As one of the most revered Baptist preachers of his time, Charles Haddon Spurgeon's eventful and prolific life and career offer outstanding inspiration for all Christians to this day. In the first volume of Spurgeon's autobiography, we witness his rise from modest obscurity, embarking on a long road toward fame and admiration as a representative of God on Earth. A lengthy, lively and detailed biography is helped by the fact that Spurgeon was an effusive and prolific talker and author of many documents: he would recount incidents of his life on paper and in speeches regularly. We find in this volume the famous instance in which the young Spurgeon encountered his call from God. When Spurgeon was aged fifteen, a violent snowstorm forced him from his route into a Methodist church where he felt the Lord beckon him to service. After this, he undertook parochial study with great fervor, and quickly became a respected teacher in his local Sunday School, gaining the nickname 'the boy-preacher of the Fens'.

Over the past half century, there has been a proliferation of scholarship on the great American theologian Jonathan Edwards. However, the vast majority of this output confines itself to the details of his work. With some welcome exceptions, the forest has often been missed for the trees. In this ground breaking study William Schweitzer presents a new reading of Edwards: He starts with the question what is distinctive in Edwards' theology? The answer comes in Edwards' insight into Trinitarian life. God is eternally communicative of his knowledge, love, and joy among the Three Persons of the Trinity, and this divine communicativeness was for Edwards the explanation for why God created the universe. More specifically, however, Edwards believed that God's communication carries with it the Trinitarian hallmark of "harmony." This hallmark is not always east to discern, even for the regenerate. Edwards' lifelong projectGCoas demonstrated by the common purpose of all three unfinished "Great Works"GCowas to interpret the harmony found in and among the several media of revelation.

Gold Winner of the 2008 Foreword Magazine Book of the Year Award, Biography Category Brings to life the inspiring story of one of America's Black Founding Fathers, featured in the forthcoming documentary The Black Church: This is Our Story, This is Our Song Freedom's Prophet is a long-overdue biography of Richard Allen, founder of the first major African American church and the leading black activist of the early American republic. A tireless minister, abolitionist, and reformer, Allen inaugurated some of the most important institutions in African American history and influenced nearly every black leader of the nineteenth century, from Douglass to Du Bois. Born a slave in colonial Philadelphia, Allen secured his freedom during the American Revolution, and became one of the nation's leading black activists before the Civil War. Among his many achievements, Allen helped form the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, co-authored the first copyrighted pamphlet by an African American writer, published the first African American eulogy of George Washington, and convened the first national convention of Black reformers. In a time when most Black men and women were categorized as slave property, Allen was championed as a Black hero. In this thoroughly engaging and beautifully written book, Newman describes Allen's continually evolving life and thought, setting both in the context of his times. From Allen's early antislavery struggles and belief in interracial harmony to his later reflections on Black democracy and Black emigration, Newman traces Allen's impact on American reform and reformers, on racial attitudes during the years of the early republic, and on the Black struggle for justice in the age of Adams, Jefferson, Madison, and Washington. Whether serving as Americas first Black bishop, challenging slave-holding statesmen in a nation devoted to liberty, or visiting the President's House (the first Black activist to do so), this important book makes it clear that Allen belongs in the pantheon of Americas great founding figures. Freedom's Prophet reintroduces Allen to today's readers and restores him to his rightful place in our nation's history.

In this investigation of Presbyterians and identity in modern Ireland, Baillie explores a wide range of contemporary topics based on over 115 interviews with Ministers and individuals from 25 congregations. Among other issues, she explores politics and culture; social and moral issues; roles of women; the influence of life history and geographical location; education; inter church relations; the Orange Order; Freemasonry; the ministry and the future. Do the institutions of the Presbyterian church help or hinder individuals in their lives? Baillie helps to demonstrate that identity is a key concept within the context of postmodernity.

This is more than an expose? of one scandal, in one denomination, it is an autopsy of the politically correct, politically powerful, politically motivated church of today. These pastors (Albert and Aimee Anderson) have done first-class investigation and fine reporting.

