Throughout this book, Scott J. Jones insists that for United Methodists the ultimate goal of doctrine is holiness. Importantly, he clarifies the nature and the specific claims of "official" United Methodist doctrine in a way that moves beyond the current tendency to assume the only alternatives are a rigid dogmatism or an unfettered theological pluralism. In classic Wesleyan form, Jones' driving concern is with recovering the vital role of forming believers in the "mind of Christ, " so that they might live more faithfully in their many settings in our world.

There are, it seems, as many definitions of the term "evangelism" as there are people doing the defining. For some, it means proclaiming the gospel to those who have not heard it. To others, it means making disciples of Jesus Christ. To others, it means working for the transformation of the world into the kingdom of God. For still others, it has principally to do with building vibrant, healthy congregations. Underlying this confusion is a fundamental inability to locate the practice of evangelism within one's overall theological convictions.

We will never understand the part that...

Despite wide acceptance of the "Wesleyan quadrilateral," significant disagreements have arisen in both academic and church circles about the degree to which Scripture stood in a place of theological primacy for Wesley, or should do so for modern Methodists, and about the proper and appropriate methods of interpreting Scripture. In this important work, Scott J. Jones offers a full-scale investigation of John Wesley's conception and use of Scripture. The results of this careful and thorough investigation are sometimes surprising. Jones argues that for Wesley, religious authority is constituted...

We live in a skeptical age. People--especially young people--express doubts about Christian faith. In this thoughtful eight week study Bishop Scott Jones, author of The Wesleyan Way, partners with his son Rev. Arthur Jones, to address hard questions that all of us face when considering faith, religion, and the church. The questions include:

Can only one religion be true?
Why is there suffering and evil?
How can I believe in science and creation?
How can I believe in a God I can't prove?
Can I trust the Old Testament?
Are marriage, sex, and family life...

We live in a skeptical age. People--especially young people--express doubts about Christian faith. In this thoughtful eight week study Bishop Scott J. Jones, author of The Wesleyan Way, partners with his son Rev. Arthur Jones, to address hard questions that all of us face when considering faith, religion, and the church.

This Leader Guide includes everything a group leader needs to plan and facilitate the eight sessions, helping participants to explore what they have read, to view a video, and to discuss the reading and video with the group. The guide walks leaders through...

Jones argues that several unique factors remain available to The United Methodist Church today from the period of rapid growth between 1800 and 1840. 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 recapture the dynamism of being a movement, with many of the characteristics of early 19th century Methodism coming to the fore. It will draw on three key works about Methodism in the first half of the 19th century: Nathan Hatch's Democratization of American...