Albin will teach clergy about Wesley brothers
Tom Albin of The Upper Room will present "Deep Spirituality in the Wesleyan Tradition" at the Jan. 19 meeting of the Orders of Elders and Deacons and the Fellowship of Local Pastors.
Oklahoma’s clergy will meet 10 a.m.-3 p.m. that Tuesday at OKC-St. Luke’s.
Rev. Albin, an Oklahoma elder, is dean of the Upper Room Chapel and Ecumenical Relations in Nashville, Tenn.
According to the Wesley brothers, "A Methodist is a person who lives by the method laid down in the Bible."
"In our January gathering, we will explore the teaching and practices of Jesus, John, and Charles in relation to spiritual leadership," Albin said. "Our time together will be a spiritual experience more than a lecture and discussion session."
With humor, music, and prayer, he plans to remind clergy "of the patterns and practices that sustain the soul of the leader as well as nurture and mature the souls of those who join us on the journey of discipleship."
Albin continued, "United Methodists are better at activity and advocacy than we are at spiritual maturity and power—the power promised to us by Jesus and modeled for us in the lives of John and Charles Wesley.
"I want the both–and more than the either-or."
The Wesleyan way—and the biblical way—is to unite knowledge and vital piety, sermon and song, the inward journey with the outward one, he said.
Many spiritual leaders find themselves thirsty, Albin said, as if the well of living water promised by Jesus has run dry. "Come prepared to enter into a community of women and men called to honestly confess our faults and pray for one another, that we might be healed."
On the Kansas prairie, Albin grew up on the family farm. He earned degrees at Oral Roberts University and Fuller Theological Seminary and studied at Cambridge. His published works include adult and youth curriculum for the Church.
He taught at the seminaries of Boston University and the University of Dubuque prior to joining The Upper Room staff in 1999.
All active clergy are expected to attend the meeting, and retirees are welcome. Bishop Robert Hayes Jr. will lead the Wesley Covenant Service for a new year.
Tom Albin of The Upper Room