About the Book
From Nicaea to now: rediscovering how the Triune God shapes faithful ministry in a modern world. In this illuminating collection marking the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, distinguished scholars and ministry practitioners from Duke Divinity School explore how Trinitarian faith continues to transform Christian identity and practice. Moving beyond abstract formulations, this volume demonstrates the enduring power of Nicene confession to shape faithful witness in today's complex landscape. With an introduction from Dean Edgardo Colón-Emeric, this volume brings together biblical interpretation, theological reflection, compelling sermons, and practical wisdom. Contributors reveal how the doctrine of the Trinity provides vital resources for addressing contemporary challenges--from the climate crisis to political division, from church renewal to spiritual formation. The essays examine how Trinitarian theology shapes worship, informs preaching, guides ethical engagement, and empowers mission. Contributors include William Willimon, Jerusha Neal, Luke Powery, and Jung Choi, among others. Their diverse perspectives illuminate how the ancient affirmation of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit remains a living confession with power to transform individuals, communities, and creation. Whether you're a pastor seeking to proclaim Trinitarian faith with clarity, a church leader navigating institutional change, or a believer wanting to deepen your theological understanding, this volume offers both intellectual substance and spiritual nourishment. Trinitarian Matters invites readers to discover how the church's foundational confession of the Triune God continues to inspire faithful ministry and mission in the twenty-first century.
About the Author :
Rev. Laceye C. Warner, PhD is Royce and Jane Reynolds, Associate Professor of the Practice of Evangelism and Methodist Studies and Associate Dean for Wesleyan Engagement at Duke University Divinity School. An elder in the Texas Conference, Dr. Warner was appointed to the faculty at Duke Divinity School in 2001. She is the author of several books including Knowing Who We Are; The Method of Our Mission: United Methodist Polity and Organization, and a contributing editor to the Wesley Study Bible. Dr. Warner enjoys living on a flower farm with her family and many of God's creatures. Jung Choi is a scholar-teacher trained in the New Testament and Early Christianity (M.Div., Harvard; STM, Yale; Th.D., Harvard). Before coming to Duke, Dr. Choi was an assistant professor of religious studies at North Carolina Wesleyan College, Rocky Mount, N.C. She is committed to expanding access to theological education and has worked enthusiastically with diverse groups of students, with ample experience in implementing innovative pedagogies and designing programs and courses. Dedicated to church ministry both at local and connectional levels, Dr. Choi is an instructor for the New Testament courses for the Deaconess and Home Missioners for the United Methodist Women and is working on a textbook on the New Testament by the invitation of the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM) of the UMC. She serves on the steering committee of the Wesleyan and Methodist Studies unit at the American Academy of Religion and Korean Biblical Colloquium Unit at the Society of Biblical Literature. Dr. Choi is a Woman of Color Fellow of GBHEM, a John Wesley Fellow with A Foundation of Theological Education (AFTE), and a participant of Wabash Fellowship for Religion Faculty in Asian and Pacific Islander Descent at Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion. Her academic interests lie in prophecy in both the ancient Mediterranean and contemporary world concerning race, gender, and power. C. Kavin Rowe is the George Washington Ivey Distinguished Professor of New Testament. His forthcoming book is Christianity's Surprise: A Sure and Certain Hope (Abingdon, 2020). He is the author of three other books: One True Life: the Stoics and Early Christians as Rival Traditions (Yale University Press, 2016), World Upside Down: Reading Acts in the Graeco-Roman Age (Oxford University Press, 2009, paperback 2010), and Early Narrative Christology (de Gruyter, 2006, repr. Baker Academic, 2009). He has published multiple scholarly articles and co-edited The Word Leaps the Gap (Eerdmans, 2008) and Rethinking the Unity and Reception of Luke and Acts (University of South Carolina Press, 2010). He is on the editorial board of several international peer-review journals and has also frequently written articles for faithandleadership.com. Rowe has been a Fulb The Rev. Dr. Luke A. Powery is the dean of Duke University Chapel and associate professor of homiletics at Duke Divinity School. A national leader in the theological study of the art of preaching, Powery regularly delivers sermons at Duke Chapel as well as at churches throughout the U.S. and abroad. He is often a keynote speaker and lecturer at educational institutions, conferences, symposia, and retreats. His teaching and research interests are located at the intersection of preaching, worship, pneumatology, and culture, particularly expressions of the African diaspora. He has written three books: Spirit Speech: Lament and Celebration in Preaching; Dem Dry Bones: Preaching, Death, and Hope; and his latest book Rise Up, Shepherd! Advent Reflections on the Spirituals. He has also co-authored an introductory textbook on pre Associate Professor of Theology, Candler School of Theology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 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. Edgardo Colón-Emeric Dean of Duke Divinity School and the Irene and William McCutchen Associate Professor of Reconciliation and Theology, director of the Duke Center for Reconciliation, and senior strategist for the Hispanic House of Studies. He represents the UMC in ecumenical Faith and Order dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church. He is an ordained elder in the North Carolina Conference and served a church in Durham. 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. Lester Ruth is a historian of Christian worship with a particular interest in the early church and the last 250 years, especially the history of contemporary praise and worship. He is passionate about enriching the worship life of current congregations, regardless of style. He believes that careful reflection on the worship of other Christians--whether past or present, whether Protestant, Roman Catholic, or Eastern Orthodox--can serve to enrich the church today. Dr. Ruth is a member of the North American Academy of Liturgy and the Society for Pentecostal Studies. He is also the former president of the Charles Wesley Society. Able to range across the entire breadth of Christian liturgical history, his most recent studies have been on the band-based worship known as contemporary praise and worship. Along this line, he has recently co-authored, with Dr. Lim Swee Hong, A History of Contemporary Praise & Worship and Lovin' On Jesus: A Concise History of Contemporary Worship. He has also edited both popular, Flow: The Ancient Way to Do Contemporary Worship, and academic studies, Essays on the History of Contemporary Praise and Worship, on this worship phenomenon, each of these volumes featuring essays by Duke doctoral students. Dr. Ruth's works exist in Korean, Chinese, Indonesian, and (soon) Ukrainian translations. Rev. Laceye C. Warner, PhD is Royce and Jane Reynolds, Associate Professor of the Practice of Evangelism and Methodist Studies and Associate Dean for Wesleyan Engagement at Duke University Divinity School. An elder in the Texas Conference, Dr. Warner was appointed to the faculty at Duke Divinity School in 2001. She is the author of several books including Knowing Who We Are; The Method of Our Mission: United Methodist Polity and Organization, and a contributing editor to the Wesley Study Bible. Dr. Warner enjoys living on a flower farm with her family and many of God's creatures.
