Explore the high-stakes history of a church property dispute that shaped a denomination.
This nonfiction work examines a landmark case between the Methodist Episcopal Church and its Southern counterpart, focusing on a large publishing fund and the complex plans to divide church assets during a period of division.
The text traces the origins of the Book Concern, its profits used to support traveling preachers and their families, and the evolving governance of the church through annual and general conferences. It reveals how plans for separation and property transfer were debated, drafted, and debated again, with attention to legal and administrative details that impacted real people and congregations.
- Learn how a publishing fund grew from early publishing efforts into a significant church asset.
- See how church governance evolved—from a single conference to a system of annual and general conferences with defined powers and restrictions.
- Understand the arguments over property division, notes, presses, and other assets tied to the Book Concern.
- Discover the legal and organizational considerations that surrounded the proposed split and its consequences for both northern and southern churches.
Ideal for readers of church history, legal history, and 19th‑century American religious life, this edition presents a careful, document‑driven view of a pivotal moment in Methodist history and property law.