These 32 essays (over 500 print pages) accent United Methodism in the United States and the traditions contributory to it. They provide new perspectives and fresh readings on important Methodist topics, including how Methodism appealed to the common folk and how it configured itself as a folk movement. Similar findings derive from the number of essays that explore gender and family. Here also are new readings on spirituality, worship, the diaconate, stewardship, organization, ecumenism, reform, and ordination (male/female; black/white). Less conventional subjects include the relation of Methodism to the American party system and Methodist accumulation of wealth and the wealthy.

This volume is intended to set in historical context the official United Methodist theological statements in the Disciplines of 1972 and 1988, and to foster reflection on and discussion of the 1988 statement.

"Discovery and reflection together," says Dr. Richard P. Heitzenrater, "are the lifeblood of the historian." Discovery is the first task of the historical researcher; reflection is the first task of the historical interpreter. Without discovery, reflection has no factual basis upon which to proceed. Without reflection, discovery has no significance or importance for the present. In these essays, Heitzenrater presents the results of some of his ground-breaking discoveries concerning early Methodist history and shares his reflections on their significance. In so doing he intends to help provide a clear mirror that reflects the image of the past without distortion as an aid to a memory of the Methodist heritage that can fully comprehend its richness and complexity.