The missional heritage of the people called Methodist : the story of five Iowa United Methodist congregations on a reclamation journey

Jill Sanders

Etd

The missional heritage of the people called Methodist : the story of five Iowa United Methodist congregations on a reclamation journey

Public Deposited

MLA citation style (9th ed.)

Jill Sanders. The Missional Heritage of the People Called Methodist : the Story of Five Iowa United Methodist Congregations On a Reclamation Journey. rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/231605d1-d5eb-4772-aaf0-52c45ae6f0ff.

APA citation style (7th ed.)

J. Sanders. The missional heritage of the people called Methodist : the story of five Iowa United Methodist congregations on a reclamation journey. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/231605d1-d5eb-4772-aaf0-52c45ae6f0ff

Chicago citation style (CMOS 17, author-date)

Jill Sanders. The Missional Heritage of the People Called Methodist : the Story of Five Iowa United Methodist Congregations On a Reclamation Journey. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/231605d1-d5eb-4772-aaf0-52c45ae6f0ff.

Note: These citations are programmatically generated and may be incomplete.

Creator

Jill Sanders

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Abstract

According to the Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Church, we face an unprecedented moment in our history. In the United States, church membership, worship attendance and the number of baptisms continue to decline, funding for connectional ministries continues to decline and grows weaker in the current economic crisis; and the 'warm heart' of John Wesley's movement has become a 'contented heart' of institutional inertia; and the 1970's organization and structure we live with is not sufficient, nimble or responsive to the fast changing 21st Century world we inhabit.The missional heritage of the people called Methodist offers clues to a way forward for United Methodists who long to be part of a missional movement once again. Although John Wesley would not have recognized the term 'missional' in the way it is understood today, he instinctively shaped his movement around the development of missional identity (accountable discipleship in community) and missional engagement with those on the periphery of society (submitting to become more vile). Perhaps by reclaiming those early impulses and shaping them for relevance in the 21st century, United Methodist congregations can reclaim their missional heritage and break the institutional inertia that keeps them operating under the assumptions of Christendom.

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