God Will Make a Way: Spiritual Life and Leadership in a Contested Season

by Kenneth H. Carter Jr.

Overview

In God Will Make a Way, Bishop Ken Carter shares reflections from his journey from the 2016 General Conference, through his leadership in The Way Forward, his role as Presiding Bishop, into the special 2019 Conference, and the postponed 2020 General Conference in the midst of a pandemic. The book is both a spiritual journey and an inside view of one of the most tumultuous periods of national and denominational history.

Carter casts his personal spiritual reflections against a backdrop of life-shaping events: the first Way Forward meetings, the tragedy at Mother Emmanuel, interactions with Kenneth Feinberg, Jurgen Moltmann, and others, the Pulse and Parkland shootings, and more. Throughout, the high points are experiences and conversations between people, often from dramatically different stances, who find common ground, new understanding, and hope while the dark times are from conflict-inspired anger, national violence, and shaken hope.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781791007140
Publisher:	Abingdon Press
Publication date:	05/04/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	176
File size:	865 KB

About the Author

Kenneth H. Carter Jr. is resident bishop of the Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church. He gives pastoral and administrative leadership to more than 1000 congregations, fresh expressions of church, campus ministries, and outreach initiatives. His episcopal area stretches across the 44 western counties of the state. He served for 29 years as a pastor in Western North Carolina and is the author of several books.

Table of Contents

Introduction vii

Book 1 Field Notes on a Way Forward (2016-2017)

1 Portland 3

2 Therapy 5

3 "Why We Need Evangelicals 8

4 Orlando 10

5 The Gift of a White Stole 13

6 My Calling as a Bishop 15

7 The Commission on a Way Forward Begins 17

8 An Eclectic Spiritual Plan 21

To Clergy Friends after the Election: Same Thoughts 25

9 A Conversation with Bishop Woodie White 29

Charlottesville 32

10 Negotiating for Mutual Benefit 36

11 Born on the 4^th of July 39

12 Two Congregations 42

13 Africa College of Bishops 47

14 Speaking to the Judicial Council: The One Church Plan 50

Questions for Accountable Leaders 53

15 Anchored and Free: A Christmas Meditation 55

Book 2 Walking to the End of Our Light (2018-2019)

Moderator's Reflection on the Way Forward 59

1 Three Clergywomen 61

2 The Importance of Conversation 64

3 The Commission on a Way Forward Concludes 69

4 Installation as President of the Council of Bishops 71

5 The Gospel of the Burnt Ends 73

A Call to Discipleship: Living as Disciples of a Nonviolent Lord in a Time of Violence 76

Letter to a Traditionalist Friend 79

6 Holiness Redefined 82

7 The Basement and the Sanctuary 84

8 The Benefits of Failure and the Power of Imagination 88

9 The Downward Movement of Grace 91

10 A Peaceable Kingdom Christmas 95

11 The Hard Work of Listening 102

12 An Epiphany Midrash 105

13 February 2019, St. Louis, Part 1 110

14 February 2019, St. Louis. Part 2 113

Prayer for Faithfulness, Fruitfulness, and Unity 116

15 February 2019, St. Louis. Part 3 117

Book 3 God Will Make a Way (2019-2020)

Letter to the Florida Annual Conference 125

1 A Lenten Season 128

Editorial in the Orlando Sentinel 132

2 Weariness 134

3 United Methodist Chancellors and a Quaker Meeting House 137

4 The Water of a Womb 140

5 Mountains and Valleys 142

6 Search Me and Know My Heart 145

7 Convicted Humility 149

8 Confusing Technical Problems with Adaptive Challenges 151

9 The Mediation led by Kenneth Feinberg 153

10 Speaking at Church of the Resurrection 157

An Examen in the Wesleyan Tradition 161

11 Preaching and Breaking Bread Amidst Complaints 164

12 The Arrival of COVID-19 166

13 Easter and Beyond 171

14 I Can't Breathe: The Emergence of a Second Deadly Virus that Had Always Been There 175

15 God Will Make A Way 180

Acknowledgments 183