Updates

Abingdon Press Presents James W. Moore Award to Rev. Jessica LaGrone, Dean of Chapel

Nashville, July 14—Abingdon Press, the trade imprint of The United Methodist Publishing House, announced that the James W. Moore Award for Inspirational Writing will be presented to the Reverend Jessica LaGrone, Dean of Chapel at Asbury Theological Seminary, for her book The Rewritten Life: When God Changes Your Story (Abingdon Press, 2017).   The $2500 award honors longtime Abingdon Press author James W. Moore, an anchor in the inspirational category for almost thirty years.

The prize is awarded to an author whose work demonstrates the qualities that distinguish Jim Moore’s writing: reaching deep into the spiritual and emotional center of people’s lives; demonstrating the challenge, the hope, and the consolation, and the Good News of scripture; offering a sense of purpose, confidence, and comfort to the reader in an engaging and appealing style.

“This is an incredible gift and honor,” said LaGrone, calling Moore “an inspiration for many years in my writing and ministry, and especially in his character and love for people.”

Jim Moore, longtime pastor at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Houston, has written more than forty books for Abingdon Press.  His first book, Seizing the Moments, was a Guideposts main selection when it was published in 1988.  His best-selling title to date is Yes, Lord, I Have Sinned, but I Have Several Excellent Excuses, and his most recent book is All I Want for Christmas, published in 2016.

By Lindsay Sparrow, Abingdon Press

New Book from First Fruits Press!

Dr. Darius Salter, a well-known Methodist historian, has written a major work on the life, theology, and influence of Bishop Matthew Simpson.  Simpson was perhaps the most influential Methodist leader of the 19^th century.  His friendship with Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, and other political leaders of the time, led him to develop a nationalistic theology that closely connected the political success of the United States with the work of God.  More than any other figure he helped move Methodism from its spiritual roots in holiness to a political force in American history.  This timely book points out the dangers of such a theology, and helps the reader understand this crucial shift that occurred in Methodist history.

Here are what some of the leading Methodist historians have had to say about this book:

“Darius Salter’s biography of Matthew Simpson is a tour de force that will become the standard biography of Bishop Matthew Simpson – a much neglected figure in American religious biography.… At the peak of his influence, Matthew Simpson was primus inter pares among Methodist bishops.  The reasons for this are not well known, but Salter’s biography redresses  this caveat.  If all Salter does is recount a chronology, and highlight spotlight events at which he appeared, we would not have genuine biography.  That is why Salter’s work is a true biography….Superior historical work requires that we dig deeply into primary resource material, which has lain largely dormant.  Here Salter prevails, but he does not do so simply, by reciting trivia for the sake of historical detail.   Salter makes connections that weave biographical narrative into a large social and political tapestry.”  – W. Stephen Gunter, Ph.D.

“This is the best biography of Matthew Simpson, a figure of great significance in his own right.  More than that, it is a history of Methodism in the decades immediately before and after the Civil War.  In the past 20 years, a number of scholars have written about Methodism in its early, formative years, before about 1820.  Salter takes the story through the middle of the nineteenth century, during the time in which Methodism became one of the most politically, socially, and culturally powerful churches in America.  Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how Methodism came to define middle America.” – John H. Wigger, Ph.D.

“Darius Salter’s new work is an extensive 360-degree assessment of Bishop Matthew Simpson, providing us with copious details that correct, expand, and amplify earlier Simpson profiles.  This balanced biography avoids both uncritical hagiology and partisan denigration.  Salter elucidates Simpson’s considerable influence on American Methodism’s development, Abraham Lincoln’s spiritual life, and America’s nineteenth-century religious milieu.  This carefully researched life history of Matthew Simpson is an impressive achievement of first-rate scholarship and historical insight.” – Kenneth C. Kinghorn, Ph.D.

“Dr. Darius Salter’s God Cannot Do Without America:  Matthew Simpson and the Apotheosis of Protestant Nationalism is a comprehensive sweep of the middle decades of 19^th century America.  Matthew Simpson is the center of attention, but however important he was as a Methodist bishop and a friend of Abraham Lincoln, his life represents in a number of ways the gigantic, sweeping changes that transformed American into a budding world power.  This is a rewarding read for those interested in the symbiosis of American Protestant life, the impact of slavery, the horror of the Civil War, and the coming of age of the American Republic that crystalized America’s mission to the world.” – William Dean, Ph.D.

“What an incredible tour through the dramas of mid-nineteenth century America and the huge parts played on the stage by Matthew Simpson.  This ‘play’ certainly deserves its theater and ‘crowds’ of readers.”  – Russell E. Richey, Ph.D.

This masterful work of Methodist history can be downloaded free of charge at http://place.asburyseminary.edu/academicbooks/15/ or a print copy can be purchased online for $26.49, a fantastic deal for such a thoroughly researched and readable history of over 700 pages.

Jacob Guot Releases The Lost is Found

Jacob Guot, 2016 Asbury Seminary alum and President and Founder of Africa Sunrise Ministries, released The Lost is Found.  This book tells the story of how Jacob became and survived as a “Lost Boy” in Sudan in 1987 when he was seven years old.

Jacob lived in refugee campus until 2001, when he was brought to the U.S.  The Lost is Found answers questions about the Sudanese culture, including rites of passage, scarification, the Dinka society and marriage customs.

Jacob’s book is available at amazon.com.  You can read more about Jacob’s story on Asbury Seminary’s Voices page.

The Holy Spirit for Children

Asbury alum Valera L. Heydenberk wrote and her husband Jerry illustrated The Holy Spirit for Children, a guide to teach their children and grandchildren about the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.  

Valera is a 2002 graduate with her M.A. in Divinity, and Jerry was employed at the seminary as Coordinator of International Student Services.  They both returned to the Nebraska Annual Conference to continue preaching appointments in 2002.

The Asbury Journal

The new issue of The Asbury Journal has been released!  Spring 2017’s issue is Volume 71, No.1.  

Check it out here:  http://place.asburyseminary.edu/asburyjournal/

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