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The Future of Evangelicals in Mission: Will We Regain the Kingdom Vision of Our Forefathers in the Faith? Ralph D
1 From (Frontiers in Mission, 327-43) The Future of Evangelicals in Mission: Will We Regain the Kingdom Vision of Our Forefathers in the Faith? Ralph D. Winter, W1489C.14, 3/9/08 A flood of light on the future of the Evangelical movement and its mission vision can be deduced by looking closely at its roots. Evangelicals happen to have a rich heritage of faith and works, extensively forgotten, that can once again inspire and instruct us as we seek to bring a complete gospel to every tribe and tongue. Evangelicals? Who Are They? The word evangelical in the Catholic tradition refers to those people who take the four Evangelical gospels very seriously—specifically, members of Catholic orders. Later, in the Protestant tradition, the word evangelical came to refer to a political party where the evangelici, adhering to the authority of the Bible, were opposed to the pontifici who supported the authority of the Pope. However, at the time of the Reformation other things were going on besides tension between two parties. There were the Anabaptists and later on Pietists and still later a still different kind of “Evangelical,” namely Quakers, and eventually, the Methodists, who became a global force. As a broad generalization, all of these additional “third force” movements came to understand the word Evangelical to mean more than correct belief. The word began to refer to those individuals who had had a personal “evangelical experience,” by which was meant something real had happened in a person’s heart and life not just purely mental assent to a prescribed intellectual creed. -
Faithful Stewards of the Mysteries of God
Faithful Stewards of the Mysteries of God Report of the General Secretary Jerome King Del Pino Meeting of the Board of Directors General Board of Higher Education and Ministry October 13, 2005 Nashville, Tennessee hen at its gathering in 2004 General Conference brought into being the Connectional Table, it undertook a restructuring of Wour denomination’s corporate life that harbors far-reaching implications for how United Methodists will interpret and live out their mission in the twenty-first century.And to the extent that the church’s mission and ministry find expression through the work of the general agencies, the deliberations and actions of the Connectional Table will have a direct impact on the mission of the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry.This is unavoidable.After all, as the Book of Discipline makes clear, the Connectional Table is the venue where “ministry and money are brought to the same table to coordinate the mission, ministries, and resources of The United Methodist Church.”1 The Connectional Table represents a powerful opportunity for revital- izing the mission and ministry of The United Methodist Church in the new century. However, ironically, it also harbors the real danger of con- tributing to the further fracturing of the United Methodist connection. I submit that whether the Connectional Table will be blessing or bane depends vitally on the willingness of the church’s leaders to subject this new confluence of “connection,”“mission,”“money,”and “ministry” to deep-running theological scrutiny.The fact is, United Methodism’s unfortu- 2 nate penchant for a distorted pragmatism that says,“If it works, let’s do it,” is a bane to our church. -
Fourth Quarter Program of Study ~2008~
“THE STEWARD MINISTRY: IN PRINCIPLE AND IN PRACTICE” FFOOUURRTTHH QQUUAARRTTEERR PPRROOGGRRAAMM OOFF SSTTUUDDYY ~~22000088~~ WRITTEN BY: Clifford L. Harris, President CONNECTIONAL LAY COUNCIL OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LAY MINISTRY CHRISTIAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH DR. VICTOR TAYLOR, GENERAL SECRETARY BISHOP THOMAS LANIER HOYT, JR., CHAIRMAN INTRODUCTION The Fourth and final 2008 Connectional Lay Council Quarterly Program of Study is based primarily on facts outlined and recorded in Chapter 35 of the 2006 CME Church Book of Discipline. The *process and duties recorded in this chapter, pertaining to the Steward Ministry, will be presented as “principles” and my comments relative to the approach or method of addressing the principles will be presented as “practices”. One should, in reading and digesting this document, have the Book of Discipline on hand. As you begin this lesson, please consider very sincerely Section 509, of Chapter 35, under the heading of “Spiritual Expectations”. It reads as follows: God calls God’s people to various ministries. In the local congregation such ministries are fulfilled in positions of leadership. Each is vital to the church’s effort to fulfill its mission as the body of Christ in every place. Accordingly, persons placed in positions of leadership should evidence the highest level of commitment to Christ and His/Her Church by participation in public worship, Sunday Church School, opportunities for prayer and Bible study, and such spiritual disciplines as tithing of self and resources. Taking into consideration the individual and collective relationships of Stewards to the Pastor and the on-going spiritual and financial health of the church, I find that section 509 is tremendously important. -
Law and Gospel Article
