In Need of Your Prayers and Patience

The Church of the Nazarene embraces American attachments to democratic rule, individual initiative, efficiency, and a strong sense of responsibility as ""a city on a hill."" It is also present in more than 150 world areas. These attributes are reflected in the astounding story of one of the founders of the denomination, H. F. Reynolds, who has been long hidden in the shadow of his early colleague, Phineas Bresee. While the church points to Bresee as its founding father, Reynolds lived and served for an additional two decades following Bresee's death, shaping the role of the General Superintendency, clarifying and expanding the church's Manuel to meet the needs of the growing denomination, and establishing mission policies and practices that took it from a US church to a global presence. Reynolds maintained a lively devotion to Christ as he survived train wrecks, war, dread disease, and the sheer volume of meetings, correspondence, and explosive scandal that came with the nurturing of a new church. His vision and methods have profoundly influenced a denomination that does not know his name. This volume is designed to make the introduction.

""Biographies are a unique and challenging art form, invariably tangling together the life of the author with that of the subject. In Need of Your Prayers and Patience can only have been written by an author deeply invested in the life of H. F. Reynolds. Mary Lou Shea's work mirrors the virtues of Reynolds himself; both the subject and author of this remarkable book are earnest, honest, humble, and profound.""
--Eric Severson, Adjunct Professor of Theology and Philosophy, Seattle Pacific University

""Through painstaking research and beautiful prose, Shea brings Reynolds out of the shadows, giving us an admiring but honest biography of an important early twentieth-century American evangelical pioneer whose advocacy for 'foreign' missions marks him--now that the overwhelming majority of Nazarenes live outside of the United States--as arguably the single most important person in the history of his denomination.""
--Mark H. Mann, Associate Professor of Theology, Point Loma Nazarene University

""Shea is a thorough and accomplished historical theologian who has captured the spirit of a man many in my ecclesiastical circles recognize by name, but [whom] few would ever know [were it not for Shea's] significant work. Her tenacity in research coupled with exceptional insight has produced a glimpse into the early days of Reynolds' church and mind, which stands to serve as the definitive work on his life.""
--Kevin C. Dunlop, District Superintendent, Upstate New York Church of the Nazarene


Mary Lou Shea taught Church History and Missions at Eastern Nazarene College for a decade, and recently spent three years at Boston University's Center for Global Christianity and Mission. She is the author of Medieval Women on Sin and Salvation.