Generation Rising book update

A few days ago, I posted about an upcoming book I've edited that is entitled, Generation Rising: A Future with Hope for the United Methodist Church.


In the lead-up to the April release next spring, I plan to offer updates that will keep readers of this blog abreast of information related to the book.


In the past few days, online booksellers have begun listing Generation Rising on their websites, making the book available for pre-ordering. Both Cokesbury and Amazon now have listings, which you can now access on their sites:

-- Here is the Cokesbury link to the book.

-- And here's the Amazon link as well.

The book's subtitle mentions a hopeful future for the United Methodist Church. What the other 11 authors and I are doing in the book's chapters is to collectively offer a vision for that future. But it's not about just an institutional future. It's about the future of a movement. What we're aiming toward is a future for Methodism itself, as a Spirit-led missional way of life that is seeks to respond faithfully to the grace of God in Jesus Christ.

That way of life can be seen when we embrace the communal Christian practices known as the means of grace.

My hope is that Generation Rising will be a book read by people of all generations who understand themselves as Wesleyans. I also think it will be particularly helpful to read it in communal settings: congregations, small groups, and local church-based classes that want to engage a substantial proposal on how it is that we can be faithful in our own day through drawing from the deep resources of the Wesleyan tradition.

So if you end up using this book in a group setting, let me know how it is received!

With the 'Discussion Questions' at the end of each chapter, Generation Rising is written to push readers toward examining their own practices of discipleship, as well as those of their local faith community. Hopefully, it can contribute to the renewal of Wesleyan mission and ministry in the church as a whole. Methodism has always believed that its calling is to "spread scriptural holiness," and it is my own hope that together we can re-learn the deep implications of what that statement really means.