God raises up Methodists for such a time as this. Here is a ditty Len Sweet s Methodist grandfather used to sing: A Methodist, a Methodist will I be A Methodist will I die. I ve been baptized in the Methodist way And I ll live on the Methodist side. What genius of Methodism inspired this kind of love and loyalty in the earlier years of the faith? What did it mean to live in the Methodist way and to die on the Methodist side? Perhaps it is time to resurrect a neo-Wesleyan identity and to challenge the prevailing one-calorie Methodism that characterizes so much of our tribe today. What makes a Methodist? How can we re-ignite the spark of genius that motivated such commitment in our cloud of witnesses? The essence of Methodism s genius resides in two famous Wesleyan mantras: heart strangely warmed (inward experiences with a fire in the heart) and the world is our parish (outward experiences with waterfalls of cutting-edge intelligence). For Wesley, internal combustion, the former, led to external combustion, the latter. In the 18th century, Methodists in general (and in their younger years, the Wesley brothers themselves) were accused of being too sexy. What else could all those love feasts and strangely warmed hearts be about? Why else were all those women in positions of leadership? With this book the author hopes to bring back to life some of Methodism s sexiness so that our current reproduction crisis can be reversed. "

Together at the Table is the personal story and public message of Bishop Karen Oliveto, the first openly LGBTQ person to be elected a bishop in The United Methodist Church. Her election was and is controversial, with opponents seeking to have her removed and some even threatening violence against her. The denomination has been debating the inclusion of LGBTQ people for decades and will be gathering in February 2019 to determine whether it can agree to let conferences within the church ordain as they see fit and let congregations decide what weddings to hold or whether conservative and liberal factions will break off from the denominational body. Bishop Oliveto believes that the church can stay togetherthat people of different convictions can remain in communion with one another. Woven together with her own story of coming out and following God's call to ordained ministry is her guidance for how to live together despite differencesby practicing empathy, living with ambiguity, appreciating the diversity of creation, and embracing unity without uniformity.

The digital copies of this book are available for free at First Fruits website.
place.asburyseminary.edu/firstfruits

aEUROoeI had a vision of a faith community where people could have a wider understanding of God and our relationship to him/her. I wanted to create a place where people could state what they believe and what they struggle withaEURO"freely. I wanted a community of people who know we don't all have to agree on everything.aEURO Jerry Herships, former altar boy who had dreamed of making it big in show biz, tended bar to make ends meet as he worked gigs in comedy and game shows, looking for his big break. After giving up the dream and leaving Los Angeles, he found his way back to the church and discovered God calling him to ministryaEURO"but not just any ministry. Now he leads AfterHours Denver, a bar church where people worship with a whiskey in their hand and make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to serve Denver's homeless. Last Call is a story of having and giving up on dreams, finding yourself, and finding how God can use you in unexpected ways.