John Wesley was an Anglican priest and major leader in the eighteenth-century Evangelical awakening whose theology and practice continues to influence the church today. This book tells how his own search for a heart renewed in love ultimately led him to a fresh vision of the way of salvation, one that is centered on sanctification, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and available to all. Transcending the theological dichotomies of his day, Wesley developed a distinctive Protestant tradition that continues to shape Methodist and Holiness Christians, and has had a significant impact on Pentecostalism. It was Wesley's optimism of grace that gave his Methodists and generations to come a vibrant hope that hearts and lives, churches, and the world at large can all be changed by the power of God's amazing love. Hal Knight's John Wesley: Optimist of Grace is an exceptional introduction to John Wesley's theology and the key practices that came from this theology. Knight shows the fundamentally hopeful nature of Wesley's understanding of grace and Wesley's insistence that God's grace is willing and able to save us to the 'uttermost' in this life. This book makes an important contribution to Wesleyan Studies and deserves a wide reading. --Kevin Watson, Candler School of Theology, Emory University Is it possible to write a 'brief' book about the diverse, multi-faceted, and complex dimensions of John Wesley's theology and practice? Knight has done exactly that with skill and integrity. Without cutting historical or theological corners, he introduces readers to the whole Wesley and, via him, a holistic vision of Christianity as holiness of heart and life. A very worthwhile and helpful read. --Douglas S. Hardy, Professor of Spiritual Formation, Nazarene Theological Seminary In John Wesley: Optimist of Grace, Hal Knight provides an engaging and highly accessible introduction to the development of Wesley's theology, occurring over his lifetime as an Anglican but in conversation with Calvinists and Pietists from the Continent. The real contribution of this volume is that is presents Wesley's commitment to holiness of heart and life as a theology for the renewal of Christianity, worked out in missional contexts and holy conference, in response to the transforming Spirit of God. Knight is not only a capable Wesley scholar, but, more importantly, a Wesleyan scholar, writing with his own optimism about the loving grace of God, ever renewing the Church. --Kimberly Ervin Alexander, Regent University School of Divinity Henry H. Knight III is Donald and Pearl Wright Professor of Wesleyan Studies and E. Stanley Jones Professor of Evangelism at Saint Paul School of Theology, Overland Park, Kansas. He is author of several books, including Anticipating Heaven Below: Optimism of Grace from Wesley to the Pentecostals (2014) and Is There a Future for God's Love? (2012), and editor of From Aldersgate to Azusa Street (2010).
