Preface
As a seminary president, I have had my share of honors. None, however, is more gratifying then to be asked to be part of a faculty writing team on the subject of "spirituality." The honor suggests that I have something to say on the subject. More than that, the writing project joins us together as President and Faculty in communicating what I consider the "heartbeat" of Asbury Theological Seminary.
Long before "spiritual formation" spread through seminary education with the excitement of a new discovery, Asbury had the emphasis upon prayer and spirituality as integral to our life and learning. In fact, under the leadership of Dr. Thomas Carruth, we pioneered with an academic Department of Prayer and Spiritual Life.
Our heritage in spirituality has its roots in the doctrine and experience of "scriptural holiness." In our Wesleyan heritage, in our chartered purpose, and in our history of spiritual revival, scriptural holiness is identified as the reason for our existence. Specifically, we are referring to a quality of life created in us by the cleaning, filling, and empowering work of the Holy Spirit and leading to the discipline and the doing of holy living, both personally and socially. The Wesleys expressed the meaning of scriptural holiness best when they spoke of "faith working through love." So it is that the spirituality of "being" and "doing" beat as one pulse at Asbury.
Our daily work has to be one of the critical areas of contemporary life where our spirituality is tested. Yet, the spirituality of work is a neglected subject about an activity that absorbs more than eighty percent of our waking hours. The single purpose of this book is to put the "being" and "doing" dilemmas of the modern workplace into biblical perspective.
Special thanks are due to Dr. Steve Harper, who initiated the Spiritual Formation Series and serves as General Editor; to my faculty colleagues in writing, Drs. Donald Joy, Reginald Johnson, Jerry Mercer, and Donald Demaray, to Carole Streeter, Editor of Victor Books who prompted and prodded us; and to Sheila Lovell and Lois Mulcahy, the ever patient and always encouraging editorial-production team in my office.
David L. McKenna, President
Asbury Theological Seminary
Wilmore, Kentucky
1990
