Bishop: The Art of Questioning Authority by an Authority in Question - Paperback

by William H. Willimon (Author)

As a church leader, it's easy to make the wrong move and find yourself in a bad position. "What to teach; How to teach; What to do," were the three questions Wesley employed at his first conferences. In sixty previous books Will Willimon has worked the first two. This book is of the "What to do?" genre. Many believe the long decline of The United Methodist Church is a crisis of effective leadership. Willimon takes this problem on. As an improbable bishop, for the last eight years he has laid hands on heads, made ordinands promise to go where he sends them, overseen their ministries, and acted as if this were normal. Here is his account of what he has learned and - more important - what The United Methodist Church must do to have a future as a viable movement of the Holy Spirit.

Author Biography

Will Willimon is a lifelong Methodist. He is Professor of the Practice of Christian Ministry at Duke University Divinity School and retired Bishop of the North Alabama Conference of The United Methodist Church, after serving for twenty years as faculty member and Dean of the Chapel at Duke University. As Bishop, he led North Alabama's 157,000 Methodists and 792 pastors. He has authored roughly a hundred books and is widely recognized as one of Methodism's most insightful, inspiring, and challenging voices.