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9781532683138

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Here is a book that takes us to the very heart of Wesleyan renewal. If persons enter into a new life in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit, Joe Stallings argues, then constant word and constant sacrament are as essential for us today as they were for Wesley's movement. He is both a prophet calling the church to reclaim its essential nature and a herald of good news that if we do, the Spirit will renew us in the love revealed in Jesus Christ, making us vibrant communities of faith and faithful participants in God's mission. May we heed his exhortation and receive the promises of God! --Henry H. Knight III, Professor of Wesleyan Studies and Evangelism, Saint Paul School of Theology, Leawood, Kansas Pastor Joe Stallings makes a compelling case that renewal and revival in the Wesleyan tradition requires consistent worship that is deeply sacramental and faithfully balanced around word and table: faithful preaching and teaching, and faithful and continuous administration of the Lord's Supper. --Cliff Wall, pastor, Clarksbury United Methodist Church, Harmony, North Carolina As Methodism was raised by God to 'spread Scriptural holiness (holiness in heart and life) throughout the land' (John Wesley), Joe Stallings urges his readers to return to the 'simple focus' of making disciples and transforming the world, empowered by the practice of the Wesleyan means of grace with constant Word and Sacrament at its very center. This book is both practical and prophetic. --Lorna Khoo, Methodist minister, Singapore; pioneering Director of the Charles Wesley Heritage Centre in Bristol (UK); author of Wesleyan Eucharistic Spirituality In an age when sacramental practice had gone cold in the Church of England, the Lord's Table was at the very center of the revival led by the Wesley brothers. We who seek revival today would do well to heed the theological and pastoral wisdom of Joe Stallings and re-center the Eucharist in the life of the church today. --Drew Mcintyre, pastor, Grace United Methodist Church, Greensboro, North Carolina This book is filled with insights into one thoughtful pastor's spiritual journey and insights into the theological culture of Wesleyan and Methodist life. Implicitly, Dr. Stallings shows that Scripture, tradition, experience, and reason provide the resources to understand why the Bible, the Lord's Table, and the path of Christian discipleship are inseparable means of God's grace. He emphasizes that if worship is constantly centered on Word and Sacrament, grace abounds in disciplined Christian living. His book celebrates the constant power of God's grace in the past, with the present, and for the future of the church, with great hope. --William B. Lawrence, Professor Emeritus of American Church History, Southern Methodist University Methodism has always been a Word of God movement. Many do not know, however, that it was birthed as a means of sacramental renewal. Joe Stallings aptly challenges us that a full-bodied Methodism is not possible apart from fully embracing evangelical preaching of God's Word coupled with constant Holy Communion. --Richard Fitzgerald, pastor, Salina First United Methodist Church, Salina, Kansas Jesus Christ speaks as the Word of God and works in Sacrament. Therefore, the church's clergy should be uncompromisingly committed to Word and Sacrament ministry. Joe Stallings powerfully makes this case by relying on Scripture, the church fathers, the Reformers, the Wesleys, and many contemporaries. As a pastor, he refers to his own ministerial experience, and he writes clearly for all. For decades, the United Methodist Church and other churches have feverishly tried every available means of renewal. Here Rev. Stallings proposes that the church simply invite Jesus Christ into its midst. What a novel idea. --Paul T. Stallsworth, pastor, Whiteville United Methodist Church, Whiteville, North Carolina Dr. Joe Stallings is a United Methodist pastor committed to the recovery of Wesleyan theology and the Wesleyan way of being the church in the world. This book is an important step forward in that recovery. While many UM pastors acknowledge John Wesley's charge for the people called Methodists to constantly celebrate the Sacrament of Holy Communion, Joe has not only acknowledged it, but put it into practice in his ministry. This work is a solid and sound presentation of why a truly Wesleyan understanding of our sacramental heritage necessitates not only the Word proclaimed, but also the full recovery of the practice of Constant Communion in the worship life of the church. --Allan R. Bevere, pastor, Ashland