In The Renewal of United Methodism: Mission, Ministry and Connectionalism, a distinguished group of United Methodist seminary professors celebrate the life and work of Russell E. Richey by presenting essays highlighting important themes around which much of his scholarly research and writing have focused: ministry and mission; denominationalism and connectionalism; ecclesiology and evangelism; and doctrine and theology. The contributors to this volume share the conviction that the genuine renewal of United Methodism is more likely to result from careful attention to and serious engagement with the work of the church's scholars and teachers, exemplified by Russ Richey, than from the proposals of organizational consultants and management experts from the business world. By both precept and example, Russ has throughout his long and distinguished career served as both mentor and model not only for his students but also for his colleagues in both church and academy.

This book documents a carefully planned missionary exposition marketed by church leaders as the "Centenary Celebration of American Methodist Missions." The three-week event attracted over one million visitors, each paying fifty cents to enter the Columbus fairgrounds complex to investigate ways in which American Methodists were positioning themselves to convert the world to Christ. The Centenary celebration pointed Methodists toward the future by challenging fair goers to imagine what Methodist missions at home and throughout the world might look like in the months and years following the completion of the exposition. This book is a product of the 1919 Methodist missionary fair. The speeches and addresses found within this edited collection function as textual sound bites to help readers better understand the ideas, language, and motives of early twentieth century American Methodists.

Deepen your faith and enrich your life through this study of core Methodist beliefs. Written by popular seminary teachers, this book will connect you to the life and ministry of John Wesley, demonstrating relevance for the lives of Christians today as it offers an introductory examination of each.

This study explores the thesis that belief in the supernatural became a significant identifying mark of Methodists living in the eighteenth-century. Not only did John Wesley believe in the reality of angels and demons but he also reflected on witchcraft, visionary experiences, trances, healings, and providential portents in a way that both affirmed his commitment to the theological strictures of primitive Christianity and developed a religious self-awareness for Methodists living in a changing modern world. Additionally, contrary to previous approaches to the place of the Methodists in Enlightenment culture, this book argues that a belief in the supernatural was far from eclipsed in the minds and hearts of people living in the eighteenth-century.

Committed to Christ: Six Steps to a Generous Life is a six-week stewardship program that presents giving as a lifelong journey in Christian discipleship. This Adult Readings and Study Book is designed for use in the six-week small group study that undergirds the program, as well as by others participating in the program. After an introductory Sunday stressing the importance of commitment to Christ, the next six weeks are spent exploring six steps to a generous life: Prayer Bible Reading Worship Witness Financial Giving Service With each step, readers are asked to assess prayerfully their own level of commitment and to consider increasing that commitment by one step. Equal emphasis is placed on each of the six steps, clearly communicating that this program is not simply about money, but rather cultivating a thankful heart that will lead us to giving more than we can ever imagine. For a program that focuses on the totality of stewardship, there is none better. -Jim Polk, Senior Pastor, El Dorado First United Methodist Church, El Dorado AR"

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

This second edition of Richard P. Heitzenrater's groundbreaking survey of the Wesleyan movement is the story of the many people who contributed to the theology, organization, and mission of Methodism. This updated version addresses recent research from the past twenty years; includes an extensive bibliography; and fleshes out such topics as the means of grace; Conference: "Large" Minutes: Charles Wesley: Wesley and America; ordination; prison ministry; apostolic church; music; children; Susanna and Samuel Wesley; the Christian library; itinerancy; connectionalism; doctrinal standards; and John Wesley as historian, Oxford don, and preacher.

Title: The life of the Rev. John Wesley, A.M.: sometime Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford, and founder of the Methodist Societies.Author: Richard WatsonPublisher: Gale, Sabin Americana Description: Based on Joseph Sabin's famed bibliography, Bibliotheca Americana, Sabin Americana, 1500--1926 contains a collection of books, pamphlets, serials and other works about the Americas, from the time of their discovery to the early 1900s. Sabin Americana is rich in original accounts of discovery and exploration, pioneering and westward expansion, the U.S. Civil War and other military actions, Native Americans, slavery and abolition, religious history and more.Sabin Americana offers an up-close perspective on life in the western hemisphere, encompassing the arrival of the Europeans on the shores of North America in the late 15th century to the first decades of the 20th century. Covering a span of over 400 years in North, Central and South America as well as the Caribbean, this collection highlights the society, politics, religious beliefs, culture, contemporary opinions and momentous events of the time. It provides access to documents from an assortment of genres, sermons, political tracts, newspapers, books, pamphlets, maps, legislation, literature and more.Now for the first time, these high-quality digital scans of original works are available via print-on-demand, making them readily accessible to libraries, students, independent scholars, and readers of all ages.++++The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification: ++++SourceLibrary: Huntington LibraryDocumentID: SABCP03669000CollectionID: CTRG01-B2217PublicationDate: 18310101SourceBibCitation: Selected Americana from Sabin's Dictionary of books relating to AmericaNotes: Collation: 323 p., 1] leaf of plates: port.; 18 cm