This unique addition to Civil War literature examines the extensive influence Quaker belief and practice had on Lincoln's decisions relative to slavery, including his choice to emancipate the slaves. An important contribution to Lincoln scholarship, this thought-provoking work argues that Abraham Lincoln and the Religious Society of Friends faced a similar dilemma: how to achieve emancipation without extending the bloodshed and hardship of war. Organized chronologically so readers can see changes in Lincoln's thinking over time, the book explores the congruence of the 16th president's relationship with Quaker belief and his political and religious thought on three specific issues: emancipation, conscientious objection, and the relief and education of freedmen. Distinguishing between the reality of Lincoln's relationship with the Quakers and the mythology that has emerged over time, the book differs significantly from previous works in at least two ways. It shows how Lincoln skillfully navigated a relationship with one of the most vocal and politically active religious groups of the 19th century, and it documents the practical ways in which a shared belief in the "Doctrine of Necessity" affected the president's decisions. In addition to gaining new insights about Lincoln, readers will also come away from this book with a better understanding of Quaker positions on abolition and pacifism and a new appreciation for the Quaker contributions to the Union cause. Explains the critical role Quakers exercised in Lincoln's prosecution of the Civil War Reveals how Quakers employed their historic commitments to abolitionism and pacifism to convince Lincoln of the necessity of emancipation, freedmen's relief and education, and conscientious objection Highlights Lincoln's interactions and correspondence with individual British and American Quakers and Quaker groups Provides readers with important context necessary to understand one of the nation's most respected humanitarian groups Includes nearly two dozen period photographs that provide a fascinating glimpse into long-ago history Examines the Quakers' 150-year crusade against slavery, their efforts to improve the conditions of free blacks, and the religious beliefs that informed those activities

Escaping from narrative history, this book takes a deep look at the Catholic question in 18th-century Ireland. It asks how people thought about Catholicism, Protestantism and their society, in order to reassess the content and importance of the religious conflict. In doing this, Dr Cadoc Leighton provides a study which offers thought-provoking ways of looking not only at the 18th century, but at modern Irish history in general. It also places Ireland clearly within the mainstream of European historical developments.

The Jesus People movement of the late 1960s and 1970s was an important force in the lives of millions of American Baby Boomers. This unique combination of the hippie counterculture and evangelical Christianity first appeared amid 1967's famed "Summer of Love" in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district and grew like wildfire in Southern California and in cities like Seattle, Atlanta, and Milwaukee. In 1971 the growing movement found its way into the national spotlight, attracting a great deal of contemporary media and scholarly attention. In the wake of publicity, the movement gained momentum and attracted a huge new following among evangelical church youth who enthusiastically adopted the Jesus People persona as their own. In the process, the movement spread across the country - particularly into the Great Lakes region - and coffeehouses, "Jesus Music" singers, and "One Way" bumper stickers soon blanketed the land. Within a few years, however, the movement faded and disappeared and was largely forgotten by everyone but those who had filled its ranks. God's Forever Family is the first major attempt to re-examine the Jesus People phenomenon in over thirty years. It reveals that it was one of the most important American religious movements of the second half of the 20th-century. Not only did the Jesus movement produce such burgeoning new evangelical groups as Calvary Chapel and the Vineyard movement, but the Jesus People paved the way for the huge Contemporary Christian Music industry and the rise of "Praise Music" in the nation's churches. More significantly, perhaps, it revolutionized evangelicals' relationship with youth and popular culture-important factors in the evangelical subculture's emerging engagement with the larger American culture from the late 1970s forward. God's Forever Family makes the case that the Jesus People movement not only helped create a resurgent evangelicalism but - alongside the hippie counterculture and the student movement - must be considered one of the major formative powers that shaped American youth in the late 1960s and 1970s.

This book presents the history and theology of a remarkable body of Christians, formed as a result of the revival of interest in the prophetic Scriptures stimulated by the events of the French Revolution. Here we have an example of a charismatic renewal within the mainstream Churches, which was rejected by them, and which hence led to a worldwide body, governed by "restored apostles," and with its own structure, liturgy, doctrine, and hierarchy of ministers. It was a movement directed towards the reunion of the Churches, uncompromising in its adherence to Scripture, its typological interpretation of the Old Testament, and in its longing for the Parousia. It sought to bring together all that was best in the various Christian traditions. Eastern as well as Western, in preparation for the return of the Church's Bridegroom in glory. The strong ecumenical purpose of this body; its approach to the reunification of Churches and clergy; the breadth and beauty of its liturgy; its resolution of internal tensions between the charismatic and established hierarchical ministries; and its emphasis on eschatology: all these are of particular relevance to Christians today.

This study examines the impact of the first major influx of foreign refugees into Britain--the Protestant exiles of the Reformation era who came to escape persecution by the Catholic powers in France and the Low Countries. The refugees were generally well received by an English government that was aware of their economic potential. They came to exercise a powerful influence over the Reformation at home and abroad and provided a significant economic structure for a flagging economy.

'...a masterly study.' Alister McGrath, Theological Book Review '...a splendid read.' J.J.Scarisbrick, TLS '...profound, witty...of immense value.' David Loades, History Today Historians have always known that the English Reformation was more than a simple change of religious belief and practice. It altered the political constitution and, according to Max Weber, the attitudes and motives which governed the getting and investment of wealth, facilitating the rise of capitalism and industrialisation. This book investigates further implications of the transformative religious changes of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries for the nation, the town, the family, and for their culture.

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."