Books published by Abingdon Press

Clarifies how to distinguish between healthy therapeutic relationships and ones which have become abusive. Carrie Doehring propose an approach to pastoral counseling that focuses on taking care of ourselves and those we minister to by monitoring power dynamics and relational boundaries in our relationships. When we monitor the power struggles within us, between us, in our communities and cultures, and the ways in which we are pulled to disengagement and merger, we will be able to prevent abuse and neglect. We will also be more likely to experience empowering, empathic moments in our relationships, and use these to "get our bearings." Taking care by monitoring the interaction of power dynamics and relational boundaries is a theological task. It is one way of seeing our potential for sin and our capacity for violence. When empowering empathic moments come, we glimpse who God is: both the immanent God whose grace shines through our uniqueness and the uniqueness of our relationships, and the transcendent God who goes far beyond who we are. Doehring uses case studies from the fiction of John Updike, Sinclair Ross, Toni Morrison, Iris Murdoch, and Margaret Atwood to reflect on power dynamics and relational boundaries in cases of clergy sexual misconduct, racism, and the dilemmas of faith in a post-modern context.

Asserts that the theology of the Wesleyan tradition is best understood not as philosophical and applied ethics, but as Moral Theology stemming from the virtue tradition, particularly the work of Thomas Aquinas. Because we have squeezed the Wesleyan tradition in the academic discipline of philosophical and applied ethics, we have distorted the tradition. This distortion has led us into the current ethical impasse, particularly with regard to money, war and peace, homosexuality, and technology.

Karen Lebacqz here offers a logical yet eminently human framework for ethical decision making. Quoting and clarifying the thoughts of the field's top authorities, Dr. Lebacqz summarizes the issues and questions that have, until now, served as the boundaries of debate. Then she moves beyond that; formulating new questions, demonstrating why the answers to those questions are critical, laying the groundwork for what eventually emerges--a new way of perceiving and resolving complex ethical questions. Professional Ethics: Power and Paradox utilizes the "praxis" method of analysis. An actual ethical dilemma is offered, then treated theoretically throughout the text in order to demonstrate how a professional decision involving the dilemma might be reached. Central to the ethical framework offered here is the focus on three steps toward a decision: action (what are the available alternatives?); character (what does it mean to be a professional in relation to the question?); and structure (how do structures limit or modify the alternatives?). The resolution of these and related, subordinate questions, Dr. Lebacqz asserts, is the foundation of a new framework for ethical decision making.

Presents primary source material from the writings of early American Methodists (ca. 1770-1820), illustrating their lives and spirituality. Writings are from women and men, blacks and whites. Setting in context each of the readings, Ruth includes materials--sermon outlines, journal and diary entries, excerpts from correspondence, hymnody and poetry, theological reflections, and contemporaneous historical descriptions--from Francis Asbury, Thomas Coke, Peter Cartwright and others.

"For years I have had two growing convictions: first, that a person learns to preach, insofar as anyone ever learns, by preaching continuously in a normal pastorate; and second, that the learning never ceases. Throughout the book, therefore, I have had in mind simultaneously the young man just beginning his ministry and the experienced preacher who feels the need of restudying his methods...A person learns to preach by preaching regularly over a period of years while at the same time his appraising and improving his techniques in the light of recognized principles. This book is designed as just such an 'on-the-job' aid..." "Technical proficiency is not attained once and for all...the preacher who would be skilled must win his skill afresh every week. Skill is the ability to use knowledge effectively. Knowledge is forever increasing and undergoing revision. Methods of utilizing it must, therefore, undergo modification from time to time." "Preaching procedures must be adapted to the several stages of the minister's own growth and to the changing conditions of the people. Methods effectual in one period of life will not necessarily suffice for other periods. Even though the principles of effective preaching remain constant, the way in which they work out varies as situations change. Hence, homiletical methods need to be revised several times within a single lifetime. This book is planned to aid the experienced pastor who finds it advisable at intervals to evaluate and re-evaluate his techniques of sermonizing." (excerpts from the Preface by Ilion T. Jones)

Preaching Old Testament meets the need for more direction in how to preach from the Hebrew Bible. You will learn particularly helpful techniques for preaching the narrative portions of the Bible and why preaching from the Old Testament is theologically important. After exploring theological reasons for preaching in the narrative mode, Holbert introduces a narrative homiletics and discusses its definition, problems, and possibilities. He then introduces some of the methods and techniques of a literary analysis of the narrative portions of the Hebrew Bible, which includes such elements as plot, actions and speech, contrasting characters, and point of view. Two sample narrative sermons with brief comments inside the bodies of the sermons and extensive comments at the ends of the sermons illustrate how the pastor can read and interpret the Old Testament story.

Traces the development of baptismal theology and practice in Methodism from John Wesley through the 1992 General Conference. Felton explores infant and adult baptism, rebaptism, and the meaning of the ritual as sacrament. She explains past origins for contemporary understandings and misappropriations.

Introduces the foundations of a distinctively Christian approach to counseling.

"Provides a candid, yet constructive, proposal for a practical ecclesiology upon which to navigate the Church's continued journey."

These 32 essays (over 500 print pages) accent United Methodism in the United States and the traditions contributory to it. They provide new perspectives and fresh readings on important Methodist topics, including how Methodism appealed to the common folk and how it configured itself as a folk movement. Similar findings derive from the number of essays that explore gender and family. Here also are new readings on spirituality, worship, the diaconate, stewardship, organization, ecumenism, reform, and ordination (male/female; black/white). Less conventional subjects include the relation of Methodism to the American party system and Methodist accumulation of wealth and the wealthy.

