The Future of the United Methodist Church

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Publisher : Abingdon Press
ISBN 13 : 1426730098
Total Pages : 178 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (267 download)

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Book Synopsis The Future of the United Methodist Church by : Bishop Scott J. Jones

Download or read book The Future of the United Methodist Church written by Bishop Scott J. Jones and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2010-05-01 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers a renewed vision and practical steps for United Methodists to work together in mission and ministry. These bishops of The United Methodist Church urge congregations to stand together, under God’s grace, to lead others to vibrant faith, steadfast hope, and joyful living. The authors call for a new partnership with God to bring God’s reign to fruition for all God’s people. With concrete guidance about how to create and transform disciples, readers are invited to travel the path that leads to the abundant living that Jesus talked about. This book will also inspire and motivate congregations to work together to be a vibrant presence in their neighborhoods and communities. The Seven Pathways were created by the United Methodist bishops and presented at the 2008 General Conference as a vision statement for the Church. Contributors include: Bishops Sharon Brown Christopher, Gregory Vaughn Palmer, G. Lindsey Davis, Robert Schnase, Scott J. Jones, Hee-Soo Jung, E. James Swanson Sr., Minerva G. Carcano, Thomas J. Bickerton, and Bruce R. Ough. The seven pathways are: Planting New Congregations, Transforming Existing Congregations, Teaching the United Methodist Way, Strengthing Clergy and Lay Leadership, Children and Poverty, Expanding Racial/Ethnic Ministries, and Eliminating Poverty by Stamping out Disease.

Generation Rising

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Publisher : Abingdon Press
ISBN 13 : 1426731248
Total Pages : 202 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (267 download)

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Book Synopsis Generation Rising by : Andrew C. Thompson

Download or read book Generation Rising written by Andrew C. Thompson and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2010-10-01 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Computers, mass media, consumerism, and family instability have transformed our society dramatically over the past three decades. These cultural shifts undermine the stability of real, authentic community and make it more difficult to fulfill God’s call to live in love and connection to one another. Jesus calls us to reconciliation, but life today moves toward ever-more alienation. The adults now known as Generation X had a unique firsthand experience of the cultural shifts now affecting the way the church works in the world. Growing up, Gen Xers were isolated and independent and had no common cause in terms of war or revolution, but had a common experience of life as increasingly less concrete, increasingly more detached. Because of this, Gen X Christians have a deep hunger for authentic community and the possibility of lifelong growth in grace because those things have become more and more difficult to achieve. Generation Rising is the collaboration of twelve Gen X authors who believe passionately that the Wesleyan vision of Christian discipleship in the holy community called church is the most exciting life we can live. They offer a vision of what the United Methodist Church could be, if we will faithfully respond to the call God continues to give us, and where our very identity as disciples will never be separated from the community God calls us to join. Contributors include: Sarah Arthur, Presian Burroughs, Jeff Conklin-Miller, Timothy R. Eberhart, Joy J. Moore, Julie O'Neal, Arnold S. Oh, Douglas Powe, Shane Raynor, Andrew Thompson, William Eric VanMeter, and Kevin M. Watson

Ecumenical Future

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Publisher : Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
ISBN 13 : 9780802826718
Total Pages : 252 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (267 download)

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Book Synopsis Ecumenical Future by : Braaten

Download or read book Ecumenical Future written by Braaten and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2004-01-15 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Last year a group of sixteen theologians from various church traditions published "In One Body through the Cross, a landmark statement on the present state and future possibilities of modern ecumenism. In order to help readers understand the true depth of this document (also known as "The Princeton Proposal"), "The Ecumenical Future makes available the scholarly studies that stand behind it. According to the editors of this timely and provocative volume, "the perception is widespread that the ecumenical train is stalling or has even run off the tracks." In spite of significant gains in understanding between Catholics, Orthodox, and various Protestant denominations, the church's present divisions are nothing less than a scandal. Seen in the light of Jesus' prayer in John 17 that "all may be one," ecumenism is neither an option nor a social or political football. The fourteen essays in this book represent a focused examination of the issues that still divide and of the common ground still to be discovered.

