In this introductory treatment of Christian education, the authors assume that "religious education begins with the basic human need to make meaning. The church and its education fail when they do not take into account people's life experiences and their search for faithfulness." Teachers and pastors learn first to understand how their own meanings have been shaped, then to name and clarify how religious meaning is transmitted and transformed through personal experience. Several personal and congregational "stories" are woven throughout the text to help the reader better understand how meaning, learning, and vocation converge as Christians grow in faith and understanding.

Readers are encouraged to apply new insights to their own lives through activities that are suggested throughout the text. A Key Concept Index provides easy access to primary terms and ideas.

In volume offers insight and guidance regarding this new ministerial order both to those who are called into the diaconate, and those among whom they will minister. The book begins by locating the office of deacon within the larger United Methodist understanding the ministry of all God's people and of ordained ministers. Drawing on the stories of those whom God has called and ordained to the ministry of deacon, the authors portray the crucial link between the worship of the church and service to the world that is central to the office of deacon. The book concludes with answers to common questions asked by deacons and the churches in which their ministry takes place: Who pays for insurance? What about pensions? What responsibilities do deacons have to the congregations that hire them, and what to the conferences of which they are members?

In Mapping Christian Education: Approaches to Congregational Learning, Jack L. Seymour provides the most up-to-date insights about the various aspects of Christian education. Ecumenical in scope, and unified in process, his work includes chapters on schooling, faith communications, human development, social transformation, and future agenda. Contributors include: Elizabeth Caldwell, Margaret Ann Crain, Maria Harris, Donald E. Miller, Gabriel Moran, Robert O'Gorman, Daniel Schipani, and Jack Seymour.

By reading Mapping Christian Education:

- Seminarians will learn the fundamentals of educational theory

- Professors will discover a reliable textbook to be included in their curriculum

- Directors of Christian Education will enjoy a refresher course in recent developments and advances in the field

This sequel to Seymour and Miller's popular Contemporary Approaches to Christian Education offers new information and ideas regarding the major theological issues within Christian education today. In one volume, the world's leading Christian educators reflect on such issues as tradition in the church, religious pluralism, human development, spirituality, ecumenical learning, feminist and liberation theology, practical theology, and hermeneutics.

Contributors include Charles R. Foster, Susanne Johnson, Fumitaka Matsuoka, Melanie A. May, David Merritt, Mary Elizabeth Mullino Moore, Romney Moseley, Robert T. O'Gorman, Richard R. Osmer, Marianne Sawicki, and Choan-Seng Song.

Seymour and Miller, with four other experts in the field, seek to clarify the agenda, resources, and hopes for Christian education in the twenty-first century. Gone are the days when Christian education was variously envisioned as a school, a home, an educational system, a mission agency, or a school for Christian living. These dreams revealed the conflicts Christian education was to face throughout much of the twentieth century; yet they also clarified its resources and motivated efforts on its behalf.

Modern educators such as Seymour and Miller also dream of what Christian education is and what it can become. Here they investigate five approaches through which contemporary Christian educators can develop the theory and practice of Christian education: (1) religious instruction (2) faith community (3) development (4) liberation (5) interpretation. Although they explore these five vital approaches from psychological, philosophical, exegetical, and sociological viewpoints, the authors agree that the central theme is still the teaching of the Good News. It is there we will discover that we are delivered for dependency on the old ways and that we are free to move into new ways of living."

Christian religious education provides the content, processes, and settings to empower the church s mission in the world a mission that includes health care, peace with justice, and disciple-making ministries. Today, the field Christian Education is clear about its tasks of helping form and nurture faith that is then embodied in faithful practices. Research studies on Christian faith practices show howparticipating in Christian community undergirds and complements thoughtful living through one s life. With an emphasis on practices and mission, this bookoffers readers concrete ways to empower vital faith formation in congregations as it describes current trends, which include richer diversity, entrepreneurial spirit, and interfaith dialog. This book will also help prepare students for leadership in the Church universal and in the field of Christian Education.

"