An Aura of Hope

by Lovett H Weems Jr

Equipping United Methodist leaders for a changing landscape.

United Methodists are navigating questions about identity, purpose, and the path forward. An Aura of Hope by Lovett H. Weems, Jr., offers a timely roadmap for renewal and growth during this pivotal moment.

Drawing on his extensive experience as founding director of the Lewis Center for Church Leadership, Weems provides strategic insights that illuminate how historical divisions, current trends, and the post-disaffiliation landscape have shaped today's United Methodist Church.

This ten-chapter book combines rigorous data analysis with pastoral wisdom to address critical
- Who are we now as a denomination?
- How can a diverse and inclusive church achieve the growth necessary for effective ministry?

Through accessible prose and practical guidance, Weems charts a distinctly Wesleyan path forward—one that focuses on "the people God has given us," those outside traditional church connections who need to experience God's transforming grace. Written with both clergy and laity in mind, this hopeful yet realistic assessment equips United Methodist leaders at all levels with the tools and vision needed to engage their changing context and pursue faithful next steps for their congregations and annual conferences.

With the purchase of An Aura of Hope, readers also receive access to the following
1. Downloadable charts, graphs, and data points supporting the book's claims
2. A set of guidelines and suggestions from the author for how leaders can share the book's call to action with their congregations
3. Three "Stories of Hope" from United Methodist church leaders on how they are living into the new United Methodist Church.

Genres: Church

144 pages, Paperback

Published March 17, 2026

Reviews

[Jerry Edward Stephens · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was born into and raised in a devout Methodist family. My grandparents and several earlier Southern generations of Stephens, McCarty, and Miller family members had long been active confident Methodists. My earliest real memories date back to 1953 at eight years of age and with regular attendance at Capitol Hill Methodist Church in southside Oklahoma City. My junior high and high school years included seriously active participation in Methodist Youth Fellowship events and functions. These MYF activities often included time spent on the Oklahoma City University campus, the local Methodist Church-affiliated academic institution. O.C.U. was even then a widely-recognized center for the fine arts and music. I regularly played with the O.C.U. symphonic band led by professor James Neilson while in high school. All that leads to say just how really fond were my feelings for the old Methodist Church that I understood. But, when I returned to Oklahoma in 1990 to live again, I consciously avoided this church and joined First Unitarian Church in Oklahoma City. By that time, I really did not want to join up with the type of church I recalled from my younger days.That is preamble to my reading of Lovett Weems’ book about the Methodist Church of today and an optimistic hope he expresses for its future nature. The Methodist Church has recently suffered through a period of “great disaffiliation.” The Church has lost both significant property inventory and a damaging loss of twenty-five percent of its once existing membership. The Methodist Church of today is no longer the rural area-dominating Protestant Christian denomination. Weems believes that the Church can, despite these significant losses, recover both its historical evangelical Christian identity while retaining its somewhat more fundamental liberal social identity. One way the UMC can recover is by focusing greater attention on those groups and individuals – Weems identifies young people, African Americans, and others as likely candidates for evangelical recruitment --which may have been historically overlooked. This evangelical approach might result in what Weems sees as the “New” United Methodist Church. I do hope Weems is right in his optimistic conclusion.

[Larry Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

Desperately needed tools for churches

Lovett Weems provides much needed insight that can help our churches face current reality and discover new hope amidst a willingness to change and respond to the needs of the surrounding community. Every church leader should study and share this book.