Focus

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Publisher : Abingdon Press
ISBN 13 : 1426740379
Total Pages : 154 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (267 download)

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Book Synopsis Focus by : Lovett Hayes Weems

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?

And are We Yet Alive?

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780687013807
Total Pages : 128 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (138 download)

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Book Synopsis And are We Yet Alive? by : Richard B. Wilke

Download or read book And are We Yet Alive? written by Richard B. Wilke and published by . This book was released on 1986 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

The Great Spiritual Migration

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Publisher : Convergent Books
ISBN 13 : 160142793X
Total Pages : 288 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (14 download)

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Book Synopsis The Great Spiritual Migration by : Brian D. Mclaren

Download or read book The Great Spiritual Migration written by Brian D. Mclaren and published by Convergent Books. This book was released on 2016-09-20 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Christian story, from Genesis until now, is fundamentally about people on the move—outgrowing old, broken religious systems and embracing new, more redemptive ways of life. It’s time to move again. Brian McLaren, a leading voice in contemporary religion, argues that— notwithstanding the dire headlines about the demise of faith and drop in church attendance—Christian faith is not dying. Rather, it is embarking on a once-in-an-era spiritual shift. For millions, the journey has already begun. Drawing from his work as global activist, pastor, and public theologian, McLaren challenges readers to stop worrying, waiting, and indulging in nostalgia, and instead, to embrace the powerful new understandings that are reshaping the church. In The Great Spiritual Migration, he explores three profound shifts that define the change: ∙ Spiritually, growing numbers of Christians are moving away from defining themselves by lists of beliefs and toward a way of life defined by love ∙ Theologically, believers are increasingly rejecting the image of God as a violent Supreme Being and embracing the image of God as the renewing Spirit at work in our world for the common good ∙ Missionally, the faithful are identifying less with organized religion and more with organizing religion—spiritual activists dedicated to healing the planet, building peace, overcoming poverty and injustice, and collaborating with other faiths to ensure a better future for all of us With his trademark brilliance and compassion, McLaren invites readers to seize the moment and set out on the most significant spiritual pilgrimage of our time: to help Christianity become more Christian.

The Character of a Methodist

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Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 92 pages
Book Rating : 4.R/5 (6 download)

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Book Synopsis The Character of a Methodist by : John Wesley

Download or read book The Character of a Methodist written by John Wesley and published by . This book was released on 1743 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

A New Church and A New Seminary

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Author :
Publisher : Abingdon Press
ISBN 13 : 1501858904
Total Pages : 143 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (18 download)

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Book Synopsis A New Church and A New Seminary by : David McAllister-Wilson

Download or read book A New Church and A New Seminary written by David McAllister-Wilson and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2018-04-02 with total page 143 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many churches are “mule churches”–strong for a generation but unable to reproduce themselves. As a mule comes from a horse and a donkey, they were the product of demographics and cultural conditions conducive for a generation of strength but did not produce many offspring in new church starts or strong candidates for ministry. Mule churches create a generation or more of pastors, superintendents, and bishops who think they knew what made for strong church, who think their approach to ministry is the key reason for their success. And it produces churches with a nostalgia for the way things used to be. This makes it hard for churches to adapt to change. We've been declining for a long time due to changes in secular and consumer culture, demographics radically adjusting normative family structure, and a theology based in consumer marketing rather than mission-driven vitality. Now we realize that the church is free to not just make the gospel relevant to life but to make life relevant to the gospel. Conservative evangelical Christianity was able to focus on relevance prior to its ascendency on the national stage. Methodism requires a similar period of confessional self-definition. We are going through these confessions now in the debate about our stance toward homosexuality. Most students and most professors go to the seminary "to fix the church," because they realize that the future of the church and its seminaries are inseparable. Seminaries provide scholars for the church, who learn how to think, who learn how to take the long view, who shape identity, who foster a "culture of calling." A new kind of Methodist progressive evangelicalism is regenerating, which lives the great commandment (love) and the great commission (reproducing disciples) on a global scale. Before, seminaries prepared pastors to maintain healthy churches in stable neighborhoods. Now, every neighborhood is changing and many churches are losing their members and their confidence. They long for a recovery of their sense of mission and a new kind of leadership. A new kind of seminary is regenerating to foster hope, wisdom, creativity, and engagement with the great issues of our day.

