How Can an Invitation Be Irresistible?

by Maxie Dunnam

Friends, I am very appreciative of this invitation to discuss my newest book in this online forum. The developers of Armini.us inform me that this will be a space dedicated to the authors of new titles that touch on Wesleyan themes. I am thrilled that there is now another dynamic forum for individuals interested in Arminian theology to find inspiration and ammunition. I say ammunition because I believe that our Wesleyan and Arminian doctrinal beliefs are being challenged by a resurgent Calvinism that seems to be rising unchecked in the protestant churches of America. I share with the creators of this new website the vision of raising up a new generation of doctrinally educated young persons who are bold and energized by the gospel truth represented by the grace-filled Arminian message evangelized so effectively by our Wesleyan forebearers.

   I have been invited to discuss my newest book, Irresistible Invitation. Yes, it may raise an eyebrow to the aforementioned vigilant among us concerned about Calvinism, but make no mistake, this work is all about the powerful love and grace of God revealed in Jesus Christ and made manifest in the hearts and lives of any who will respond and live in faithfulness to the Gospel.
 

Irresistible Invitation: the book

Having said all this, let me share what I have on my heart about this marvelous new book. I’m sure you will agree that the title is as bold as it gets—Irresistible Invitation.

   Your immediate thought might be, How can an invitation be irresistible? I am free to respond however I choose to any invitation that I receive. I wrestled with the same feelings as our team of editors pondered the possibility of this title. Then I went to the dictionary and found this definition: “Irresistible: impossible to successfully resist.” That definition erased all my reservations. Of course we are free; we can resist. But we can’t “successfully”resist God’s incredible grace.

   It is mind-boggling, really . . . that God would desire a loving relationship with me. As staggering as the thought is, as unbelievable as it appears on the surface, this is the very heart of the gospel: I am loved by God. There is a place in God’s heart that only I can fill. Denying this truth is a great sin of disbelief. The Bible, when we read it extensively, makes it unmistakably clear. God loves each one of us as though we are the only person in the world to love. It’s in the book!

   Don’t you remember? Jesus said that not even a sparrow falls to the ground without the Father taking note of him. And you, he said, are of more value than a sparrow. Jesus went even farther than that; he said the very hairs on our heads are numbered. Each of us is a unique, unrepeatable miracle of God. So, we are not just saved from our sins but to a personal, intimate relationship with God.

   This book is about God’s irresistible invitation to enter into relationship with him. It is about grace—

God acting in our lives to accomplish, with our willing response and participation, what we cannot accomplish on our own.
 

The Wonder of the Gospel

   So, what is it that’s so wondrous about being Christ’s body? It begins with the wonder of the gospel. John Wesley defined the visible church as a congregation of faithful people, “in which the pure word of God is preached.”
   For Wesley, the Scriptures were “the only and sufficient rule both of Christian faith and practice.” He saw them as “clear in all necessary points.” In his pamphlet entitled “The Character of a Methodist,” Wesley said: “As to all opinions which do not strike at the root of Christianity, we think and let think.”

   One of the distinguishing characteristics of Methodism throughout history is that it has been inclusive in spirit. The Methodist Church has been ecumenical and open to other denominations. One example of this openness is that we do not require rebaptism when persons from other Christian denominations present themselves for membership.

   This inclusiveness, however, does not mean that we are unconcerned about doctrine and theology. One of the grave problems of contemporary United Methodism—as well as other mainline churches—is that we have substituted ideology for theology.

   One ideology that is currently damning us is that of pluralism and diversity. Don’t misunderstand me: I do value pluralism and diversity (and I believe my life in the ministry witnesses to that fact). However, I believe that when we make theological pluralism an ideology, when we act as though diversity is redemptive in itself and make it an ultimate value over orthodox Christian doctrine, we undermine both the gospel and the church. Jesus Christ, and his uniqueness as God’s ultimate revelation, is central to the gospel. And the church must be the dwelling place of that gospel.

   For the past couple of decades, the discovered remains of the sunken Titanic have received a lot of media attention. Along the way, we have learned a great deal about that tragedy. For example, when the crew of the Titanic knew she was in difficulty, an SOS radio signal went out. The ship California was only ten miles away, but she could not respond because her radio was turned off. Though the Carpathia was further away, her radio was on—and that vessel arrived in time to save lives.

   Our “radio signal” in the church is the gospel, and the centrality of Christ is the heart of the gospel. What we think about Christ will determine how we approach mission and evangelism. What we think Christ can do for people’s lives will determine how we plan for ministry.

The Wonder of Grace

   If the church is the dwelling place of the gospel, then it also must be a dwelling place for grace. Wesley referred to the fellowship of the church as “one loving heart setting another heart on fire.” The quality of our fellowship must be so grace-filled that people experience redemptive power in relationships. My favorite way of thinking about that is to picture the church as a home of grace. If the church is a home of grace—if grace is what defines the family of God—then the church must be a home for all.

    If this is a hard concept to swallow, we must ask ourselves if, at any point, we’ve lost our confidence in the gospel. The wonder of it all is that the gospel is still a saving, reconciling, healing power.
   Though we may think we’re doing a good job of letting our lights shine before others and offering a welcoming presence, consider this: George Barna discovered in large national samples of unchurched people that most had never been invited to church by a Christian. Not only that, but most unchurched respondents said that they had never been told by a Christian what it means to believe in Christ, and never been invited to embrace Jesus as their lord and savior.

   Have we really strayed so far from our Wesleyan roots?

   John Wesley’s central objective—upon which the Methodist movement was founded—was to “widen” and “deepen” what he called “the work of God.” George Hunter reminds us that “the work of God” here does not refer to everything we do in obedience to God. Wesley used the term to mean “the conversion of sinners from sin to holiness.” He never substantially deviated from that evangelical meaning of the term. Wesley had confidence in the gospel and the claims that the gospel makes about the cross as the heart of its “good news.”

   That good news is that through Christ, God has done for us what we could not do for ourselves. And our responsibility, now as much as ever, is to be Christ to others, to extend that sense of wonder, that hand of welcome, that message of grace.