Herald Of Holiness

Why do we worship as we do? What are the forgotten practices once central to many early Nazarene congregations? Because historical events and other factors have shaped and molded the various worship patterns found in local congregations, the way in which contemporary Nazarenes worship is no accident. Like other descendants of the American holiness movement, Nazarene worship is influenced by events predating our denominational forebears. This text explores the history behind current worship trends for a crucial reason: the very act of worship shapes and forms worshipers. Beliefs and attitudes are forged not merely by what is heard from the pulpit, but also by what is done bodily in the pew. Ellis examines the liturgical concerns and practice of John Wesley as well as those of early Nazarene pioneers in an attempt to address these issues. In so doing, the book provides a historical resource for denominational leaders, pastors, and congregations. At the same time, it aims to help congregations both to appreciate our rich ecclesial history and to critically evaluate current worship practices in order that they may truly be transformational.

The Church of the Nazarene embraces American attachments to democratic rule, individual initiative, efficiency, and a strong sense of responsibility as "a city on a hill." It is also present in more than 150 world areas. These attributes are reflected in the astounding story of one of the founders of the denomination, H. F. Reynolds, who has been long hidden in the shadow of his early colleague, Phineas Bresee. While the church points to Bresee as its founding father, Reynolds lived and served for an additional two decades following Bresee's death, shaping the role of the General Superintendency, clarifying and expanding the church's Manual to meet the needs of the growing denomination, and establishing mission policies and practices that took it from a US church to a global presence. Reynolds maintained a lively devotion to Christ as he survived train wrecks, war, dread disease, and the sheer volume of meetings, correspondence, and explosive scandal that came with the nurturing of a new church. His vision and methods have profoundly influenced a denomination that does not know his name. This volume is designed to make the introduction.

When rock ’n’ roll emerged in the 1950s, ministers denounced it from their pulpits and Sunday school teachers warned of the music’s demonic origins. The big beat, said Billy Graham, was “ever working in the world for evil.” Yet by the early 2000s Christian rock had become a billion-dollar industry. The Devil’s Music tells the story of this transformation. Rock’s origins lie in part with the energetic Southern Pentecostal churches where Elvis, Little Richard, James Brown, and other pioneers of the genre worshipped as children. Randall J. Stephens shows that the music, styles, and ideas of tongue-speaking churches powerfully influenced these early performers. As rock ’n’ roll’s popularity grew, white preachers tried to distance their flock from this “blasphemous jungle music,” with little success. By the 1960s, Christian leaders feared the Beatles really were more popular than Jesus, as John Lennon claimed. Stephens argues that in the early days of rock ’n’ roll, faith served as a vehicle for whites’ racial fears. A decade later, evangelical Christians were at odds with the counterculture and the antiwar movement. By associating the music of blacks and hippies with godlessness, believers used their faith to justify racism and conservative politics. But in a reversal of strategy in the early 1970s, the same evangelicals embraced Christian rock as a way to express Jesus’s message within their own religious community and project it into a secular world. In Stephens’s compelling narrative, the result was a powerful fusion of conservatism and popular culture whose effects are still felt today.

Tracing the continuing story of Paul and his work in chapters 17-28, the author notes that even though his story comes to a conclusion, the Book of Acts doesn't seem to have an ending; it just stops. But the thrust continues with the power of the living Christ and the Holy Spirit working through us in our day. Albert Schweitzer wrote: He comes to us, as of old, by the lakeside. He came to those who knew Him not. He speaks to us the same words, 'Follow me,' and sets us to the tasks which He has to fulfill for our time....

Those labeled as "evangelicals" commonly are assumed to constitute a large and fairly homogeneous segment of American Protestantism. This volume suggests that, in fact, evangelicalism is better understood as a set of distinct subtraditions, each with its own history, organizations, and priorities. The differences among groups are so important that the question arises: Is the term "evangelical" useful at all?

In recent years, many Christian clergy, laity and mental health professionals have rediscovered the ancient practices of spiritual direction. Seen as a refreshing alternative to the techniques and limitations of modern psychology, such practices offer new insights for pastoral care. But many remain unclear on what spiritual direction is and whether its methods are applicable to their own clients and parishioners. Spiritual direction is a practice of Christian soul care that is found most notably in the Catholic, Orthodox and Episcopal traditions but is also present in Wesleyan/Holiness, Pentecostal/charismatic, social justice and Reformed communities. Predating modern counseling and psychotherapy movements but sharing key principles and insights for spiritual formation, spiritual direction offers significant resources for today s pastors, counselors, therapists, chaplains and other caregivers attuned to the work of God in people s lives. In this landmark volume, editors Gary W. Moon and David G. Benner, along with a team of expert contributors, provide a comprehensive survey of spiritual direction in its myriad Christian forms. Specific chapters offer careful historical perspective and contemporary analysis of how Christians from various backgrounds have practiced spiritual direction, with particular attention to each tradition s definition of spiritual direction, the process of authentic transformation, the role of the spiritual director, indicators of mature spirituality and other aspects of the spiritual direction process. Chapters also provide psychological and clinical insight into how spiritual direction is similar to, different from and can be integrated with psychotherapy and pastoral counseling to help others experience spiritual transformation and union with God.