No other way: improving the spirituality of lay leadership in a local United Methodist Church by instituting a regular personal devotional life in the Wesleyan context

Timo O Karvonen

Etd

No other way: improving the spirituality of lay leadership in a local United Methodist Church by instituting a regular personal devotional life in the Wesleyan context

Public Deposited

MLA citation style (9th ed.)

Timo O Karvonen. No Other Way: Improving the Spirituality of Lay Leadership In a Local United Methodist Church by Instituting a Regular Personal Devotional Life In the Wesleyan Context. Asbury Theological Seminary. rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/47cd4bba-d20a-4b48-9e37-26e6f805f981.

APA citation style (7th ed.)

T. O. Karvonen. No other way: improving the spirituality of lay leadership in a local United Methodist Church by instituting a regular personal devotional life in the Wesleyan context. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/47cd4bba-d20a-4b48-9e37-26e6f805f981

Chicago citation style (CMOS 17, author-date)

Timo O Karvonen. No Other Way: Improving the Spirituality of Lay Leadership In a Local United Methodist Church by Instituting a Regular Personal Devotional Life In the Wesleyan Context. Asbury Theological Seminary. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/47cd4bba-d20a-4b48-9e37-26e6f805f981.

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

Creator

Timo O Karvonen

Keyword

Wesleyanism

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Abstract

The key to Christian ministry is the spirituality of each individual believer. Spirituality is here defined as one's personal relationship to God. Jesus makes this very clear in his teachings in the New Testament. In chapters 5, 6, and 7 in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus shows how to live a personal spiritual life that affects the individual and the world. Christian leaders focus too often on programs and statements at the general level while trying to improve the ministry of the church, but goal setting and programs alone do not improve ministry if they do not reach individuals and set their hearts afire for the ministry they are called to do. The early church in the book of Acts attests to the importance of one's spirituality (Acts 2:42). The early church fathers and church reformers were deeply aware that if spirituality is to be found within the church it needs first to be found in the hearts of individuals who are responsible for ministry (Wesley, 'Wesley's Use' 63). Wesley particularly emphasized the importance of spirituality in the life of lay ministers. United Methodist ministry today and leadership of the local church are based on laity and clergy cooperation. United Methodist annual conferences and districts provide continuing education for clergy. One of the most important goals for district superintendents is to take care of the spiritual formation training for their pastors. Little spiritual training, however, is offered for local lay leaders, especially for those serving in small membership churches. This dissertation defends the view that spiritual formation instruction for lay leaders, based on a Wesleyan model, makes a difference. The Bible, prayer, Holy Communion, Christian conferencing, and fasting are still basics for personal spirituality.

Publisher