This comprehensive problem-solving reference for pastors provides theological foundations and experience-tested techniques for effective clergy leadership. Robert D. Dale offers insight into the dynamics of clergy management by placing leadership into a congregational context and stressing servanthood as the primary biblical leadership image. Following a discussion of the three critical dimensions of organizational effectiveness, Dale explores and critiques the four basic leadership styles: catalyst, commander, encourager, and hermit. Out of this background exploration, Dale discloses decision-making guidelines that have proved effective in helping clergy: resolve conflicts; lead churches through change; define the congregation's dream; budget resources effectively; manage meetings; build teams; and, motivate oneself and others. Pastoral Leadership concludes with a unique look at the effects of clergy leadership on the pastor as a person, offering valuable insight into clergy spirituality, burnout, family demands, and career development. Notes, a bibliography, and review questions accompany each chapter.

Like most community leaders, clergy are constantly asked to make decisions that have far-reaching effects. For clergy, the matter is particularly complicated because of the many arenas in which they operate--counseling, church management, community affairs, ecumenical relationships, denominational politics, and others. In Pastoral Ethics, Gaylord Noyce looks at clergy as professionals, and shows what can be learned from the professional ethics of other disciplines. He also demonstrates the special responsibilities (and opportunities) that affect those who are ordained. A book at once practical and prophetic, Pastoral Ethics is the standard for a new generation.

Out of Every Tribe and Nation demonstrates how ethnic minority perspectives can enrich the church's understanding of a variety of its traditional doctrines: creation, salvation, the Word, and the church in its relation to the world. In each case, Gonzalez draws from several ethnic minority perspectives to demonstrate that the church's traditional understanding of these doctrines, because it has been framed by one dominant group, has impoverished and at times distorted the gospel. In listening to these perspectives, the church can recapture the richness of the divine-human encounter in Christ, and reclaim its standing as "the whole people of God." By combining the theological perspectives of different ethnic minority theologians on the nature of the gospel and the church and by avoiding an anthology approach, the book offers a single, coherent theological discourse drawn from a variety of different yet complementary perspectives.

Preaching is in crisis. Why? Because the traditional, conceptual approach no longer works, says Richard L. Eslinger. It fails to capture the interest of listeners and is not sufficiently Scripture-based. The time has come to listen to new voices, new methods. And that is what A New Hearing provides. Eslinger offers as "living options" the work of five preeminent--though quite different--preachers who represent the "cutting edge" of preaching in the 1980s: Charles Rice and the storytelling method; Henry Mitchell and the black narrative method; Eugene Lowry, who bridges the narrative and inductive methods; Fred Craddock and the inductive method; and David Buttrick, who emphasizes the structure and movement of biblical material. Eslinger devotes an entire section to each preacher. He explicates each man's technique, shows how it differs from the traditional "three points and a poem" approach, and presents one sample sermon from each. Eslinger then critiques these "new homileticians," delineating the strengths and weaknesses of their respective methods.

Larger churches are different--in expectations, in performance, in staffing, and in use of lay volunteers. Their unique differences require special handling. And that's what this first-of-its-kind book is all about.Expert Lyle Schaller helps the leaders of larger churches understand the special characteristics of these churches and helps members of multiple staffs see their role and the context of that role more clearly.Schaller fully describes the differences that mark the larger church of 700 to 1,000 or more members. He discusses the many alternatives of staffing: part-time vs. full-time, use of more volunteers, and the many duties that can be carried out by these staff members. Special emphasis is given to the role of the senior minister, the role of the associate minister, and to their relationship with one another. Since one-sixth of all congregations account for nearly half the total members of all churches in the United States, that one-sixth actually sets the pace for the religious life of the nation. The need for specialized help is imperative, and Lyle Schaller has provided that help in this important and useful book.

In a single, convenient volume, readers can now look up John Wesley's own statements of his theological beliefs. Reprinted from the 1954 work, A Compend of Wesley's Theology, the book includes Wesley's most significant statements on the essential questions of Christian doctrine, culled from over thirty of his works.

A study of the Wesleyan tradition in the light of current theological debate. Issues of vital importance and interest to contemporary Christians are covered in this complete picture of Wesleyan theology. Colin Williams examines the main beliefs of John Wesley--authority and experience, salvation, original sin, repentance and justification, atonement, the work of the Holy Spirit, doctrine of the church, Christian perfection, and eschatology--in a search for insights which Methodism should share with other Christians concerning issues that divide the churches. A deeper perspective is added to the study through a comparison of Wesley's views with beliefs of other reformers such as Calvin and Luther and, in many instances, with the Roman Catholic view. In a world caught up in a new revival of the Spirit, John Wesley's own heart-warming experience and history-making religious reforms continue to inspire and guide Christians of all denominations.

For the first time, students of Wesley have access to Albert C. Outler's widely acclaimed "introduction" to Volume 1 of The Works of John Wesley in a single inexpensive paperback. No student of John Wesley will need to be reminded of Albert Outler's stature, or the significance of his contribution to twentieth-century Wesleyan studies. Contents A Career in Retrospect The Preacher and His Preaching The Sermon Corpus Theological Method and the Problems of development Wesley and His Sources On Reading Wesley's Sermons

This volume, first published in German in 1976, still stands as the most definitive, comprehensive treatment of John Wesley's social ethics. John Wesley's Social Ethics offers a balanced treatment that dispels notions that Wesley can easily be categorized as only an evangelist or only a social reformer. It demonstrates that Wesley's theological and spiritual concerns were catalytic in his social program. It encourages a rethinking of the importance of theology for social ethics in the Methodist tradition.