This essay will define the theological methodology embodying the Wesleyan Quadrilateral and some key components of how comprehensible his argument that evangelical theology is the ‘drama of gospelizing’. Included are some key areas where the Wesleyan Quadrilateral mirrors to a great extent many similarities of Birds theology and some differences.
WESLEYAN QUADRILATERAL
The term ‘Wesleyan Quadrilateral’ devised by Albert Outler in the 1960’s, with its fourfold reference, is a good deal more refined and ‘preserves the primacy of Scripture, profits from the wisdom of tradition, accepts the disciplines of critical reason and its stress on the Christian experience of grace, and gives it a pragmatic experience.’ These four sources lead a believer to be a worshiper and to serve God with maturity. (After all, worship is the ultimate goal of God’s Mission.)
Primarily, Scripture serves as the primary source for theological reflection and is the foundation and centrepiece for the other three sources. Secondly, Tradition is considered as an experience of the witness of development and growth of faith through the nations and various cultures but notwithstanding the writings of the early church fathers. Wesley also maintained that right reason and interpretation would never result in inconsistency. Oden supports this statement, adding, until one has a right mind set and understanding is attained divine matters cannot be apprehended. Yong and Wesley agree in part on the basic Spirit grounding of reason itself – at least as reason interprets theological knowledge.He urged Wesley conceived incorporating experience to the traditional Anglican triad, and ‘thereby adding vitality without altering the substance.’ What he did was to apply the familiar distinction between the understanding of who God is and how to live out this godly life. Emphasizing on “heart religion” in place of all ‘nominal Christianity’
BIRD’S SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES
Bird’s definition of prolegomena as “pre-theology” theology (p. 32) is interesting. This is quite different to the many Theologians who attempt to present prolegomena. Bird critiques the ways in which it has been done in both the modern and post-modern eras. However, is influenced by other theologians. Bavinck, for example, devotes the whole of the first volume of his four-volume Reformed Dogmatics to Prolegomena, and Barth likewise concerns himself with ‘The Task of Prolegomena to Dogmatics’ at the very beginning of his Church Dogmatics. Bird emphasizes that “There is a theological prolegomenon, but it is not what one does before theology; rather, it is what one does first in theology” (p. 38). One of the several reasons Bird sates why we need to set out the gospel the beginning of an evangelical theology is that the subfields of theology; Christology, eschatology, and ecclesiology must all spring in some sense from the gospel (p 43). Bird’s strongpoint is in his commission of grounding systematic theology in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Bird emphasizes that the gospel is the glue between doctrine, experience, mission and the practice (p 21).
A well-adjusted explanation between Scripture and tradition is also presented, stating; ‘the spiral between theology and practice’ must continue for growth. Bird’s point of view that there is a ‘symbiotic relationship between scripture and tradition’ is an eye opener and directs the reader to rethink scripture and tradition from an evangelical perspective. Although Bird argues and emphasizes that Scripture should be “read, interpreted, and applied in continuity with the apostolic explanation of the story line of Scripture” (64) he does not nullify the importance of tradition. Bird comments; “Even while the pulpit pounding fundamentalist may preach the authority of the text in practice he appeals to a consensus of a community and its history of reading scripture.....” (p 69).
For example, the Protestant standard of sola scriptura as understood is in the Bible being read with the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit in the atmosphere of the Church (68). Interestingly Thorsen argues that “the Protestant Reformation principal of sola scriptura and the Wesleyan Quadrilateral are complimentary rather than contradictory principals of religious authority”
Bird asserts experience as the acquisition of the knowledge of God and the intimate relationship one has following an encounter with God (p.72).Communities of worship and fellowship followed such experience as Ben Witherington points out. Into revelatory experiences of visions and dreams, Gifts of the Holy Spirit, and sovereignty bestowed by Jesus Himself are embodied. Of course Bird strikes a balance by warning of abuses in making such experiences a theology and the use of scripture and wisdom counsel of other Christians are to be used for evaluating such experiences. (p 73).
