Of the many hymnbooks published by John and Charles Wesley, the most important was A Collection of Hymns for the Use of the People Called Methodists (1780). Taking this volume as a case study and concentrating on the Charles Wesley hymns included in it, Teresa Berger clarifies the relationship between the language of doxology of worship and praise of God and the substance of theological reflection. She identifies the central theological themes and emphases in this body of hymnody, and raises the question of how theology can be embodied in hymns. Central to her argument is the claim that the theological analysis of doxological material is possible only when it takes care to recognize and safeguard the characteristics, the criteria of authenticity, and the tests of authority and legitimacy peculiar to doxological language. Part One of the book sets the whole discussion within the context of a renewed interest in doxological and liturgical traditions across Christianity by showing how the relationship of doxology and theology is an important topic of theological discussion in Roman Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, and ecumenical circles. Part Two is devoted to a thorough theological analysis of the central themes and images of the 1780 Collection. Part Three attempts to clarify the nature of doxology in its relation to theology.

Theology in Hymns?: A Study of the Relationship of Doxology and Theology According to A Collection of Hymns for the Use

BERGER, TERESA

Religion & Spirituality

Kingswood Books

Of special focus in this reflective overview of Wesley's theological convictions is highlighting the practical-theological dynamics of Wesley's work and suggesting possible implications for contemporary attempts to recover theology as a practical discipline. Another distinctive focus of this work is a systematic consideration of the integration of theological emphases traditionally divergent in Eastern and Western Christianity. The author also closely examines the consistency of Wesley's thought throughout his career.

Responsible Grace: John Wesley's Practical Theology (Kingswood Series)

Christian Books & Bibles

Maddox, Randy L.

Theology

A collection of essays by leading Wesleyan/Methodist scholars Richard Heitzenrater, Roberta Bondi, David Lowes Watson, Theodore Runyon, Jean Miller Schmidt, W. Stephen Gunter, and Randy L. Maddox. These essays demontrate the specific impact Wesley's Aldersgate had not only on his life and theology, but also on subsequent generations of Methodists.

Aldersgate Reconsidered

Maddox, Randy

This book illustrates the characteristic contribution of Methodism to ecumenical dialogue--the combination of doctrinal responsibility, spiritual engagement, missionary orientation, and the glorification of the Trinitarian God--and ends with a plea that in the face of contemporary challenges, Methodists will be Wesleyan enough to keep walking with historic Christianity. The book includes dialogue between Methodism and Roman Catholicism, Lutheranism, the Reformed Church, Orthodoxy, ecumenism, and several multilateral movements.

Methodists in Dialogue

Wainwright, Geoffrey

Are there common threads or characteristics uniting the worship of churches that stand in the Wesleyan tradition? What theological assumptions undergird the practice of Methodist worship in different cultural contexts? Is the liturgical heritage bequeathed by John Wesley and the early Methodists still honored in twentieth-century Methodist worship? How broadly has the twentieth-century liturgical movement influenced Methodist worship? Have Methodists made unique liturgical contributions in the establishment and evolution of "uniting" churches in Australia, Canada, or India? What are the implications of twentieth-century Methodist worship for evangelism and missions? These are some of the questions addressed in this volume, which examines the theological, historical, cultural, and practical implications of Sunday-morning worship as it is celebrated in churches around the world claiming Methodist/Wesleyan roots.

The Sunday Service of the Methodists: Twentieth-Century Worship in Worldwide Methodism (Studies in Honor of James F. White)

