LEADER’S GUIDE

HEARING AND DOING THE WORD:

God’s Call to Love and Justice*

A Biblical Study Offered by the Love and Justice TeamOf the Tennessee ConferenceKathleen Bynum Lalor, Writer and Revisionist

This study includes a revision and majorexpansion of the earlier study: “BACK TO THEBIBLE: God’s Call to Partnership with the Poor,”also commissioned by this Task Force.

Revised April 2002

A QUICK NOTE ABOUT THE STUDY LOGO: It was designed torepresent our calling to love and justice if we choose to be followersof Christ. Notice that all paths on the logo cross are centered inChrist, that all paths are inter-connected, that all paths are crucial tothe whole and open to each other. May we all follow the Way of theCross, ever more faithfully and joyfully, Hearing and Doing the Word.K.B.L.

Greetings from the Love & Justice TeamOf the Tennessee Conference!

We celebrate as we offer our newly revised and expanded Bible study to eachlocal congregation in our conference. We hope that

“HEARING AND DOINGTHE WORD: God’s Call to Love and Justice”

will be a helpful tool and avaluable resource for ministry. Along with our writer and revisionist, KathleenBynum Lalor, we are excited about what it can mean to the life of our United Methodist Church and the communities we are all a part of.We hope you will find it easy to use, challenging to take seriously, and full of the hope that is centered in the Good News of Jesus Christ! The new formatincludes additional scriptures, more Wesleyan materials, other voices from bothscholars and everyday Saints, stories, prayers and possibilities for how to get movingand doing in some new ways, all in response to the Word of God for God’s peoplenow.We realize that you have other choices available to you for your study time,but we encourage you to look at the months ahead and find a time to enter into this particular study. We believe that it could make a real difference in the life of your congregation and community—as well as in our conference as a whole—because webelieve that the Word of God continues to speak to every age and in every situationwhen our spirits are open and listening. Thanks be to God!Please let us hear from you as you journey through this study and offer support if you need or want it. Grace and peace to all of our sisters and brothers inChrist!