BIRDS THEOLOGY OF GOSPELIZING-STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES
Michael Bird’s methodology is unique in comparison to other Systematic theology in that the Gospel is central, expressively thinking aloud about how to perform the divine drama in the communities of faith. Bird observes that Wesleyan Quadrilateral moreover is a “framework than a method”. (p. 81 - 83). Bird’s methodology is strengthened by the ability to integrate other theological thought in a unified manner and His conviction that the kingdom of God is fully represented by the person, life teachings, death and resurrection of Christ.
To Bird’s exploration of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral Bird adds nature and culture as primary sources. This is found wanting in Wesleyan Quadrilateral. Bird resonates the fact that God has made know divine expressions through nature (Ps 19:1-2) and through the creation. (Rom 1:19-20) Its significance would be found in areas of creation and humanity doctrines (p 72). He goes on to share the views of William Lane among other Theologians and points out that natural theology such as ontological, cosmological, teleological arguments are used to prove Gods existence
Bird comments that we need to be both an interpreter of scripture as well as culture in order to fulfil our mandate if evangelism, as the community of believers’ forms their identity in the context of their location. Therefore the redeemed person participates in the reconciled society of a new identity, having communion and fellowship with the creator and all creation as expressed by Grenz, and also quoted by Bird. However, Bird differentiates that although Grenz views culture as a positive source there are heaps of ways to Christianity which could be related to culture (p 74).
Initially Bird carefully constructs an evangelical theology to assist evangelical churches, “a theology that makes the evangel the beginning, center, boundary, and interpretive theme of its theological project” (21). Secondly, he wanted to find a balance between biblical exposition and interaction with church history. And thirdly, Bird wanted to avoid the extremes of catering too much to the trends of post modernity and pluralistic world whereby the non-negotiable doctrines of Trinity and Atonement are compromised (p.22). Bird takes an approach that to advocate the evangel in evangelical theology and emphasize on a gospel driven approach, so that whilst the good deposit of the gospel is guarded one could love their neighbour as well (p. 23) as try to bonded to Christ, filled with grace, help build God’s kingdom and bring honour to His name (p. 30). Similarly, Kevin Vanhoozer commented Evangelicals should recall biblical truths and embrace the Gospel which is powerful for transformation.
CRITICAL COMMENTS ON BIRDS THEOLOGY
Uniquely present and entirely apropos to the text that Bird set out to write is a section explicitly dedicated to an evangelical prolegomena (1.2) and a subsequent section (1.3) dedicated to defining the gospel. Bird emphasizes that, “Since the gospel is fundamentally the ‘gospel of God,’ any theology must be theocentric and seek to understand God as he has made himself known in the gospel of Jesus Christ” (88). Thus begins part 2, of which the first section is dedicated to the topic of “God and the gospel.” However the revelation of God found in prolegomena topics such as revelation and proofs for the existence of God is the goal of theology backed by scripture (Eph 1:17).
It would indeed suffice to commend that that unique among the one-volume systematic theologies, delving through the expositional realities of the biblical text, Bird does not lose focus on the creedal inheritance of the church and the offerings of the theological tradition. “Broadly Reformed and self-consciously evangelical” would summarise Birds approach. His skilful balance between exegesis and engagement with church history is exemplary.
Bird’s lament on the evangelical Christians adopting a method of naïve Biblicism is amusing and his expression of this method of doing theology like a sausage producing machine which is quite an apt way of explaining how the evangelical Christians omit or overlook the importance of our ‘relationship with God, mission in the world’ and our drama lived out as Christians.
In conclusion, Bird’s introductory evangelical theology is masterfully organized and is saturated with the gospel from beginning to end, with the ‘evangel at the helm’. I salute his intention that the goal of good evangelical theology is to see the individual and the church gospelized.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bird, Michael F., Evangelical Theology, A Biblical and Systematic Introduction, (Zondervan: Grand Rapids Michigan; 2013)
John Wesley, “Wesleyan Theological Journal” Volume 20, Number 1, spring, (1985)

