John Wesley’s Accountabilty Questions
John Wesley discipled converts in “class meetings” or “bands” consisting of 12 people pursuing the discipline of Christian godliness. One or more of the following accountability questions were asked of each person weekly:
John Wesley’s Band Meeting Questions:
1. What known sins have you committed since our last meeting?
2. What temptations have you met with?
3. How were you delivered?
4. What have you thought, said, or done, of which you doubt whether it be sin or not?
5. Have you nothing you desire to keep secret? (this one was optional).
For well over a century this method of discipling was continued by Wesley’s followers. The “class meeting” was common practice as late as the 1960′s in North America. As a child, I recall these class meetings in various churches of the Champlain Conference of the Wesleyan Methodist Church.
Reference: John Wesley’s Class Meetings: a Model for Making Disciples, by D. Michael Henderson, Evangel Publishing House, 1997, pp. 118-9.
February 3rd, 2010 at 8:07 am
I am curious–how effective was Wesley’s accountabibilty model in your own experience of it with a group? We need some accountability group focus questions for use during the Easter season.
February 3rd, 2010 at 11:32 am
I was too young to comprehend the effectiveness of the class meeting. However, my father found this method beneficial and held these groups weekly after Sunday worship. The groups were small (under 12 persons), gender segregated, and guided by a lay leader. John Wesley’s “method” continued for over two centuries from 1742 to the mid 1960′s. Many contemporary churches have accountability groups, yet few practice Wesley’s exact model. The following book has a chapter on the effectiveness of Wesley’s system:
John Wesley’s Class Meetings: a Model for Making Disciples, by D. Michael Henderson, Evangel Publishing House, 1997.
http://www.amazon.com/Model-Making-Disciples-Wesleys-Meeting/dp/1928915701
– Wes McCallum