First United Methodist Church, Ashland, Ohio; author of Who Is Jesus In recent times, many have lamented the spiritual and numerical decline of the American connection of the United Methodist Church. Just as many have proposed untenable solutions to the current malaise. Many imagine that the UMC will be raised from the dead if it aligns with the prevailing values of the secular society. In Unleashing the Work of God, Joe Stallings properly analyzes the problem and offers a surefire solution that will lead to revitalization and a recapturing of our Wesleyan heritage. At its core, Methodism is a revival movement that is fully dependent on the constant use of Word and Sacrament. This is a must-read for anyone who desires to awaken the sleeping giant that is the American UMC. --William P. Payne, Professor of Evangelism and World Missions, Ashland Theological Seminary; author of American Methodism: Past and Future Growth Joe Stallings understands that worship is the central act of the people of God, and that Scripture and Eucharist are the core of our worship experience. He has made this the emphasis of his ministry for years. His heart burns for a revival in the church through a return to the centrality of Word and Table. Here are the means for making disciples who will then go into the world in Jesus' name as salt, light, and leaven. This book is a textbook and a guidebook for renewal. --Steve Harper, retired Professor of Spiritual Formation and Wesley Studies, Asbury Theological Seminary

Jesus Christ speaks as the Word of God and works in Sacrament. Therefore, the church's clergy should be uncompromisingly committed to Word and Sacrament ministry. Joe Stallings powerfully makes this case by relying on Scripture, the church fathers, the Reformers, the Wesleys, and many contemporaries. As a pastor, he refers to his own ministerial experience, and he writes clearly for all. For decades, the United Methodist Church and other churches have feverishly tried every available means of renewal. Here Rev. Stallings proposes that the church simply invite Jesus Christ into its midst. What a novel idea. --Paul T. Stallsworth, pastor, Whiteville United Methodist Church, Whiteville, North Carolina Dr. Joe Stallings is a United Methodist pastor committed to the recovery of Wesleyan theology and the Wesleyan way of being the church in the world. This book is an important step forward in that recovery. While many UM pastors acknowledge John Wesley's charge for the people called Methodists to constantly celebrate the Sacrament of Holy Communion, Joe has not only acknowledged it, but put it into practice in his ministry. This work is a solid and sound presentation of why a truly Wesleyan understanding of our sacramental heritage necessitates not only the Word proclaimed, but also the full recovery of the practice of Constant Communion in the worship life of the church. --Allan R. Bevere, pastor, Ashland First United Methodist Church, Ashland, Ohio; author of Who Is Jesus In recent times, many have lamented the spiritual and numerical decline of the American connection of the United Methodist Church. Just as many have proposed untenable solutions to the current malaise. Many imagine that the UMC will be raised from the dead if it aligns with the prevailing values of the secular society. In Unleashing the Work of God, Joe Stallings properly analyzes the problem and offers a surefire solution that will lead to revitalization and a recapturing of our Wesleyan heritage. At its core, Methodism is a revival movement that is fully dependent on the constant use of Word and Sacrament. This is a must-read for anyone who desires to awaken the sleeping giant that is the American UMC. --William P. Payne, Professor of Evangelism and World Missions, Ashland Theological Seminary; author of American Methodism: Past and Future Growth Joe Stallings understands that worship is the central act of the people of God, and that Scripture and Eucharist are the core of our worship experience. He has made this the emphasis of his ministry for years. His heart burns for a revival in the church through a return to the centrality of Word and Table. Here are the means for making disciples who will then go into the world in Jesus' name as salt, light, and leaven. This book is a textbook and a guidebook for renewal. --Steve Harper, retired Professor of Spiritual Formation and Wesley Studies, Asbury Theological Seminary Here is a book that takes us to the very heart of Wesleyan renewal. If persons enter into a new life in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit, Joe Stallings argues, then constant word and constant sacrament are as essential for us today as they were for