For quadrennia, United Methodists have been raising raised questions about the appropriate number of clergy orders, the nature and purpose of ordination, the doctrine of the church, the meaning of key theological terms, and more. The discussion took a decisive turn in 1996 with the creation of an ordained United Methodist diaconate and two separate clergy orders, the Order of Elders and the Order of Deacons. In this book, Mark Stamm, Grant Hagiya, Benjamin Hartley, Ted Campbell, and Jeffrey Gross reflect on various dimensions of this important decision and discuss implications for the church’s theology and practice.
QRClassics is a series of books that feature articles from
Quarterly Review, a journal of theological resources for ministry published from 1980–2005 by the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry of The United Methodist Church and The United Methodist Publishing House
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