WESLEYAN SONG AND MISSION
Adapted from the chapter of the same title by ST Kimbrough, Jr. in Music and Mission: Toward a Theology and Practice of Global Song (New York: GBGMusik, 2007).

How can the people of God grasp what it means to be in mission? How do we evaluate anew the posture of our faith and put it into loving action? How does a church, which in its fragmentation is not a symbol of unifying love to the world, communicate love and faith? These are not new questions, and a look back at our Wesleyan roots may give us a grounded place to begin exploration.
             The 18th-century Anglican clergymen, brothers John and Charles Wesley, discovered in hymns a poetically and musically remembered faith, a means to digest and take God’s message of self-giving love into the streets and fields. Wesleyan hymnody served as the single most important means of communicating the gospel. A brief look at the theological themes that run through Wesley hymns reveals that they are still viable for the church’s mission in our changing world. These themes include beliefs that:
 

• The invitation to redemption is personal. Yet, as personal as divine redemption   may be, it   happens within God’s community, the church. The United Methodist   Hymnal (UMH) #363   “And Can It Be that I Should Gain,” #282 “’Tis Finished!   The Messiah Dies.”

• The invitation to redemption is also universal. Justification by faith is for all the   nations of   the world. #58 “Glory to God, and Praise and Love.”

• The call to witness, proclamation, and evangelization is not an option but rather   a   mandate. Communities of faith are to name the name of God. Music is a   primary means   whereby the naming is done. #181 “Ye Servants of God.”

• A sense of mission and desire for witness grow out of a life touched by grace.   One   who has experienced grace yearns that others may feel God’s   transforming love. #193   “Jesus! The Name High Over All.”

• There is universal hope, and a global song to sing. It is a cosmic song of   invitation,   redemption, peace, and love. #196 “Come, Thou Long-Expected   Jesus.”

• The mission of God’s grace is inclusive. The entire world is invited to the table,   but when   we look about us at the gospel feast, we clearly see who has been left   behind. #339   “Come, Sinners, to the Gospel Feast.”

• The mission of grace is a mission of power-the power of love. #541 “See How   Great a   Flame Aspires,” #384 “Love divine, all loves excelling.”

• The mission of grace is a mission of unity. The community of faith, the church,   must   constantly examine whether it is about the urgent task of restoring people   to one   another. #550 “Christ from Whom All Blessings Flow,” #562 “Jesus,   Lord, We Look to   Thee.”

• Mission is reconciling love in action. Mission begins, as in the New Testament,   with the   less fortunate, the marginalized, the dispossessed, the poor. #58,   “Glory to God, and   praise and love,” #342 “Where shall my wondering soul   begin.”
We have not celebrated these aspects of mission enough in our singing, as the Wesleys urged and practiced. There are many new hymns in our day that articulate faith in challenging ways. But the mission we sing and the gospel we proclaim in the words of the Wesleys still have power to transform us for the present tasks of outreach and witness. Let us continue to sing the Good News in these wonderful hymns in The United Methodist Hymnal.
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GOD’S MISSION GOD’S SONG
ENGLISH The basic text for adults, God’s Mission: God’s Song by Joyce D. Sohl, helps us gain an understanding of the role of music and hymns in mission.
SPANISH UN CANTO DE LIBERTAD Pablo Sosa
Guía de Estudio por Joyce D. Sohl y Pablo Sosa
KOREAN
SINGING GOD’S MISSION:
YOUTH STUDY GUIDE

by J. Ann Craig explores how music shapes youth and informs their mission outreach and engagement in social justice issues.
#M3013-2007-01
GLOBAL PRAISE
GLOBAL PRAISE 1 Songs of Christian faith from around the world and many regions of United Methodism.
GLOBAL PRAISE 2 Includes more than a hundred faith songs from over thirty nations and traditions.
GLOBAL PRAISE 3 The largest in scope and content of the 3 Global Praise collections.

Related Links
Charles Wesley – bio and lists

Global Praise