alternates unexplainably between historical description and personal advocacy. While many essays (especially those in the first two sections) clearly attempt historiographical objectivity, others such as Elaine A. Heath's “Quest for Holiness” are uncomfortably preachy. For example, Donald Dayton examines the important role of one American Methodist leader, Phoebe Palmer, as a scholar, while Heath seems to approach her through the eyes of a devotee who testifies that today, the Methodist Church “has never been more in need of Palmer's wisdom” (399).
Finally, the editors failed to recognize that, if Donald Dayton is correct about the Wesleyan linkage to Pentecostalism (and he almost certainly is), then the connection is not, as this volume suggests, an ancillary matter. Far from it. In the last twenty-five years, Pentecostalism has witnessed explosive growth, especially in the Global South. This means that Methodism's contribution to world Christendom is far more significant than the editors apparently recognized. The Methodist relationship to this recent, historic phenomenon surely merited its own section.
Despite its shortcomings, The Handbook of Methodist Studies offers mostly excellent scholarly material for anyone who wishes to understand the complexities of worldwide Methodism and its place in the Christian tradition. Methodist scholars, religious leaders, and others interested in Methodism will want to own a copy or, if they cannot afford its exorbitant price, at least consult it at their local library.