Piper John, Let the Nations Be Glad, The Supremacy of God in Missions (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993, 2003)

Oden, Thomas C., John Wesley’s Teachings, Volume, (Zondervan: Grand Rapids, Michigan; 2012), 84.

Wesleyan Theological Methodology as a Theory of Integration, (Thorsen 1990, p.171-173) 196.

John Wesley’s Scriptural Christianity [Paperback 1994] (Author) Thomas C. Oden, 85.

William A. Dryness, “Global Dictionary of Theology,” IVP: 932.

Michael D. Williams, Covenant Theological Seminary (endorsement).

William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics (Wheaten, IL: Crossway, 1994),

Kevin J. Vanhoozer, “Evangelicalism and the Church: The Company of the Gospel,” in The Future of Evangelicalism: Issues and Prospects (ed. C. Bartholomew, R. Parry, and A. West; Leicester, UK: Inter-Varsity Press, 2003)

Fred Sanders on February 16, 2007 quoting from The Wesleyan Theological Journal”

Ben Witherington III, “Jesus as the Alpha and Omega of New Testament Thought” in Contours of Christology in the New Testament(ed. R.N. Longenecker; Grand Rapids; Eerdmans, 2005),

Grenz, Theology for the Community of God

--------------------------------------------
[ 2 ]. John Wesley, “Wesleyan Theological Journal” Volume 20, Number 1, spring, (1985): 9.
[ 3 ]. Piper John, Let the Nations Be Glad, The Supremacy of God in Missions (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993, 2003), 17.
[ 4 ]. Oden, Thomas C., John Wesley’s Teachings, Volume, (Zondervan: Grand Rapids, Michigan; 2012), 84.
[ 5 ]. Wesleyan Theological Methodology as a Theory of Integration, (Thorsen 1990, p.171-173) 196.
[ 6 ]. John Wesley’s Scriptural Christianity [Paperback 1994] (Author) Thomas C. Oden, 85.
[ 7 ]. William A. Dryness, “Global Dictionary of Theology,” IVP: 932.
[ 8 ]. John Wesley, “Wesleyan Theological Journal, 10.
[ 9 ]. John Wesley, “Wesleyan Theological Journal”, 10.
[ 10 ]. Bird, Michael F., Evangelical Theology, A Biblical and Systematic Introduction,(Zondervan: Grand Rapids Michigan; 2013),33-40.
[ 11 ]. Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, Volume 1: Prolegomena (ed. John Bolt, tr. John Vriend; Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2003).
[ 12 ]. Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics, I:I (tr. G. T. Thomson; Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1936), pp. 26-47.
[ 13 ]. Bird, Michael F., Evangelical Theology, 81.
[ 14 ]. Fred Sanders on February 16, 2007 quoting from The Wesleyan Theological Journal” (Page 7)
[ 15 ]. Ben Witherington III, “Jesus as the Alpha and Omega of New Testament Thought” in Contours of Christology in the New Testament(ed. R.N. Longenecker; Grand Rapids; Eerdmans, 2005), 44-45.
[ 16 ]. Bird, Michael F., Evangelical Theology, A Biblical and Systematic Introduction,(Zondervan: Grand Rapids Michigan; 2013),73.
[ 17 ]. Ibid., 49.
[ 18 ]. Ibid., 62.
[ 19 ]. Cf. William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics (Wheaten, IL: Crossway, 1994), 77-125.
[ 20 ]. Grenz, Theology for the Community of God, 19-20.
[ 21 ]. Kevin J. Vanhoozer, “Evangelicalism and the Church: The Company of the Gospel,” in The Future of Evangelicalism: Issues and Prospects (ed. C. Bartholomew, R. Parry, and A. West; Leicester, UK: Inter-Varsity Press, 2003), 72.
[ 22 ]. Bird, Michael F., Evangelical Theology, A Biblical and Systematic Introduction, (Zondervan: Grand Rapids Michigan; 2013) 58.
[ 23 ]. Michael D. Williams, Covenant Theological Seminary (endorsement).
[ 24 ]. Ibid., 80.