The Future of the United Methodist Church

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Author :
Publisher : Abingdon Press
ISBN 13 : 1426702523
Total Pages : 188 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (267 download)

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Book Synopsis The Future of the United Methodist Church by : Scott J. Jones

Download or read book The Future of the United Methodist Church written by Scott J. Jones and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2010 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers a renewed vision and practical steps for United Methodists to work together in mission and ministry. These bishops of The United Methodist Church urge congregations to stand together, under God’s grace, to lead others to vibrant faith, steadfast hope, and joyful living. The authors call for a new partnership with God to bring God’s reign to fruition for all God’s people. With concrete guidance about how to create and transform disciples, readers are invited to travel the path that leads to the abundant living that Jesus talked about. This book will also inspire and motivate congregations to work together to be a vibrant presence in their neighborhoods and communities. The Seven Pathways were created by the United Methodist bishops and presented at the 2008 General Conference as a vision statement for the Church. Contributors include: Bishops Sharon Brown Christopher, Gregory Vaughn Palmer, G. Lindsey Davis, Robert Schnase, Scott J. Jones, Hee-Soo Jung, E. James Swanson Sr., Minerva G. Carcano, Thomas J. Bickerton, and Bruce R. Ough. The seven pathways are: Planting New Congregations, Transforming Existing Congregations, Teaching the United Methodist Way, Strengthing Clergy and Lay Leadership, Children and Poverty, Expanding Racial/Ethnic Ministries, and Eliminating Poverty by Stamping out Disease.

Focus

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Author :
Publisher : Abingdon Press
ISBN 13 : 1426753829
Total Pages : 149 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (267 download)

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Book Synopsis Focus by : Lovett H. Weems JR.

Download or read book Focus written by Lovett H. Weems JR. and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2012-02-01 with total page 149 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Generation Rising

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Author :
Publisher : Abingdon Press
ISBN 13 : 1426710208
Total Pages : 215 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (267 download)

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Book Synopsis Generation Rising by : Andrew C. Thompson

Download or read book Generation Rising written by Andrew C. Thompson and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2011 with total page 215 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Remember the Future

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Publisher : Abingdon Press
ISBN 13 : 1426759223
Total Pages : 144 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (267 download)

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Book Synopsis Remember the Future by : Robert Schnase

Download or read book Remember the Future written by Robert Schnase and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2012 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explore together how congregations can change to become more fruitful for the purposes of Christ. Remember the Future:€ Praying for the Church and Change prepares leaders of congregations and conferences for courageous new conversations with readings that draw us toward renewed vision, cultivate hope and keep us attentive to the mission of Christ. Read€together as leadership teams, boards and covenant groups€to understand more clearly the "why" of congregational ministry and the internal resistances and external challenges to the mission of the church.

Doctrines and Discipline

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 376 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis Doctrines and Discipline by : Dennis M. Campbell

Download or read book Doctrines and Discipline written by Dennis M. Campbell and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: These new essays summarize the latest research by highly respected United Methodist scholars, exploring the distinctive doctrines and discipline of the denomination. Essays include An Untapped Inheritance: American Methodism and Wesley's Practical Theology; The Scripture Way of Salvation: Narrative Spirituality and Biblical Praxis in Early Methodism; Theology, Religious Activity, and Structures of the Lives of Ordinary People; The Doors of Opportunity: Methodist Theological Education, 1866­-1925; What Makes "United Methodist Theology" Methodist?; The Church as a Community of Moral Discourse; and Exploring Both the Middle and the Margins: Locating Methodism within American Religious History.