Wesley's movement. He is both a prophet calling the church to reclaim its essential nature and a herald of good news that if we do, the Spirit will renew us in the love revealed in Jesus Christ, making us vibrant communities of faith and faithful participants in God's mission. May we heed his exhortation and receive the promises of God! --Henry H. Knight III, Professor of Wesleyan Studies and Evangelism, Saint Paul School of Theology, Leawood, Kansas Pastor Joe Stallings makes a compelling case that renewal and revival in the Wesleyan tradition requires consistent worship that is deeply sacramental and faithfully balanced around word and table: faithful preaching and teaching, and faithful and continuous administration of the Lord's Supper. --Cliff Wall, pastor, Clarksbury United Methodist Church, Harmony, North Carolina As Methodism was raised by God to 'spread Scriptural holiness (holiness in heart and life) throughout the land' (John Wesley), Joe Stallings urges his readers to return to the 'simple focus' of making disciples and transforming the world, empowered by the practice of the Wesleyan means of grace with constant Word and Sacrament at its very center. This book is both practical and prophetic. --Lorna Khoo, Methodist minister, Singapore; pioneering Director of the Charles Wesley Heritage Centre in Bristol (UK); author of Wesleyan Eucharistic Spirituality In an age when sacramental practice had gone cold in the Church of England, the Lord's Table was at the very center of the revival led by the Wesley brothers. We who seek revival today would do well to heed the theological and pastoral wisdom of Joe Stallings and re-center the Eucharist in the life of the church today. --Drew Mcintyre, pastor, Grace United Methodist Church, Greensboro, North Carolina This book is filled with insights into one thoughtful pastor's spiritual journey and insights into the theological culture of Wesleyan and Methodist life. Implicitly, Dr. Stallings shows that Scripture, tradition, experience, and reason provide the resources to understand why the Bible, the Lord's Table, and the path of Christian discipleship are inseparable means of God's grace. He emphasizes that if worship is constantly centered on Word and Sacrament, grace abounds in disciplined Christian living. His book celebrates the constant power of God's grace in the past, with the present, and for the future of the church, with great hope. --William B. Lawrence, Professor Emeritus of American Church History, Southern Methodist University Methodism has always been a Word of God movement. Many do not know, however, that it was birthed as a means of sacramental renewal. Joe Stallings aptly challenges us that a full-bodied Methodism is not possible apart from fully embracing evangelical preaching of God's Word coupled with constant Holy Communion. --Richard Fitzgerald, pastor, Salina First United Methodist Church, Salina, Kansas

"""""Here is a book that takes us to the very heart of Wesleyan renewal. If persons enter into a new life in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit, Joe Stallings argues, then constant word and constant sacrament are as essential for us today as they were for Wesley's movement. He is both a prophet calling the church to reclaim its essential nature and a herald of good news that if we do, the Spirit will renew us in the love revealed in Jesus Christ, making us vibrant communities of faith and faithful participants in God's mission. May we heed his exhortation and receive the promises of God!"""" --Henry H. Knight III, Professor of Wesleyan Studies and Evangelism, Saint Paul School of Theology, Leawood, Kansas """"Pastor Joe Stallings makes a compelling case that renewal and revival in the Wesleyan tradition requires consistent worship that is deeply sacramental and faithfully balanced around word and table: faithful preaching and teaching, and faithful and continuous administration of the Lord's Supper."""" --Cliff Wall, pastor, Clarksbury United Methodist Church, Harmony, North Carolina """"As Methodism was raised by God to 'spread Scriptural holiness (holiness in heart and life) throughout the land' (John Wesley), Joe Stallings urges his readers to return to the 'simple focus' of making disciples and transforming the world, empowered by the practice of the Wesleyan means of grace with constant Word and Sacrament at its very center. This book is both practical and prophetic."""" --Lorna Khoo, Methodist minister, Singapore; pioneering Director of the Charles Wesley Heritage Centre in Bristol (UK); author of Wesleyan Eucharistic Spirituality """"In an age when sacramental practice had gone cold in the Church of England, the Lord's Table was at the very center