Churches & Church Leadership

In 1971, Johannes van den Berg published his Dutch essay "John Wesley's Contacts with The Netherlands." This essay is an early member of a virtual explosion of scholarly research and writing on John Wesley in recent years. Van den Berg's essay represents a transition between the nineteenth century hagiography and today's more objective, contextualized analyses of Wesley. The purpose of this work, co-authored and translated by Stephen Gunter, is to make accessible to English readers this significant work on John Wesley's travels to Holland. Gunter's introductory essay demonstrates the significance of those visits by providing a historical and theological context. The context he describes has three aspects: The Synod of Dort, Wesley's Arminianism, and Calvinism. His account and analysis of the Synod explains its complicated issues without oversimplification, utilizing much Dutch scholarship. What Van den Berg reveals is that while Dort served as a historical context to Wesley's visit, a major issue involved was how piety was concentrated in the practical dimension of Christian living. This suggests that in addition to Calvinism, the Methodist understanding of Christian holiness was also a part of the discussion. While Wesley moved along the edges of the Dutch church and religious life, we can still discern traits of the later Dutch Awakening that left a powerful imprint on spiritual life in The Netherlands.

John Wesley and the Netherlands (Kingswood Books)

Gunter, W. Stephen

Van Den Berg, Johannes

Biographies & Memoirs

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 Methodist Conference in America: A History (Kingswood Series)

Richey, Russell E.

This volume contains the edited versions of the major presentations made to the second Consultation on Theology and Evangelism, sponsored by the Foundation for Evangelism and held at Wesley Theological Seminary, 9-12 March 1995. The theme of the Consultation was "Christ for the World: Evangelism in the Contemporary Church and World" Nineteen bishops of The United Methodist Church were invited by the Foundation for Evangelism to address this theme, and a number of seminary professors and church leaders were invited to attend and to serve as respondents to the presentations of the bishops. The contributions of thirteen of the bishops have been carefully edited for publication by Jim Logan. The bishops whose presentations are included are: Neil L. Irons, R. Sheldon Duecker, George W. Bashore, Ann B. Sherer, Richard B. Wilke, Bruce P. Blake, Hae-Jong Kim, Elias G. Galvan, Ruediger R. Minor, Woodie W. White, Kenneth L. Carder, Alfred L. Norris, and Arthur F. Kulah. Also included in a appendix is a sermon by Joseph H. Yeakel. The collection is introduced by James Logan. This book clearly and accessibly presents what the bishops of The United Methodist Church have to say about the church's evangelistic task in the modern world. It brings together the thought of a diverse group of denominational leaders and summarizes the theological and historical roots of the denomination's role in evangelism. By providing readers with easy access to this collection of presentations, this book enables readers to know what the denominational leaders see for the future of the evangelistic task of the church in the modern world.

Christ for the World: United Methodist Bishops Speak On Evangelism

Logan, James C.

With a historian's precision and a passion for social justice, Alice Knotts shows in this book how the activities of the Methodist women's movement for civil rights developed decade by decade. Their activities were rarely in the public eye, yet they were shaping and being shaped by events and public opinion. 
An astute and insightful history, Fellowship of Love documents the contributions of white Methodist women in the American civil rights struggle. The research for this volume has won the Jessie Lee Prize from the General Commission on Archives and History of The United Methodist Church. It documents in one volume otherwise disparate information important to understanding the contributions of women in the Methodist Church to race struggles in 20th-century America.

Fellowship of Love: Methodist Women Changing American Racial Attitudes, 1920-1968

Knotts, Alice

The thoughts and beliefs of John Wesley and the Early Methodist traditions are frequently related to recent progressive tendencies in theology. There are numerous parallels between contemporary interests in people at the margins and Wesley's concern for poor people and his commitments to the sick and imprisoned. In this volume, contributors from diverse backgrounds in the United States and around the globe reflect on radical and liberation traditions in Methodism in their own context. In conversation with contemporary Methodism and the Wesleyan heritage, each chapter focuses on the question of how radical and liberation traditions provide new visions for the present and future of the church. Contributors: Jose Miguez Bonino, Rebecca S. Chopp, Stephen G. Hatcher, Jione Havea, Theodore Jennings, Jr., Cedric Mayson, Mercy Amba Oduyoye, Andrew Sung Park, Jong Chun Park, Harold J. Recinos, Joerg Rieger, John J. Vincent, and Josiah U. Young, III.

Methodist and Radical: Rejuvenating a Tradition

Vincent, John

Rieger, Joerg

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