Download or read book Mainline Or Methodist written by Scott Thomas Kisker and published by Upper Room Books. This book was released on 2008 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Where do we go from here? The dynamic history and identity of the United Methodist Church is lost among the pluralistic landscape in America today. As a living organism, the church can expect to evolve with the culture that surrounds it. The problem, according to lifelong member and author Scott Kisker, is that the United Methodist Church seems to have lost its missional foundation as it climbed to mainline American Protestant church status. Trying to be both mainline and Methodist is a deadly combination. In fact, it's a leading cause for the denomination's spiritual and numerical decline, Kisker asserts. "Real Methodism declined because we replaced those peculiarities that made us Methodist with a bland, acceptable, almost civil religion, barely distinguishable from other traditions," writes Kisker. "Like the Israelites under the judges, we wanted to be like other nations. We no longer wanted to be an odd, somewhat disreputable people. And we have begun to reap the consequences." So...where do we go from here? In his passionate yet critical review, Kisker says we must reclaim the rich roots of salvation, disciple-making, and witness that made the tradition so strong. In Mainline or Methodist? he reveals what's not working and unveils a vision for renewal that embodies the distinctive Wesleyan tradition of the apostolic and universal Christian faith.
Download or read book Public Pulpits written by Steven M. Tipton and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2008-09-15 with total page 574 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the 2000 presidential election, debate over the role of religion in public life has followed a narrow course as pundits and politicians alike have focused on the influence wielded by conservative Christians. But what about more mainstream Christians? Here, Steven M. Tipton examines the political activities of Methodists and mainline churches in this groundbreaking investigation into a generation of denominational strife among church officials, lobbyists, and activists. The result is an unusually detailed and thoughtful account that upends common stereotypes while asking searching questions about the contested relationship between church and state. Documenting a wide range of reactions to two radically different events—the invasion of Iraq and the creation of the faith-based initiatives program—Tipton charts the new terrain of religious and moral argument under the Bush administration from Pat Robertson to Jim Wallis. He then turns to the case of the United Methodist Church, of which President Bush is a member, to uncover the twentieth-century history of their political advocacy, culminating in current threats to split the Church between liberal peace-and-justice activists and crusaders for evangelical renewal. Public Pulpits balances the firsthand drama of this internal account with a meditative exploration of the wider social impact that mainline churches have had in a time of diverging fortunes and diminished dreams of progress. An eminently fair-minded and ethically astute analysis of how churches keep moral issues alive in politics, Public Pulpits delves deep into mainline Protestant efforts to enlarge civic conscience and cast clearer light on the commonweal and offers a masterly overview of public religion in America.
Download or read book The Class Meeting written by Kevin M. Watson and published by . This book was released on 2013-11-15 with total page 153 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book I m Black I m Christian I m Methodist written by Lillian C. Smith and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2020-11-03 with total page 137 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ten personal narratives reveal the shared and distinct struggles of being Black in the Church, facing historic and modern racism. It’s uncertain that Howard Thurman made the remark often attributed to him, “I have been writing this book all my life,” but there is little doubt that he was deeply immersed in reflection on the times that bear an uncanny resemblance to the present day, which give voice to the Black Lives Matter movement. Our “life’s book” is filled with sentence upon sentence of marginalization, pages of apartheid, chapters of separate and unequal. Now this season reveals volumes of violence against Blacks in America. Ten Black women and men explore life through the lens of compelling personal religious narratives. They are people and leaders whose lives are tangible demonstrations of the power of a divine purpose and evidence of what grace really means in face of hardship, disappointment, and determination. Each of the journeys intersect because of three central elements that are the focus of this book. We’re Black. We’re Christians. We’re Methodists. Each starts with the fact, “I'm Black,” but to resolve the conflict of being Christian and Methodist means confronting aspects of White theology, White supremacy, and White racism in order to ground an oppositional experience toward domination over four centuries in America. “The confluence of the everyday indignities of being Black in America; the outrageous, egregious, legalized lynching of George Floyd; and the unforgivable disparities exposed once again by COVID–19 have conspired together to create a seminal moment in America and in The United Methodist Church—in which we must find the courage to say unambiguously ‘Black Lives Matter.’ To stumble or choke on those words is beneath the gospel,” says Bishop Gregory Palmer, who wrote the foreword to the collection. Praise for I'm Black. I'm Christian. I'm Methodist. “This book made me shout, dance, rage and hope—all at once! As a "cradle Methodist," I have deep love for my church and bless it for nurturing my walk with Christ and my passion for social justice. At the same time, I lament that my church is also the place where I have witnessed and been most wounded by virulent racism, sexism, heterosexism, and ageism. Yet, I stay and struggle for the soul of the church because I am a Black Christian woman fired by the love of God-in-Christ-Jesus. I stay because this is MY church and the church of my ancestors. Although I regularly question my decision to remain United Methodist, it is stories like these—from other exuberant love warriors—that remind me that I am called by God to stay, pray, fight, and flourish!” —M. Garlinda Burton, deaconess and interim general secretary, General Commission of Religion and Race, Washington DC “Racism continues to be the unacceptable scandal of American society and the American churches. In spite of some gains such as the diversity of supporters for “Black Lives Matter,” even the best intentioned among us remain largely ignorant of the actual life experience of those who are other than ourselves. This collection of testimonies, edited by Rudy Rasmus, helps remedy that by simply recounting personal stories of being Black, Christian, and Methodist in the United States. White Methodist Christians in particular need to read these stories and take them to heart so that racism and its divisiveness is countered by shared experience and recognition of common humanity across difference. More White Methodists need not only reject racism in our society and church but become active anti-racists willing to do the hard work to create the beloved community, dreamed about by Martin Luther King in the 1960s civil rights movement. —Bruce C. Birch, Dean Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Biblical Theology Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington DC “This book is a powerful collection interweaving personal stories, denominational and intercultural practices, and Black lives bearing hopeful witness. Readers will have their consciousness raised, and they will think more deeply about the meaning of beloved community and the embodiment of the justice of God.” —Harold J. Recinos, Professor of Church and Society, Perkins School of Theology/SMU, Dallas, Texas “For hundreds of years, we have not listened. This book is our chance to hear the words of the Black leaders in our church. They will change us, remake us, and reform us. Get ready to be transformed by painful truth and deep love. —Rev. Dr. Dottie Escobedo-Frank, Lead Pastor, Catalina United Methodist Church, Tucson, Arizona "I’m Black gives readers a clear picture of the diversity and value of Black culture in church and society. After reading the dynamic stories told by these faithful, transformative church leaders, Black lives will be cherished, and systemic change for the better will take place.” —Joseph W. Daniels, Jr. , Lead Pastor, Emory United Methodist Church, Washington, D.C. "Dr. Rudy Rasmus and others give an insightful look into what it means to be black, Christian and Methodist in America. Their perspectives on the status and plight of being black in America are both engaging and riveting. If you are looking for ways to better understand the nuances and many faces of African American Methodist evangelical life in America, this book is a must-read!" —The Reverend J. Elvin Sadler, D.Min., General Secretary-Auditor, The A.M.E. Zion Church Assistant Dean for Doctoral Studies, United Theological Seminary, Dayton, Ohio "I endorse this powerful book of Essays conceived and edited by my friend Pastor Rudy Rasmus. It is a book for our current and future realities facing the Black Church a must read." —Deborah Bass , Vice-Chairperson, National BMCR
Download or read book U S Lifestyles and Mainline Churches written by Tex Sample and published by Westminster John Knox Press. This book was released on 1990-01-01 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It will stimulate discussion among persons in the local congregation who are responsible for developing strategies of mission to the diversities of groups central to Sample's analysis.