RENDER UNTO RAWLS: LAW, GOSPEL, AND THE EVANGELICAL FALLACY Wayne R. Barnes∗ I. INTRODUCTION Many explicitly Christian voices inject themselves frequently and regularly into the current public policy and political discourse. Though not all, many of these Christian arguments proceed in something like the following manner. X is condemned (or required) by God, as revealed in the Bible. Therefore, the explicitly-required “Christian position” on X is for the law to prohibit or limit the activity (or require it), in accordance with the advocate’s interpretation of biblical ethical standards. To be clear, I mean to discuss only those scenarios where a Christian publicly identifies a position as being mandated by Christian morality or values --- i.e., where the public is given a message that some law or public policy is needed in order to comply with the Christian scriptures or God’s will. That is, in short, this article is about explicit political communications to the public in overt religious language of what Christianity supposedly requires for law and policy. As will be seen, these voices come quite famously from the Christian Religious Right, but they come from the Religious Left as well. Political philosophers (most famously John Rawls) have posited that pluralism and principles of liberal democracy strongly counsel against resort to such religious views in support of or against any law or public policy.1 That is, in opposition to this overt religious advocacy in the political realm (though, it should be noted, not necessarily taking a substantive position on the issues, per se) is the position of Rawlsian political liberalism, which states generally that, all things being equal, such inaccessible religious arguments should not be made, but rather arguments should only be made by resort to “public reason” which all find to be accessible.2 Christian political voices counter that this results in an intolerable stifling of their voice, of requiring that they “bracket” ∗ Professor, Texas Wesleyan University School of Law. -
![1946-02-16 [P A-10]](https://docslib.b-cdn.net/cover/5985/1946-02-16-p-a-10-135985.webp)
1946-02-16 [P A-10]
/ 11 tomorrow. His nent in the service. Dr. E. A. Rev. J. H. Steen to Church, at a.m. part Sf. Mary's Episcopal Speak Dr. Wright to Preach [subject will be “The Lord's Stand- Sexsmith will speak on "The Mes- Church ard.” At Mt. sage of Our Heroes.” The Potomaa Special Pleasant Church A special service will be held at 80th At R. I. Avenue Church Veterans of Wars, Anniversary Announcements The Rev. Joseph H. Steen, super- 8 p.m. in honor of Lt. Henry H. Post, Foreign The 80th anniversary of St. Mary’s intendent of the Middle Atlantic Dr. William T. Wright, district Jones who was killed In France. will attend in a body. All service- Keller Memorial Lutheran—The 8 The Episcopal Church and the 15th an- Conference of Chris- of the honor guard of the Veterans men are invited. S. Gable p.m. service tomorrow will be de- Congregational superintendent Hagerstown Byron Has of Foreign Wars will have a promi- Taught niversary of the rector, the Rev. E. voted to music. The two choirs will tian Churches, will speak at the district of the Baltimore Confer- A. will be to- The Christian, observed be assisted by guest soloists. Mount Pleasant Congregational ence, will be the guest speaker at Aaaemblg at <&aa Scriptures 60 Years morrow. Georgetown Gospel Mission—The Church at 11 a.m. tomorrow. the Rhode Island Avenue Methodist The £tljtral Swirly Byron s. Oable, who teaches a for a time had charge of the Holy communion will be cele- Rev. Paul White, assistant pastor of Washington Association at 3:30 will examine class at National Baptist Memorial teacher-training classes there and brated at 7:30 and 11 a.m. -
Towards an Understanding of Lived Methodism
Telling Our Stories: Towards an Understanding of Lived Methodism Item Type Thesis or dissertation Authors Edwards, Graham M. Citation Edwards, G. M. (2018). Telling Our Stories: Towards an Understanding of Lived Methodism. (Doctoral dissertation). University of Chester, United Kingdom. Publisher University of Chester Rights Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Download date 28/09/2021 05:58:45 Item License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10034/621795 Telling Our Stories: Towards an Understanding of Lived Methodism Thesis submitted in accordance with the requirements of the University of Chester for the degree of Doctor of Professional Studies in Practical Theology By Graham Michael Edwards May 2018 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The work is my own, but I am indebted to the encouragement, wisdom and support of others, especially: The Methodist Church of Great Britain who contributed funding towards my research. The members of my group interviews for generously giving their time and energy to engage in conversation about the life of their churches. My supervisors, Professor Elaine Graham and Dr Dawn Llewellyn, for their endless patience, advice and support. The community of the Dprof programme, who challenged, critiqued, and questioned me along the way. Most of all, my family and friends, Sue, Helen, Simon, and Richard who listened to me over the years, read my work, and encouraged me to complete it. Thank you. 2 CONTENTS Abstract 5 Summary of Portfolio 6 Chapter One. Introduction: Methodism, a New Narrative? 7 1.1 Experiencing Methodism 7 1.2 Narrative and Identity 10 1.3 A Local Focus 16 1.4 Overview of Thesis 17 Chapter Two. -
