This dissertation is a homiletical-theological response to the current ecclesial identity crisis of the Korean Methodist Church (KMC) that stems from the ongoing influences of U.S. imperialism and neo-colonialism. The ecclesial identity of the KMC has been colonized in many aspects, and the decolonization of its self-understanding and ecclesial practices is a pivotal task for the renewal of the church. This dissertation attempts to construct a Korean Methodist ecclesiology in the postcolonial context of a divided Korea through and for the practice of preaching. The understanding of the church and the practice of preaching mutually shape one another. Thus, the renewal of preaching can be a way to renew the ecclesial identity of the KMC. By reconfiguring Edward Farley’s influential understanding of theologia and the emerging discourse of homiletical theology, this dissertation offers a contextual, homiletical-theological approach to attend to the intersection of ecclesiology and preaching, which is the theology of the gospel. The gospel of reconciliation as a contextual gospel in postcolonial Korea is the center of the ecclesial identity of the KMC. It also functions as a guiding principle for my ecclesiological discussions of John Wesley, the Korean Non-Church movement, Minjung Church, and Miroslav Volf into a contextual, gospel-driven Korean Methodist ecclesiology. After offering an understanding of a gospel-driven Korean Methodist ecclesiology, the dissertation provides a homiletical method for reconciling preaching in dialogue with conversational approaches and postcolonial approaches to preaching in North American homiletics. Reconciling preaching refers to both sermonic movements and the process of sermonic dialogue and ongoing ecclesial conversation in a church. Reconciling preaching has a three-fold movement: a dialogical movement, a prophetic movement, and a healing movement. These rhetorical movements intend to create an ecclesial version of Homi Bhabha’s Third Space in which people can renegotiate their identities in relation to God and others and can reimagine a new way of being God’s people and a church in light of the eschatological fulfillment of God’s final reconciliation. This dissertation offers a practical theological method of decolonizing and renewing the ecclesial identity of the KMC through a homiletical theological reflection and a concrete homiletic method.

It was the purpose of this study (1) to clarify the various stages and developments which took place in the period covered by the integration of the California Oriental Provisional Conference into the California-Nevada Annual Conference; (2) to make an account of the present status of the Oriental churcher in the California-Nevada Annual Conference; and (2) to make a report of the present standing of the Oriental ministers, who took part in the integration

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The author has considered the religious, social and educational aspects in his design. It is an attempt to correlate three with the architectural aspect in such a way as to produce an atmosphere describable for worship. / Master of Science

This work examines the construction of suffering in the hymns of Charles Wesley, co-founder of the Methodist movement. Wesley wrote thousands of hymns, many of which focus on the experience of overwhelming pain. As eighteenth-century men and women sang or read Wesley's hymns, they were encouraged to adopt a distinctive approach to suffering, one which drew on long-standing elen1ents within Christian tradition as well as new patterns in eighteenth-century English culture. Identifying the construction of suffering in the hymns illuminates the culture of early Methodism and its complex relationship to its eighteenth century English context. / My analysis places the hymns within the broader ‘narrative culture’ of early Methodism, which encouraged individuals to interpret their lives and experiences within a story of great spiritual significance. The hymns engaged men and women with a spiritual drama of conviction, conversion, sanctification and heavenly reward. I argue that suffering was central to Wesley's depiction of this drama. I examine his construction of the suffering of Christ, the suffering of Christians and of Christian responses to the suffering of others, den10nstrating that each of these had an important place in his depiction of the normative Christian experience. Those who read or sang the hymns were exhorted to embrace and endure suffering as an experience that offered opportunities for intill1acy with, and imitation of, Christ. / Recognising Wesley's construction of suffering does not explain exactly how Methodist men and Women responded to affliction, but it does illuminate their responses. I explore the implications of Wesley's construction of suffering for early Methodist understandings of the self, spirituality, charity and gender, as well as specific kinds of pain such as childbirth and bereavement. These understandings contributed to a Methodist identity that was both related to, and distinct from, the eighteenth-century English culture in which the hymns were written.

Project (D. Min.)--Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, 1973. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 105-107).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Covenant Theological Seminary, 2002. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 219-227).

Very little has been written on the lives of Methodist ministers in Southern Africa. Even less has been written about ministers using oral history as the primary source of information. This paper will seek to capture the stories of some Methodist ministers and then to reflect on their experiences of ministering in the late twentieth century. In order to maintain focus this paper will hone in on the clergy who were ordained in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa between 1980 and 1999. A considerable portion of the initial analysis has been taken from personal interviews with the ministers, focusing mainly on what they have encountered in their ministries. Most of the interviewees are currently serving in the Natal West District, however further valuable feedback has been received from ministers living in other communities around Southern Africa. These thoughts and comments were gathered by means of a questionnaire. This research is further complemented with information gathered by means of a database. This database deals exclusively with all ministers ordained between 1980 and 1999. Making use of simple statistics and comparative figures, a number of results will be reflected upon. This paper will also examine what impact ministerial training has had on the formation of the ministers, as well as their thoughts on further training. Chapters on the burdens of being in the ministry, the effect of politics on the clergy, understanding the reasons for ministers leaving the church and the impact of clergy moving into other forms of ministry have been included. The negative aspects of ministry have been countered by considering the number of blessings of being called into the ministry. This paper will also reflect on what lessons can be learnt from these clergy in order to leave a legacy for future generations of ministers. The ultimate aim of this paper is to give voice to the stories of men and women who have been called to serve God, through the Methodist Church of Southern Africa. It is hoped that the readers of this paper will dignify the oral histories of these ministers and will indeed find them challenging, refreshing, insightful and powerful. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

This work examines the construction of suffering in the hymns of Charles Wesley, co-founder of the Methodist movement. Wesley wrote thousands of hymns, many of which focus on the experience of overwhelming pain. As eighteenth-century men and women sang or read Wesley's hymns, they were encouraged to adopt a distinctive approach to suffering, one which drew on long-standing elen1ents within Christian tradition as well as new patterns in eighteenth-century English culture. Identifying the construction of suffering in the hymns illuminates the culture of early Methodism and its complex relationship to its eighteenth century English context. / My analysis places the hymns within the broader ‘narrative culture’ of early Methodism, which encouraged individuals to interpret their lives and experiences within a story of great spiritual significance. The hymns engaged men and women with a spiritual drama of conviction, conversion, sanctification and heavenly reward. I argue that suffering was central to Wesley's depiction of this drama. I examine his construction of the suffering of Christ, the suffering of Christians and of Christian responses to the suffering of others, den10nstrating that each of these had an important place in his depiction of the normative Christian experience. Those who read or sang the hymns were exhorted to embrace and endure suffering as an experience that offered opportunities for intill1acy with, and imitation of, Christ. / Recognising Wesley's construction of suffering does not explain exactly how Methodist men and Women responded to affliction, but it does illuminate their responses. I explore the implications of Wesley's construction of suffering for early Methodist understandings of the self, spirituality, charity and gender, as well as specific kinds of pain such as childbirth and bereavement. These understandings contributed to a Methodist identity that was both related to, and distinct from, the eighteenth-century English culture in which the hymns were written.