Download or read book Mainline Christianity written by Jason S Lantzer and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2012-04-30 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the Revolutionary War, Mainline Christianity has been comprised of the Seven Sisters of American Protestantism—the Congregational Church, the Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Presbyterian Church, the United Methodist Church, the American Baptist Convention, and the Disciples of Christ. These denominations have been the dominant cultural representatives since the nineteenth century of how and where the majority of American Christians worship. Today, however, the Seven Sisters no longer represent most American Christians. The Mainline has been shrinking while evangelical and fundamentalist churches, as well as non denominational congregations and mega churches, have been attracting more and more members. In this comprehensive and accessible book, Jason S. Lantzer chronicles the rise and fall of the Seven Sisters, documenting the ways in which they stopped shaping American culture and began to be shaped by it. After reviewing and critiquing the standard decline narrative of the Mainline he argues for a reconceptualization of the Mainline for the twenty-first century, a new grouping of Seven Sisters that seeks to recognize the vibrancy of American Christianity.
Download or read book Exploring Christian Mission Beyond Christendom United Methodist Perspectives written by Michael G. Cartwright and published by University Press. This book was released on 2010 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Mystic Way of Evangelism written by Elaine A. Heath and published by Baker Academic. This book was released on 2017-11-07 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Elaine Heath brings a fresh perspective to the theory and practice of evangelism by approaching it through contemplative spirituality. This thoroughly revised edition includes a new study guide. Praise for the First Edition Outreach Resource of the Year Award Winner "[Heath's] biographies of the mystics are inspiring, and her emphases on suffering and spiritual depth as the antidote to a prepackaged, method-obsessed, consumer-oriented evangelistic approach are refreshing."--Outreach
Download or read book Methodist Morals written by Darryl W. Stephens and published by Univ Tennessee Press. This book was released on 2016 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Methodist Morals offers keen insight into the public church, interpreting the United Methodist Social Principles as a dynamic discourse about morality and human rights in light of faith. Revised every four years by the General Conference of the United Methodist Church, the Social Principles exposes the moral deliberations of this distinctly American and increasingly ?worldwide? church as it struggles to achieve community across multiple languages and cultures. Perhaps no other document provides as rich a depiction of Protestants participating in the moral argument of public life. This is the first full-length study of Methodist social teachings in over fifty years. Examining official Methodist teachings from institutional, historical, and cross-cultural perspectives, Darryl Stephens provides a rich analysis of this case study of Protestant social witness, drawing on his expertise in church polity, Methodist history, and Christian social ethics. A wide range of comparisons— with documents of the United Nations, with moral debate in Germany and Zimbabwe, and with historical Methodist statements of social witness—shows the Social Principles to be a unique form of social witness. The issues of war,abortion, human sexuality, and marriage illustrate the messiness of democratic deliberation in an ecclesial context and the evolution of a people ever concerned with the sin of ?worldliness? even as they become more attuned to transforming social structures. Stephens also contrasts this conception of the public church with the ecclesiologies of prominent Methodist ethicists Stanley Hauerwas and Paul Ramsey. Intended for students of Methodism, ecumenical church leaders, and scholars of Christian social ethics and contemporary US mainline religion, this work reveals the challenges to and possibilities for achieving moral community in an increasingly global and diverse world--from publisher's website.
Download or read book Focus written by Lovett Hayes Weems and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2012 with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What decisions must be made now if The United Methodist Church is to have a future?
Download or read book Are Southern Baptists Evangelicals written by James Leo Garrett and published by Mercer University Press. This book was released on 1983 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Recovery of a Contagious Methodist Movement written by Dr. George G. Hunter III and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2012-02-01 with total page 89 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Methodism started out asa missional alternative to establishment Christianity, but is now like theestablishment Christianity it once critiqued. In this book, Dr. Hunterasks whether enough New Testament Christianity exists in any institutional formof Christianity, including The United Methodist Church, to change the world. If United Methodism isto survive, it must recover bold directions in ministry, in addition toWesley’s theological vision. If only it was so simple as to stand on Wesley’sshoulders to see our way forward. This means that laity and clergy must bebiblically informed, spiritually energized, and systematically organized. If United Methodism isto thrive, it needs to focus on mission, recalling that early Methodism was anextravagant expression of missional Christianity. Net membership decline is notfrom losing more people but from reaching fewer people than it used to. The need for the gospelof Jesus Christ is greater than ever. United Methodists must create structuresand serve God and neighbor in order to spread, as Wesley admonished, scripturalholiness throughout the land. George G. Hunter III isDistinguished Professor of Church Growth and Evangelism at Asbury TheologicalSeminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. He is the author of several books, including Radical Outreach and The Celtic Way of Evangelism, bothpublished by Abingdon Press.