The Wesleyan Enlightenment
The Wesleyan Enlightenment: Closing the gap between heart religion and reason in Eighteenth Century England by Timothy Wayne Holgerson B.M.E., Oral Roberts University, 1984 M.M.E., Wichita State University, 1986 M.A., Asbury Theological Seminary, 1999 M.A., Kansas State University, 2011 AN ABSTRACT OF A DISSERTATION submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of History College of Arts and Sciences KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY Manhattan, Kansas 2017 Abstract John Wesley (1703-1791) was an Anglican priest who became the leader of Wesleyan Methodism, a renewal movement within the Church of England that began in the late 1730s. Although Wesley was not isolated from his enlightened age, historians of the Enlightenment and theologians of John Wesley have only recently begun to consider Wesley in the historical context of the Enlightenment. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive understanding of the complex relationship between a man, John Wesley, and an intellectual movement, the Enlightenment. As a comparative history, this study will analyze the juxtaposition of two historiographies, Wesley studies and Enlightenment studies. Surprisingly, Wesley scholars did not study John Wesley as an important theologian until the mid-1960s. Moreover, because social historians in the 1970s began to explore the unique ways people experienced the Enlightenment in different local, regional and national contexts, the plausibility of an English Enlightenment emerged for the first time in the early 1980s. As a result, in the late 1980s, scholars began to integrate the study of John Wesley and the Enlightenment. In other words, historians and theologians began to consider Wesley as a serious thinker in the context of an English Enlightenment that was not hostile to Christianity. -
A Theology of Good Works: the Apostle Paul's Concept of Good Works Within the Context Of
LIBERTY UNIVERSITY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY A THEOLOGY OF GOOD WORKS: THE APOSTLE PAUL’S CONCEPT OF GOOD WORKS WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF SECOND TEMPLE JUDAISM PRESENTED AT THE FIRST ANNUAL EVERYDAY THEOLOGY CONFERENCE MARCH 20, 2015 BY DR. MARTIN E. SHELDON A THEOLOGY OF GOOD WORKS: THE APOSTLE PAUL’S CONCEPT OF GOOD WORKS WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF SECOND TEMPLE JUDAISM Introduction The apostle Paul lived and ministered within the historical context of Second Temple Judaism.1 Following just over three decades of adherence to and immersion in Pharisaic Judaism, Saul of Tarsus converted to Jesus Christ and in consequence, conducted several missionary journeys proclaiming the gospel of Christ and writing letters to the newly established churches. While the Hebrew Scriptures provided the theological foundation for the apostle Paul’s teaching, his concept of good works was forged within the historical context of Second Temple Judaism. Inasmuch as this is the case, it is essential to explore the concept of good works within the OT and Second Temple Literature in order to accurately assess the apostle Paul’s theology of good works. This inquiry will assess Paul’s theology of good works in comparison to the Old Testament (OT) Pseudepigrapha, OT Apocrypha, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Josephus, and Philo in order to determine how Paul’s concept compares to that of the relevant Second Temple literature. Second Temple literature emphasizes the necessity of performing good works such as virtuous living and morality, alms-giving, prayer, and fasting; and exemplifies God’s people as those who adhere to the Mosaic Law. -
Reformed Tradition
THE ReformedEXPLORING THE FOUNDATIONS Tradition: OF FAITH Before You Begin This will be a brief overview of the stream of Christianity known as the Reformed tradition. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, the Reformed Church in America, the United Church of Christ, and the Christian Reformed Church are among those considered to be churches in the Reformed tradition. Readers who are not Presbyterian may find this topic to be “too Presbyterian.” We encourage you to find out more about your own faith tradition. Background Information The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is part of the Reformed tradition, which, like most Christian traditions, is ancient. It began at the time of Abraham and Sarah and was Jewish for about two thousand years before moving into the formation of the Christian church. As Christianity grew and evolved, two distinct expressions of Christianity emerged, and the Eastern Orthodox expression officially split with the Roman Catholic expression in the 11th century. Those of the Reformed tradition diverged from the Roman Catholic branch at the time of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. Martin Luther of Germany precipitated the Protestant Reformation in 1517. Soon Huldrych Zwingli was leading the Reformation in Switzerland; there were important theological differences between Zwingli and Luther. As the Reformation progressed, the term “Reformed” became attached to the Swiss Reformation because of its insistence on References Refer to “Small Groups 101” in The Creating WomanSpace section for tips on leading a small group. Refer to the “Faith in Action” sections of Remembering Sacredness for tips on incorporating spiritual practices into your group or individual work with this topic. -
