This book engages in a critical recovery and reconstruction of the Wesleyan theological legacy in relation to current theological concepts and Christian practices with the intent to present opportunities for future directions. The contributors address urgent questions from the contexts in which people now live, particularly questions regarding social holiness and Christian practices. To that end, the authors focus on historical figures (John Wesley, Susanna Wesley, Harry Hoosier and Richar...

The theology of Dutch theologian Jacob Arminius has been misinterpreted and caricatured in both Reformed and Wesleyan circles. By revisiting Arminius’s theology, the book hopes to be a constructive voice in the discourse between so-called Calvinists and Arminians.Traditionally, Arminius has been treated as a divisive figure in evangelical theology. Indeed, one might be able to describe classic evangelical theology up into the twentieth century in relation to his work: one was either...

For forty years on either side of the death of John Wesley in 1791, Thomas Coke was a key figure in the development of Methodism on both sides of the Atlantic. His surviving correspondence is the most personal evidence he has left us of a man who “wore his heart on his sleeve.” Coke's letters also give us contemporary insight into some of the events which began the transformation of an evangelical movement into a worldwide communion of Churches.This critical edition gives a comparis...

In 1968, the Methodist and Evangelical United Brethren (EUB) churches merged to form The United Methodist Church. More than forty years later, many United Methodists know very little about the history, doctrine, and polity of the EUB. To be sure, there are vestiges of the EUB, most notably the Confession of Faith, in the United Methodist Book of Discipline, but there is much more to be profitably explored. For example, the EUB represents a strand of German Pietism that developed a...

Wesleyan Beliefs examines foundational beliefs as expressed in the works of John and Charles Wesley in formal doctrinal statements adopted by Wesleyan communities and in a variety of other literature including hymnals, catechisms, and works of systematic theology approved for study by preachers. It further considers the expression of these core beliefs through such popular means as personal testimonies and spiritual autobiographies and in the architectures of Methodist Wesleyan an...

Outreach **2018 Recommended Resource of the Year (Leadership)A Top Ten Book for Parish Ministry in 2017, Academy of Parish Clergy**The practice of ministry requires pastors and Christian leaders to serve as moral theologians in their communities. Ministers must preach about morally challenging texts, teach about moral issues and conflicts, offer moral counsel, and serve as an example regarding the shape of faithful Christian life. Grounding pastora...

This book offers an account of the moral foundations of pastoral ethics and the underlying interpersonal dynamics that make the practice of ministry powerful--and also morally dangerous, even for those with the best of intentions. Sondra Wheeler examines the personal disciplines and spiritual practices that help sustain safe ministry, including the essential practices of prayer and spiritual accountability. She equips ministers to abide by ethical standards when they come under pressure an...