How did Jesus teach the Greatest Commandment to his disciples?In his latest book Reckless Love, author and Pastor Tom Berlin writes that Jesus taught them to love neighbor first as a way to more deeply love God.In his exploration of Jesus’ teaching and travels with his disciples, Berlin suggests that Jesus teaches us...
For anyone who’s ever felt put down, unsure, underestimated, or overlooked, these biblical stories encourage you to recognize your own power and potential to be bold.From the “thin slice of life” where she grew up with her family inAppalachia to success as pastor of a large church, Rachel Billups’s lifestories...
We’ve all been there. Rock bottom. The end of our rope. The last straw. During hard times, it often seems like the only option is to throw in the towel....
By making Three Simple Rules and Five Marks of a Methodist accessible for a current United Methodist and Wesleyan audience, Abingdon Press has reintroduced Wesley’s formative identity and boosted our way of Christian living in thousands of congregations. The next most important document that Wesley delivered to the...
Letting go of the familiar and leaning into change can be fearful for all of us. Let Go: Leaning into the Future Without Fear by Matt Miofsky, Lead Pastor of The Gathering United Methodist Church, is a guide for managing change and transition with faith as a compass. Using the exodus story as a roadmap for how change...
Throughout the Bible, God interrupts the lives of ordinary men and women, calling and empowering them to lives of service they never could have imagined on their own!Discover how to hear and respond to the unique call God is placing on your life through the stories of ordinary people found in the Bible. Called will...
Do conservatives or progressives “own” the teachings about what the Bible says about human sexuality and marriage? For some—perhaps a vocal minority—the question is no longer up for debate or discussion: conservatives win. For others, the issues are not that simple. A fresh, rigorous, but yet concise,...
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 was held to consider these issues and how they will be addressed by The United Methodist Church in the future....
Embracing the Wideness contrasts a generous orthodoxy with the culture wars that seek to drive a wedge between Christians with deep faith convictions. A generous orthodoxy is possible for The United Methodist Church because scripture supports both a confessing movement and a reconciling movement.In addition to our...
In this no non-sense book, reliable spiritual guide, Will Willimon, invites readers to consider the gospel command to love (and not merely tolerate) those considered to be “Other” or outside mainstream Christian culture. Rooted in the faith of Israel and the Christian story and vision, Willimon brings a Wesleyan...
How might United Methodists bear witness to graceful and mutually respectful ways of living in the Wesleyan tradition amid enduring disagreements about same-gender relationships and related church practices?The contributors engage the question by asking themselves:• How do I approach this question in light of my...
Learn to use four characteristics of "preaching with moral imagination" to proclaim freedom for all. The author describes the four characteristics using examples like Robert F. Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Prathia Hall, and the Moral Monday Movement, along with musicians and other artists of today. Moral...
A journey in faith with the words of Bonhoeffer.“No priest, no theologian stood at the cradle of Bethlehem. And yet, all Christian theology finds its beginnings in the miracle of miracles, that God became human.”These stirring words are just a sample of the wisdom found in this collection of 100 devotions that...
We live in a time of great division in the world, and too often we find this polarization mirrored in the church. People sitting in the same pew, working in the same office, and living on the same street find themselves at odds with one another politically and theologically on a variety of issues. Conflict seems to...
As John Wesley discovered his true spiritual identity, he experienced a strangely warmed heart. Through poignant stories and well-reasoned principles, Karen Oliveto discloses why and how spiritual renewal and a personal call to ministry emerge in the strangely warmed hearts of lesbian and gay Christians.In The United...
In the midst of polarized communities and nations, religious leaders across the theological spectrum are seeking help with how to respond and lead in troubled times. The need for courage to speak out and act is ever-present, because every generation faces a new set of fears and troubles.Author Ginger Gaines-Cirelli...
Difference can enrich us or tear us apart. Difference can make our lives stronger, fuller, and richer or it can destroy them. Therefore, how we engage difference matters. Conflicts between different peoples around the world, the movement of refugees from nation to nation, tensions over immigration, and growing...
Jones argues that several unique factors remain available to The UnitedMethodist Church today from the period of rapid growth between 1800 and1840. 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...
Pastors and leaders long to speak an effective biblical word into the contemporary social crisis of racial violence and black pain. They need a no-nonsense strategy rooted in actual ecclesial life, illuminated in this fine book by a trustworthy guide, Will Willimon, who uses the true story of pastor Hawley Lynn’s...