Download or read book The Future of Mainline Protestantism in America written by James Hudnut-Beumler and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2018-01-09 with total page 163 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As recently as the 1960s, more than half of all American adults belonged to just a handful of mainline Protestant denominations—Presbyterian, UCC, Disciples of Christ, Episcopal, Lutheran, Methodist, and American Baptist. Presidents, congressmen, judges, business leaders, and other members of the elite overwhelmingly came from such backgrounds. But by 2010, fewer than 13 percent of adults belonged to a mainline Protestant church. What does the twenty-first century hold for this once-hegemonic religious group? In this volume, experts in American religious history and the sociology of religion examine the extraordinary decline of mainline Protestantism over the past half century and assess its future. Contributors discuss the demographics of mainline Protestants; their beliefs, practices, and modes of worship; their political views and partisan affiliations; and the social and moral questions that unite and divide Protestant communities. Other chapters examine Protestant institutions, including providers of health care and education; analyze churches’ public voice; and probe what will come from a diminished role relative to other groups in society, especially the ascendant evangelicals. Far from going extinct, the book argues, the mainline Protestant movement will continue to be a vital remnant in an American religious culture torn between the contending forces of secularism and evangelicalism.
Download or read book Adam s Gift written by Jimmy Creech and published by Duke University Press. This book was released on 2011-04-04 with total page 390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The inspiring first-person account of a minister whose ordination credentials were revoked by The United Methodist Church after he performed same-gender commitment ceremonies.
Download or read book Native Americans The Mainline Church and the Quest for Interracial Justice written by David Phillips Hansen and published by Chalice Press. This book was released on 2017-01-03 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Native American drive for self-governance is the most important civil rights struggle of our time - a struggle too often covered up. In Native Americans, The Mainline Church, and the Quest for Interracial Justice, David Phillips Hansen lays out the church's role in helping America heal its bleeding wounds of systemic oppression. While many believe the United States is a melting pot for all cultures, Hansen asserts the longest war in human history is the one Anglo-Christians have waged on Native Americans. Using faith as a weapon against the darkness of injustice, this book will change the way you view how we must solve the pressing problems of racism, poverty, environmental degradation, and violence, and it will remind you that faith can be the leaven of justice.
Download or read book The Rise of Theological Liberalism and the Decline of American Methodism written by James V. Heidinger (II) and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Once a strong, vital, and growing denomination, the United Methodist Church is now barely recognizable after more than four decades of demoralization and membership decline. What has gone wrong? In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the American church saw the rise of "theological liberalism," a religious system that intended to respond to new scientific and intellectual currents that were sweeping across the culture. Instead, liberalism not only challenged, but often displaced the substance of the church's doctrine and teaching, accommodating it to the new intellectual milieu of secularism and rationalism. In The Rise of Theological Liberalism and the Decline of American Methodism, James Heidinger discusses the rise of liberalism in America, its anti-supernatural focuses, and the resulting transition in Wesleyan theology. While there are undoubtedly many dimensions to the decline of a denomination, Heidinger suggests we look no further than theological liberalism as the driving force behind the fall of the once-mighty United Methodist Church"--
Download or read book The Absolute Basics of the Wesleyan Way written by Phil Tallon and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 112 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A 12-session study packed with dynamic illustrations and compelling analogies that explore the key elements of the Wesleyan movement. The lessons work through three primary sections: John Wesley's life, his core theological message, and the legacy of Wesley's leadership on the Methodist church. Like its predecessor, The Absolute Basics of the Christian Faith, this book can be studied individually, but is designed for group use. The accompanying videos are perfect for new member or confirmation classes, and for small-group or youth group settings. Rich in both history and faith-building, this study walks readers of all ages through a fundamental understanding of the value of scripture, prayer, communion, spiritual relationships, and the power of salvation, as evidenced in the life and teachings of John Wesley."--Publisher