of the revival led by the Wesley brothers. We who seek revival today would do well to heed the theological and pastoral wisdom of Joe Stallings and re-center the Eucharist in the life of the church today."""" --Drew Mcintyre, pastor, Grace United Methodist Church, Greensboro, North Carolina """"This book is filled with insights into one thoughtful pastor's spiritual journey and insights into the theological culture of Wesleyan and Methodist life. Implicitly, Dr. Stallings shows that Scripture, tradition, experience, and reason provide the resources to understand why the Bible, the Lord's Table, and the path of Christian discipleship are inseparable means of God's grace. He emphasizes that if worship is constantly centered on Word and Sacrament, grace abounds in disciplined Christian living. His book celebrates the constant power of God's grace in the past, with the present, and for the future of the church, with great hope."""" --William B. Lawrence, Professor Emeritus of American Church History, Southern Methodist University """"Methodism has always been a Word of God movement. Many do not know, however, that it was birthed as a means of sacramental renewal. Joe Stallings aptly challenges us that a full-bodied Methodism is not possible apart from fully embracing evangelical preaching of God's Word coupled with constant Holy Communion."""" --Richard Fitzgerald, pastor, Salina First United Methodist Church, Salina, Kansas "" """"""Jesus Christ speaks as the Word of God and works in Sacrament. Therefore, the church's clergy should be uncompromisingly committed to Word and Sacrament ministry. Joe Stallings powerfully makes this case by relying on Scripture, the church fathers, the Reformers, the Wesleys, and many contemporaries. As a pastor, he refers to his own ministerial experience, and he writes clearly for all. For decades, the United Methodist Church and other churches have feverishly tried every available means of renewal. Here Rev. Stallings proposes that the church simply invite Jesus Christ into its midst. What a novel idea."""" --Paul T. Stallsworth, pastor, Whiteville United Methodist Church, Whiteville, North Carolina """"Dr. Joe Stallings is a United Methodist pastor committed to the recovery of Wesleyan theology and the Wesleyan way of being the church in the world. This book is an important step forward in that recovery. While many UM pastors acknowledge John Wesley's charge for the people called Methodists to constantly celebrate the Sacrament of Holy Communion, Joe has not only acknowledged it, but put it into practice in his ministry. This work is a solid and sound presentation of why a truly Wesleyan understanding of our sacramental heritage necessitates not only the Word proclaimed, but also the full recovery of the practice of Constant Communion in the worship life of the church."""" --Allan R. Bevere, pastor, Ashland First United Methodist Church, Ashland, Ohio; author of Who Is Jesus """"In recent times, many have lamented the spiritual and numerical decline of the American connection of the United Methodist Church. Just as many have proposed untenable solutions to the current malaise. Many imagine that the UMC will be raised from the dead if it aligns with the prevailing values of the secular society. In Unleashing the Work of God, Joe Stallings properly analyzes the problem and offers a surefire solution that will lead to revitalization and a recapturing of our Wesleyan heritage. At its core, Methodism is a revival movement that is fully dependent on the constant use of Word and Sacrament. This is a must-read for anyone who desires to awaken the sleeping giant that is the American UMC."""" --William P. Payne, Professor of Evangelism and World Missions, Ashland Theological Seminary; author of American Methodism: Past and Future Growth """"Joe Stallings understands that worship is the central act of the people of God, and that Scripture and Eucharist are the core of our worship experience. He has made this the emphasis of his ministry for years. His heart burns for a revival in the church through a return to the centrality of Word and Table. Here are the means for making disciples who will then go into the world in Jesus' name as salt, light, and leaven. This book is a textbook and a guidebook for renewal."""" --Steve Harper, retired Professor of Spiritual Formation and Wesley Studies, Asbury Theological Seminary"

Author Information

W. Joseph Stallings is a devout Wesleyan theologian, a Christian evidential apologist, and a longtime pastor in the North Carolina Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. He is also the author of The Genesis Column (2018).

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