Calvinism #Not Fatalism Calvinism: Argued in Outline
Study guide for Calvinism #not_fatalism Calvinism: Argued in Outline I. CALVINISM B. B. Warfield defines Calvinism as theism and evangelicalism come to their own. That is to say, quite simply, that God saves sinners. He does not merely provide the possibility or opportunity for them to be saved. He does not “do His part” and leave man to do his part to accomplish salvation. No, God actually saves sinners, and that salvation is all of Him. Cornelius Van Til says that Calvinism’s only system is to be open to the Scriptures. He adds, “The doctrines of Calvinism are not deduced in a priori fashion from one major principle such as the sovereignty of God.” This has been one of the most frequent arguments against Calvinism. The charge is that it fastens on to one Scripture principle, God’s sovereignty, and proceeds to develop a logical system based on that principle, with little or no regard to Scripture. As Van Til indicates, such a charge is groundless. Here is a fair statement of the Calvinistic position. We may here note the following Clarifications in particular: 1. The Five Points. What has just been said will make it clear that Calvinism is more than “five points.” The five points were actually answers to five points made by Arminians. Five-point Calvinism is frequently referred to as TULIP theology, using the T-U-L-I-P as an acrostic: Total Depravity; Unconditional Election; Limited Atonement (though Calvinists believe that Arminians, not they, limit the atonement; they prefer such terms as particular redemption or definite atonement); Irresistible Grace; Perseverance of the saints. -
Galatians Introduction Gospel Or Law? Faith Or Works? These Are
Galatians Introduction Gospel or Law? Faith or works? These are key questions in the life of every Christian. In the book of Galatians, we are assured that keeping the law, even the Ten Commandments, cannot save us from our sins. Instead, we find freedom and salvation through placing our faith in the atoning death of Jesus Christ on the cross. Background Galatians was written about 49 A.D. from Antioch. This letter was written to churches in southern Galatia in the first century but was included in the Bible for the instruction of all Christians. Paul wrote the letter to disprove the claims of the Judaizers, who said Christians must follow the Jewish laws, including circumcision, to be saved. Galatia was a province in the Roman Empire, in central Asia Minor. It included Christian churches in the cities of Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. Purpose The Epistle to the Galatians was the battle cry of the Reformation because it stands out as Paul’s Manifesto of Justification by Faith . It has therefore been dubbed as “the charter of Christian Liberty.” Luther considered it in a peculiar sense his Epistle. 51 Galatians stands as a powerful polemic against the Judaizers and their teachings of legalism. They taught, among other things, that a number of the ceremonial practices of the Old Testament were still binding on the church. Thus, the apostle writes to refute their false gospel of works and demonstrates the superiority of justification by faith and sanctification by the Holy Spirit versus by the works of the Law. In addition, these Judaizers not only proclaimed a false gospel, but sought to discredit Paul’s apostleship. -
The Chautauqua Lake Camp Meeting and the Chautauqua Institution Leslie Allen Buhite
Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2007 The Chautauqua Lake Camp Meeting and the Chautauqua Institution Leslie Allen Buhite Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF VISUAL ARTS, THEATRE & DANCE THE CHAUTAUQUA LAKE CAMP MEETING AND THE CHAUTAUQUA INSTITUTION By LESLIE ALLEN BUHITE A Dissertation submitted to the School of Theatre in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2007 The members of the Committee approve the Dissertation of Leslie Allen Buhite defended on April 17, 2007. Carrie Sandahl Professor Directing Dissertation Donna Marie Nudd Outside Committee Member Mary Karen Dahl Committee Member Approved: C. Cameron Jackson, Director, School of Theatre Sally E. McRorie, Dean, College of Visual Arts, Theatre & Dance The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved of the above named committee members. ii For Michelle and Ashera Donald and Nancy Mudge Harold and Ruth Buhite As a foundation left to create the spiral aim A Movement regained and regarded both the same All complete in the sight of seeds of life with you -- Jon Anderson iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My very special thanks and profound gratitude to Dr. Carrie Sandahl, whose unrelenting support and encouragement in the face of my procrastination and truculence made this document possible. My thanks and gratitude also to committee members Dr. Donna Marie Nudd and Dr. Mary Karen Dahl for their patient reading and kind and insightful criticism. Of my acquaintances at Florida State University, I also extend my appreciation to Dr.