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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Methodism started out as a missional alternative to establishment Christianity, but is now like the establishment Christianity it once critiqued. In this book, Dr. Hunter asks whether enough New Testament Christianity exists in any institutional form of Christianity, including The United Methodist Church, to change the world. If United Methodism is to survive, it must recover bold directions in ministry, in addition to Wesley s theological vision. If only it was so simple as to stand on Wesley s shoulders to see our way forward. This means that laity and clergy must be biblically informed, spiritually energized, and systematically organized. If United Methodism is to thrive, it needs to focus on mission, recalling that early Methodism was an extravagant expression of missional Christianity. Net membership decline is not from losing more people but from reaching fewer people than it used to. The need for the gospel of Jesus Christ is greater than ever. United Methodists must create structures and serve God and neighbor in order to spread, as Wesley admonished, scriptural holiness throughout the land. George G. Hunter III is Distinguished Professor of Church Growth and Evangelism at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. He is the author of several books, including Radical Outreach and The Celtic Way of Evangelism, both published by Abingdon Press."

The lifeblood of the United Methodist is passion rather than organizational neatness, entrepreneurial freedom rather than denominational restraint, and agility rather than staid institutional dependence. But if United Methodists want to change and be the church we say we want to be, what must we risk and how can we challenge current practices?

At the heart of becoming a spiritual movement once again is the requirement that we develop a new understanding of connection as Christians and as United Methodists. We are currently at a time in which United Methodists are reinventing denominational connectionalism. One way of framing the issue is to distinguish between members and disciples, or consumers (those who wait for the institution to care for their needs) and citizens (those who are willing to commit themselves to and be held accountable for the whole of the community).

United Methodism has nurtured generations of leaders and congregations that see themselves as consumers of the resources and attention of the denomination. The impulse toward movement is challenging spiritually purposeful leaders and congregations to risk becoming citizens who fully expect to make a difference in the lives of individuals and also in the world through an encounter with Christ.

Popular author James W. Moore recalls how several years ago, while delivering the sermon at his church one Sunday morning, he had told a moving story about a boy and his dog. The author s then-five-year-old son, Jeff, was fascinated by the story, but feeling a bit uncertain about some of the details of it, during the family s car ride home from church, Jeff asked his father, Daddy, is that story true, or were you just preaching? Highly amused by Jeff s question, Jim Moore went on to explain to his young son that there are two kinds of stories: TRUE stories, stories that happened factually in history; and TRUTH stories, stories like Jesus parables, which are shared to underscore a dramatic truth in life. The several short chapters and stories in this book are designed to highlight such life-truths, with chapter titles such as Go out Singing, Roadblocks, Should I Forgive? One Step at a Time, Who s in Control Here? What Can One Person Do? Tell Me, Please, How to Be Happy, Why not You? Keep on Keeping On, Jesus: The Message and the Messenger, The Importance of Uniqueness, and others. This book contains a discussion guide."

Handy, helpful prayers to use in public worship during Advent and Christmas. The collection includes invocations, opening prayers, prayers of confession, and pastoral prayers for the Sundays of Advent, and Christmas Eve services. Drawn from a variety of traditions, the prayers in this collection will aid any congregation as it worships throughout the journey of Advent.

Built in 1894, the Great Auditorium in Ocean Grove, NJ, stands alone as a distinctive historic structure from the national Camp Meeting movement of the late 1800s. Authors Ted Bell, Cindy Bell and Darrell Dufresne provide a fascinating account of the history and development of this architectural treasure that occupies nearly an acre and is situated 1500 feet from the Atlantic Ocean. Included in the book are detailed diagrams and photos of the construction of the building, design aspects including original building contracts, and correspondence and observations by persons who were present at the time of its construction. www.oceangrovehistory.org Articles of Agreement and Specifications of Auditorium in Ocean Grove, NJ

During the 1720s, John Wesley began his quest to understand biblical holiness theologically and to experience it personally. Over the following decades, he preached and wrote about sanctification, carefully refining his grasp of the subject. This long-term investigation led him to study Scripture, reason, experience, and the Christian tradition. Then, in 1766, he published A Plain Account of Christian Perfection. That book went through several revisions and expansions, and in 1777, he issued his final edition of this work. Wesley's Plain Account of Christian Perfection became a Christian classic that now stands in the company of such devotional works as Thomas a Kempis's Imitation of Christ, William Law's Serious Call to a Devout Holy Life, Richard Baxter's The Reformed Pastor, and Jeremy Taylor's Holy Living and Holy Dying. This edition of the Plain Account is a transcription provided by one of the leading Wesley scholars in the world.

