Wesleyan Vile-Tality: Reclaiming the Heart of Methodist Identity

Learn what it means to “submit to be more vile” for today’s Methodists. Wesleyan Vile-tality calls us back to the roots of our identity. Centered on the moment John Wesley “submitted to be more vile" in spreading the love of God to all people, Ashley Boggan argues that Wesleyan vile-tality is at the core of who we are as Methodists. As rule-benders, rabble-rousers, and outcast-embracers, those early Methodists stood out and stood up. She traces how that original identity was lost as the predecessor denominations to The United Methodist Church grew and began to embrace respectability over “vile-tality.” In an accessible and engaging account of a fascinating history, these stories of our past call us to understand who we were, question who we are, and reclaim who we should be. Each chapter includes questions for personal reflection or group study.