The Once and Future Wesleyan Movement

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Author :
Publisher : Abingdon Press
ISBN 13 : 1501826913
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (18 download)

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Book Synopsis The Once and Future Wesleyan Movement by : Scott J. Jones

Download or read book The Once and Future Wesleyan Movement written by Scott J. Jones and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2016-11-15 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jones argues that several unique factors remain available to The United Methodist Church today from the period of rapid growth between 1800 and 1840. Drawing on the image of Loren Mead’s Once and Future Church and Moises Naim’s analysis in The End of Power, Jones argues that a viable future for United Methodism is to recapture the dynamism of being a movement, with many of the characteristics of early 19th century Methodism coming to the fore. It will draw on three key works about Methodism in the first half of the 19th century: Nathan Hatch’s Democratization of American Christianity, John Wigger’s Taking Heaven by Storm, and Gregory Schneider’s The Way of the Cross Leads Home. The book talks about how the Wesleyan form of church contains important resources for the future of Christianity. It focuses on the United States and the first half is broadly applicable to all denominations in the Wesleyan tradition. The last half of the book discusses obstacles that are currently preventing the United Methodist Church from achieving its potential. It closes with a hopeful vision of what a renewed United Methodism might look like.

Living Faithfully

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Publisher : Abingdon Press
ISBN 13 : 1501859781
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (18 download)

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Book Synopsis Living Faithfully by : Dave Barnhart

Download or read book Living Faithfully written by Dave Barnhart and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2017-08-15 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is deep disagreement about what The United Methodist Church should teach about homosexuality, same gender marriage, and the ordination of LGBTQ persons. In 2019, a special session of General Conference will be held to consider these issues and how they will be addressed by The United Methodist Church in the future. Living Faithfully is designed to help you understand the shape of this debate and what it means for the present and the future. Each chapter includes background on the Bible, Christian theology, history, stories from diverse viewpoints, and United Methodist structure and practice to guide reflection and conversation. You’ll also find definitions of key terms and information about upcoming events. The four chapters are: 1. Is the Practice of Homosexuality Incompatible with Christian Teaching? 2. Is Same-gender Marriage Compatible with Christian Teaching? 3. Is Ordaining Practicing Homosexuals Compatible with Christian Teaching? 4. Where Are We Now? This four-week study will help you understand and grapple with various views about the ministry and teaching of The United Methodist Church around issues of human sexuality. It will lead you to have honest, well-informed, and grace-filled conversations with others about these matters and the calls for change. And it will help you discern, in prayer and conversation, how you can respond faithfully in love of God and neighbor. A Leader Guide is included with lesson plans to help facilitate a four-session small group study. From the Faultlines collection, resources intended to inform conversations around human sexuality and the church.

United Methodist Doctrine

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Author :
Publisher : Abingdon Press
ISBN 13 : 1426725590
Total Pages : 489 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (267 download)

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Book Synopsis United Methodist Doctrine by : Scott J. Jones

Download or read book United Methodist Doctrine written by Scott J. Jones and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2010-09-01 with total page 489 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Throughout this ebook, Scott J. Jones insists that for United Methodists the ultimate goal of doctrine is holiness. Importantly, he clarifies the nature and the specific claims of ""official"" United Methodist doctrine in a way that moves beyond the current tendency to assume the only alternatives are a rigid dogmatism or an unfettered theological pluralism. In classic Wesleyan form, Jones' driving concern is with recovering the vital role of forming believers in the ""mind of Christ, "" so that they might live more faithfully in their many settings in our world."

The Scripture Way of Salvation

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 22 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (21 download)

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Book Synopsis The Scripture Way of Salvation by : John Wesley

Download or read book The Scripture Way of Salvation written by John Wesley and published by . This book was released on 1765 with total page 22 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: