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

The proliferation of work on the theological hermeneutics of Scripture in recent years has challenged and reimagined the divisions between systematic theology and biblical studies on the one hand and academy and church on the other. Also notable, however, has been the absence of a full-length treatment of theological interpretation from a Wesleyan perspective. This monograph develops a Wesleyan theological hermeneutic of Scripture, approached as a craft learned from a tradition-constituted appropriation of John Wesley's hermeneutics. This hermeneutic requires a descriptive analysis of the context, grammar, and ruled reading of the literal sense in Wesley's interpretive practices, as well as critical interaction with the analysis in light of contemporary issues. As a result of this interaction, continuity and discontinuity between Wesley's and Wesleyan interpretation emerges and is accounted for. The Wesleyan theological hermeneutic developed here defines the church as Spirit-formed context within the larger divine economy of salvation, in contrast with Wesley's emphasis on individual soteriology and underdeveloped ecclesiology. Within this community context, Wesleyan theological interpretation is a means of grace whereby the Holy Spirit reinterprets the identity of readers into children of God. Theological interpretation invites readers on a Wesleyan account to participate in the textually mediated identity of Jesus Christ through the gracious work of the Holy Spirit. Wesleyan identity is therefore a figurally created identity based on the literal sense of Scripture. Wesley's analogy of faith, which rules his reading of Scripture, thus gives way to a more explicitly trinitarian rule of faith.

John and Charles Wesley generated a heritage that reaches well beyond the worldwide Methodist movement which they founded. The rise, development and effect of early Methodism was an Anglican phenomenon, and deserves attention and recognition as such. This collection of their essential writings shows how the Wesleys interpreted and balanced the emphases of the 18th century Church of England with passion and vision, harnessing resources from across the breadth of Anglican thought and practice (and beyond) to forge a distinctive, dynamic and influential approach to religious experience. This volume places the Wesleys firmly in their own world and examines the ways in which their theology and practice was a fusion of diverse elements from the whole Christian tradition, giving impetus to the only enterprise that really concerned them: Christian mission. The Wesley's generous, reasonable and compelling vision is one of Anglicanism's finest contributions to the Church Catholic, one whose wisdom and influence endures across the world.

The impact of St. Mark's Community Center and United Methodist Church on the city of New Orleans is immense. Their stories are dramatic reflections of the times. But these stories are more than mere reflections because St. Mark's changed the picture, leading the way into different understandings of what urban diversity could and should mean. This book looks at the contributions of St. Mark's, in particular the important role played by women (especially deaconesses) as the church confronted social issues through the rise of the social gospel movement and into the modern civil rights era.
Ellen Blue uses St. Mark's as a microcosm to tell a larger, overlooked story about women in the Methodist Church and the sources of reform. One of the few volumes on women's history within the church, this book challenges the dominant narrative of the social gospel movement and its past.
"St. Mark's and the Social Gospel" begins by examining the period between 1895 and World War I, chronicling the center's development from its early beginnings as a settlement house that served immigrants and documenting the early social gospel activities of Methodist women in New Orleans. Part II explores the efforts of subsequent generations of women to further gender and racial equality between the 1920s and 1960. Major topics addressed in this section include an examination of the deaconesses' training in Christian Socialist economic theory and the church's response to the Brown decision. The third part focuses on the church's direct involvement in the school desegregation crisis of 1960, including an account of the pastor who broke the white boycott of a desegregated elementary school by taking his daughter back to class there. Part IV offers a brief look at the history of St. Mark's since 1965.
Shedding new light on an often neglected subject, "St. Mark's and the Social Gospel" will be welcomed by scholars of religious history, local history, social history, and women's studies.

Join Adam Hamilton for a six-week journey as he travels to England, following the life of John Wesley and exploring his defining characteristics of a Wesleyan Christian. Wesley s story is our story. It defines our faith and it challenges us to rediscover our spiritual passion.

The Leader Guide contains everything needed to guide a group through the Revival Bible study program. Includes session plans and discussion questions, as well as multiple format options."

Theology shapes who we are and how we organize to transform the world. Especially written for required United Methodist classes, this accessible book uses a Wesleyan theological frame--connection--to help readers understand United Methodism's polity and organization as the interrelationship of our beliefs, mission, and practice. The book is organized into four parts--United Methodist beliefs, mission, practice, and organization. Polity and organization are primary embodiments of The United Methodist Church. Functional in nature, these aspects of the denomination facilitate our mission to make disciples for the transformation of the world. This book connects denominational governance and organization to our beliefs as well as our mission. A clear understanding of our identity--as Methodists with Wesleyan roots in connection--and our purpose--to make disciples for the transformation of the world--can help students of United Methodism navigate this treacherous landscape as present and future leaders. Warner also addresses the estrangement between theology and institutional structures and practice by framing governance practices and organizational structure within a Wesleyan theology of connection. This approach will assist current and future denominational leaders in understanding their practices of administration and participation in polity as a theological endeavor and key component of their ministries.

Churches are increasingly exploring the potential of diaconal ministry to help them serve wider society in the contemporary context. Those involved in this ministry seek to forge improved connections between churches and the wider communities in which they are located. However, the role of those ordained to be deacons is diverse, challenging and often controversial, both within and outside the Church.

This book explores how deacons within the Methodist Church in Britain have understood their own ministry and sought to address these challenges. It draws on innovative research undertaken with the Methodist Diaconal Order over two years. Key questions and implications for practice are provided to help those wishing to reflect further on this ministry.

This book makes a significant contribution to the ecumenical debate on diaconal ministry. It offers much that will be of interest to all those seeking to reflect on, understand, engage in or work with those involved in this ministry in their own contexts."

This book engages in a critical recovery and reconstruction of the Wesleyan theological legacy in relation to current theological concepts and Christian practices with the intent to present opportunities for future directions. The contributors address urgent questions from the contexts in which people now live, particularly questions regarding social holiness and Christian practices. To that end, the authors focus on historical figures (John Wesley, Susanna Wesley, Harry Hoosier and Richard Allen); historical developments (such as the ways in which African Americans appropriated Methodism); and theological themes (such as holistic healing, work and vocation, and prophetic grace). The purpose is not to provide a comprehensive historical and theological coverage of the tradition, but to exemplify approaches to historical recovery and reconstruction that follow appropriately the mentorship of John Wesley and the living tradition that has emerged from his witness. Contributors: W. Stephen Gunter, Richard P. Heitzenrater, Diane Leclerc, William B. McClain, Randy L. Maddox, Rebekah L. Miles, Mary Elizabeth Mullino Moore, Amy G. Oden, and Elaine A. Robinson.

This book contains twelve of Wesley's "tracts" explaining the Methodist movement to his contemporaries. The author has made this tract intelligible for modern readers who struggle with the meaning of 18th century British English. The editor offers introductions to each of the tracts with helpful explanations of the historical background and meanings.

This Is A New Release Of The Original 1888 Edition.

In "Witnesses of Perfection" Amy Caswell Bratton explores how the eighteenth-century doctrine of Christian Perfection spread in the early British Methodist communities. Alongside leaders such as John and Charles Wesley teaching about Christian Perfection, Methodist men and women told narratives of Christian Perfection which transmitted the doctrine. Using narrative to spread Christian Perfection was effective because it both communicated the content of the experience of Christian Perfection and also commended this experience to the listener.
This study is noteworthy for its detailed analysis of several first-hand narratives that testify to the experience, and which were made public for the edification of the Methodist community in the " Arminian Magazine " and other publications. The narratives of four Methodist people are examined at length: Sarah Crosby (1729-1804), George Clark (1710-1797), William Hunter (1728-1797) and Bathsheba Hall (1745-1780). In addition to observing the transmission of the doctrine through narrative, the study of these stories illuminates early Methodist spirituality and the doctrine of Christian Perfection (or entire sanctification) through the embodiment of Perfection in the life of real people. This lived-out expression of Christian Perfection draws attention to unique elements of the doctrine as each narrative illustrates nuances of Christian Perfection. Finally, the narratives of Perfection offer the embodiment of transformation which resulted in lasting change.

The Land That Calls Me Home investigates the disappearance of small-scale farms from rural America and casts a vision for the church to lead in their recovery. The book goes beyond naming the usual suspects of industrialization, agricultural policies, and corporations most often blamed or credited with orchestrating the mass exodus of farmers from rural America and brings to light two overlooked contributors to driving farmers away from the land: Theology and the Church. The author shows how a misinterpretation of scripture erroneously equates farming with God's curse on Adam for eating the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. That fallacy lies at the root of the uncontested takeover of agriculture by corporate powers. The takeover centralized farming so that today a few giant corporations monopolize global farm markets and only one-percent of all Americans farm full time. Globalizing farming promised to free the masses from the curse of having to work the land to survive. The author debunks the portrayal of tilling the soil as a curse and interprets the curse rather as the separation of human beings from the soil. The more distance we create between ourselves and the soil, the less healthy the earth and our human bodies become. Therefore, restoring the viability of small-scale farming is a means of counteracting the curse on Adam and the soil. The church has been an accomplice to the theft of agriculture from the people and forcing their mass migration from rural farmsteads to suburbs and cities. The church saw the increase in productivity of those who were left to farm on a large scale as a positive development to be celebrated. The negative impact of farming with pesticides, herbicides, genetically modified organisms (altered seed), and chemical fertilizers, along with the effect of agricultural runoff on the soil, rivers, oceans, and on human health were seen as negligible compared to the promise of increased yield that could be used to eradicate global hunger. Corporate greed, however, has stockpiled food while millions die of malnutrition annually. Furthermore, the church has too often separated the care of souls from the care of the earth and ceded earth and health care to government and free enterprise. In shrinking rural communities, decimated by the migration of farmers to the city, a few dwindling churches have remained open long enough to care for the lingering souls and to bury the dead. By confessing our complicity in causing the current farm crisis in America, church leaders can with renewed vision help restore the viability of small-scale farming in rural communities on the fringes of larger population centers. Churches can serve as network hubs for farmers, whose crops are too small to win contracts with large grocery chains, to sell their produce in local Farmers Markets and community supported agriculture (CSA) networks. Churches that catch the vision to support local agriculture have the volunteer base, the parking lots, and the presence in their communities to organize and run an effective Farmers Markets. They provide a service to the farmers and to their community while reconnecting people to the soil. The author researches the loss and revival of small-scale farming from the standpoint of a pastor and a farmer. He lived on and moved from a small-scale farm as a youth and has served in full-time pastoral ministry forty years, including the last twenty years when he has worked to revive and grow his family farm. His greatest discovery in seeking to make farming viable has been that the small-scale farm's best chance of financial solvency is having adequate local markets to sell farm products, markets which churches in population centers are ideally suited to provide. He has worked with lay leaders to establish a successful Farmers Market in his present pastoral appointment and serves as consultant to other congregations seeking ways to support local agriculture.

The Essentials of Methodism is a small group study which focuses on the basic beliefs and ethics of what it means to be a Methodist or Wesleyan Disciple of Jesus Christ. This book contains ten lessons on Methodist Essentials

A new and engaging collection of sermons that embraces the historic 44 sermons that John Wesley approved, plus the 8 more of the North American collection (52 sermons) and to this is added 8 sermons, carefully chosen, to fill things out for contemporary interests resulting in a grand total of sixty sermons. Each sermon (which employs the text from the Bicentennial edition of Wesley s works) is preceded by a brief introduction and an outline.The sermons are arranged in accordance with the order of salvation displayed in the key sermon, The Scripture Way of Salvation, from creation to the fall through justification and every step along the way culminating in the new creation.The purpose of this collection is to foster vital Christian formation for all of its readers."

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

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

These essays about British Methodists in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, explore the process of collective remembering. Three distinct aspects are probed in this volume: how telling life stories shaped identity for the Methodist movement; how remembering lives was both contrived and contested; how historians' techniques have exposed the process of memorialising and remembering in Methodism.

On February 2, 2006, two intrepid women set off from Portland, Oregon via Greyhound bus for Limon, Colon, Honduras. There they would establish a new thing, a small monastery and medical mission using sustainable living, voluntary poverty, and religious practice as nuns following Methodist and Quaker traditions of worship and governance. Soon La Doctora, Pediatrician Beth Blodgett, and La muchacha, her assistant, Prairie Naoma Cutting, would be deeply involved helping in nearby clinics. Reading like a frontier women's story, this adventure (still continuing in 2010) has fire, hurricanes, and a robbery as well as other exciting accounts. These gringas become, by the close of the collection of letters home, true hermanas, religious sisters to the neighbors in their rural community. Now professed nuns, they invite other courageous women to join them in a life of service.

John Wesley distinguished between essential doctrines on which agreement or consensus is critical and opinions about theology or church practices on which disagreement must be allowed. Though today few people join churches based on doctrinal commitments, once a person has joined a church it becomes important to know the historic teachings of that church's tradition.

In Methodist Doctrine: The Essentials, Ted Campbell outlines historical doctrinal consensus in American Episcopal Methodist Churches in a comparative and ecumenical dialogue with the doctrinal inheritance of other major families of Christian tradition. In this way, the book shows both what Methodist churches historically teach in common with ecumenical Christianity and what is distinctive about the Methodist tradition in its various contemporary forms. Documents examined include The Twenty-Five Articles of Religion, The General Rules, Wesley's Standard Sermons and Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament, The Methodist Social Creed, and the Apostles' Creed. En este libro conciso y sencillo, Ted Campbell nos da un breve resumen de las doctrinas mas importantes que la familia de denominaciones wesleyanas comparten. Escrito con un lenguaje conciso y directo, Campbell estructura el material en categorias sistematicas: la doctrina de la revelacion, la doctrina de Dios, la doctrina de Cristo, la doctrina del Espiritu, la doctrina de la humanidad, la doctrina del "camino de la salvacion" (conversion/justificacion/santificacion), la doctrina de la iglesia y los medios de gracia y la doctrina de lo por venir.

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This is a new release of the original 1943 edition.