The Methodist Conference in America

The Methodist Conference in America
Author: Dr. Russell E. Richey
Publisher: Kingswood Books
Total Pages: 389
Release: 1996-08-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1426780567

In the Methodist lexicon, 'conference' refers to a body of preachers (and later, of laity as well) that exercises legislative, judicial, and executive functions for the church or some portion thereof. 'Conference,' says Richey, defined Methodism in more than political ways: on conference hinged religious time, religious space, religious belonging, religious structure, even religiosity itself. Methodist histories uniformly recognize, typically even feature, conference's centrality, but describe that in primarily constitutional and political terms. The purpose of this volume is to present conference as a distinctively American Methodist manner of being the church, a multifaceted mode of spirituality, unity, mission, governance, and fraternity that American Methodists have lived and operated better than they have interpreted.

The Holiness-Pentecostal Tradition

The Holiness-Pentecostal Tradition
Author: Vinson Synan
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Total Pages: 356
Release: 1997-08-25
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780802841032

Called "a pioneer contribution" by Church History when it was first published in 1971, this volume has now been revised and enlarged by Vinson Synan to account for the incredible changes that have occurred in the church world in the last 25 years.

Embracing the Past--Forging the Future

Embracing the Past--Forging the Future
Author: Wm. Andrew Schwartz
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 189
Release: 2015-09-17
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1498208436

The times they are a-changin'. As such, our theology needs to adapt--to be responsive to the changing landscape. The idea for Embracing the Past--Forging the Future: A New Generation of Wesleyan Theology came from our assessment that Wesleyan theology has yet to fully adapt to this changing landscape, and that the future of Wesleyan theology requires the bringing together of old and new voices. The difficult task of balancing between continuity and change--keeping up with the developments of our culture and staying true to the roots of our tradition--requires the dual focus of looking forward and backward simultaneously. In this volume, we have brought together contributions by young Wesleyan scholars (graduate students and junior faculty) as a way of illustrating and articulating a new generation of Wesleyan theology. These younger voices demonstrate the desire to push Wesleyan theology in new directions. Additionally, we have included contributions from senior scholars who have been doing important work and who have already made significant contributions to Wesleyan theology. This is not simply the "old guard" but the voices of scholars who continue to make a profound impact on Wesleyan theology.

The Methodists

The Methodists
Author: James E. Kirby
Publisher: Praeger
Total Pages: 300
Release: 1998-09-17
Genre: Religion
ISBN:

While this work takes proper notice of its origins in John Wesley's 18th-century movement in England, it is primarily concerned with the church's origins and history within the United States. Offering an account of the construction and reconstruction of the Methodist church, the authors examine the various institutional practices of the church, its organization, leadership and form of training and incorporating new members. Through their treatment of Methodism as defined by conferences bound together by a commitment to episcopal leadership and animated by various forms of lay piety, the authors help the reader understand the internal history of the denomination and its development in the United States. This student edition, ideal for classes in American Religion, Denominational History, Protestantism, and American social and cultural history, includes a chronology of significant events in the history of the church in the U.S., and concludes with a bibliographic essay intended as a guide for further reading in the history of Methodism.