Bøger af Kenneth H. Jr. Carter

In God Will Make a Way, Bishop Ken Carter shares reflections from his journey from the 2016 General Conference, through his leadership in The Way Forward, his role as Presiding Bishop, into the special 2019 Conference, and the postponed 2020 General Conference in the midst of a pandemic. The book is both a spiritual journey and an inside view of one of the most tumultuous periods of national and denominational history. Carter casts his personal spiritual reflections against a backdrop of life-shaping events: the first Way Forward meetings, the tragedy at Mother Emmanuel, interactions with Kenneth Feinberg, Jurgen Moltmann, and others, the Pulse and Parkland shootings, and more. Throughout, the high points are experiences and conversations between people, often from dramatically different stances, who find common ground, new understanding, and hope while the dark times are from conflict-inspired anger, national violence, and shaken hope.

Prayer nurtures our faith and encourages spiritual growth. This thematic Bible study calls individuals and small groups to a deeper life of prayer during the season of Lent. It guides readers to spiritual transformation and application of Bible study to everyday, practical life experience. By coming near the cross through prayer, we can know and imitate heart of Christ. This thematic Bible study is designed to be used by individuals and small groups during the Lent 2016 season. In addition to the main content, each chapter offers questions for reflection and discussion, a brief prayer, and a focus for the week. The focus emerges from the chapter content and encourages readers to engage in a spiritual practice or do something specific that will help them grow in faith. On the whole, this thematic seasonal Bible study series is designed for transformation and application of Bible study to everyday, practical life experience.

Embracing the Wideness contrasts a generous orthodoxy with the culture wars that seek to drive a wedge between Christians with deep faith convictions. A generous orthodoxy is possible for The United Methodist Church because scripture supports both a confessing movement and a reconciling movement.In addition to our divergent understandings of holiness in The United Methodist Church, we apparently have two distinct conceptions of church. These two conceptions of church present in American Methodism grew from seeds planted in the earliest practice of British Methodism:1. A separatist church, which views holiness as a calling that separates us from the world--"come out from among them and be separated" (2 Corinthians 6:17). Here holiness is a quality that distinguishes Christians from the world.2. An activist church, which understands holiness as a movement for change in an unjust world. The boundaries between church and society are blurred, with the "wheat and tares" growing together (Matthew 13) until God's final judgment.At times, a denomination is able to hold these two conceptions of church in tension. And at times, as in recent experiences of American Christianity, there is fragmentation and division. The division may finally be the result of clearly articulated values that are not compatible. And the division may also be the result of how leaders do harm to each other.What great things could be accomplished if we rediscovered orthodoxy in service of the healing, instead of dividing, of our bodies--our churches! Such a generous orthodoxy would help us not to become immersed in the emotional processes that pit people against each other. Such a generous orthodoxy would keep us from becoming stuck in cycles of harmful collusion and escalating conflict. Such a generous orthodoxy would know that the source of our capacity to be healed of our schisms is a miracle beyond our human power or goodness or intelligence.  

In his introduction to the core habits, beliefs, and ways of looking at the world that distinguish the people called Methodist, Carter contends there are six essential practices in the United Methodist tradition: - Searching the Scriptures- Generosity with the poor- Testimony- Singing- Holy Communion- Christian conferencing