This ethics of preaching text identifies vices of irresponsible preaching practices. Preachers who fail to develop deep respect for their listeners or drift into a lack faithfulness to the Gospel can end up becoming: . The Pretender (The Problem of In-authenticity) . The Egoist (The Problem of Self-absorption) . The Manipulator (The Problem of Greediness) . The Panderer (The Problem of Trendiness) . The Crusader (The Problem of Exploitation) . The Demagogue (The Problem of Self-righteousness) Just as the church historically derived its Seven Holy Virtues (chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, patience, kindness, & humility) by naming Seven Deadly Sins (lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, & pride), Reid and Hogan call preachers to turn away from pulpit vices and strive to realize the homiletic virtues of becoming: . Authentic (The Call to Be Genuine) . Altruistic (The Call to Be Selfless) . Careful (The Call to Exercise Self-Control) . Passionate (The Call to Be Honest to God) . Courteous (The Call to Woo a Reasoned Reception) . A Namer of God (The Call to Reveal an Ineffable God) The Six Deadly Sins of Preaching explores the difference between the irresponsible practices, unfortunate missteps, and mere unthinking mistakes in preaching. A chapter is devoted to Preaching Missteps (problems that do not rise to the level of being irresponsible) that includes: . Short Changing the Process . Waving a Red Flag . Thou Shall Not Bore the Congregation . Through the Looking Glass Darkly . The Mumbler . TMI Too Much Information . Your Cup Do Runneth Over . Where s This Sermon Going, Anyway?"

The first of three theological volumes, this volume is devoted tofour of John Wesley's foundational treatises on soteriology. These treatises include, first, Wesley s extract from the Homilies of the Church of England, which he published to convince his fellow Anglican clergy that the evangelical emphasis on believers experiencing a conscious assurance of God s pardoning love was consistent with this standard of Anglican doctrine. Next comes Wesley s extract of Richard Baxter s Aphorisms of Justification, aimed more at those who shared his evangelical emphasis, invoking this honored moderate Puritan to challenge antinomian conceptions of the doctrine of justification by faith. This is followed by Wesley s abridgement of the Shorter Catechism issued by the Westminster Assembly in his Christian Library, where he affirms broad areas of agreement with this standard of Reformed doctrine while quietly removing items with which he disagreed. The fourth item is Wesley s extended response to the Dissenter John Taylor on the doctrine of original sin, which highlights differences within the broad Arminian camp, with Wesley resisting a drift toward naively optimistic views of human nature that he discerned in Taylor. "

Few would argue that many challenges face The United Methodist Church. But what are the core issues and concerns, the ones that must be addressed if the church is to follow God s leading into the future? Laying aside what can be merely tweaked or adjusted, what must the UMC reset about itself? Lovett Weems, one of the most highly-respected interpreters of contemporary United Methodism, suggests that we start with the following: - What will happen now that the increased giving that United Methodists have enjoyed (despite declining membership numbers) has reached a plateau and begun to decline? - Why, with 34,000 congregations and $6.5 billion in annual giving, can t United Methodists add a net increase of even 1 new disciple of Jesus Christ in a given year? - Why are United Methodist clergy less concerned with reaching young adults than are laity? Why are laity unwilling to make the changes to worship and budgets required to attract these same young adults? - If the percentage of married couples with young children has declined by half since the 1950s, why is that still the group we focus on reaching? - Why are so many mid-sized churches on their way to becoming small-membership congregations? With insight, conviction, and calm resolve, Lovett Weems challenges United Methodists not only to ask these hard questions, but to face up to the difficult decisions they require of us as we continue to seek God s will for our lives together. "

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.

In this four-session study guide to the film "Wesley: A Heart Transformed Can Change the World" written by expert Dr. Kenneth C. Kinghorn, see how John Wesley changed the world and became the spiritual leader for millions. With a screenplay adapted directly from the journals of John Wesley, the film faithfully portrays the formative years of Wesley s ministry, from the Epworth rectory fire in his childhood, to his disastrous mission and romance in colonial Georgia, and to his pivotal heart-warming experience in London. Perfect for small groups or individual study, each session includes prayers, study questions, and background information about Wesley's life and times. "

In Ordained Ministry in The United Methodist Church, author William B. Lawrence gives us a gift in this history of ordination in the Methodist tradition. From our beginnings, ordination has always been about the community. The community confirms one's call, helps him/her make decisions about preparation for ministry, and shares in the supervision and ongoing evaluation of the ordained. Ordination is a communal affirmation for the common good. Dr. Lawrence challenges us to look outside the church to the needs of the whole world as we make decisions about who will be ordained and how they will live out ordination.