From the 1840s to the end of the19th century, key leaders believed that the culturally dominant form of Methodism had slipped from its original commitments and formed splinter groups to revive the concern for holiness taught by Methodist founder John Wesley. These groups served the poor and culturally marginalized, and taught them principles of holy living. Some split with the Methodist Episcopal Church over the issue of slavery.

"There is one number in our denomination which keeps going up," Coyner said. "It is the percentage of churches that did not receive even one person as a new member by profession of faith, a number that is now up to 43 percent.

"If there is any number in our denomination that is steadily growing, that is it, and it is causing all kinds of other numbers to decline, including our ability to stand before God and say we are doing a good job in making disciples."

Pieper argues that the virtue of prudence (the perfected ability to make right decisions) has all but dropped out of the modern mind. It is his view that we need to recapture the meaning of prudence, because all human virtue hangs upon it. No human action or decision can be good if it is not first and foremost prudent. The other classical virtues, namely justice, fortitude, and temperance, are virtues because they are fundamentally prudent.

The great strength of Evangelicalism is its proclamation of the gospel as revealed in Scripture. That is first. The apostles were not sent forth to preach the catholic tradition, nor did they preach the Holy Spirit before Christ. They preached Jesus Christ as Lord, risen from the dead, the only way to the Father. The Spirit empowered them to do this and their preaching formed the church.