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Allen Joe Moore

By Randy G. Litchfield

Protestant

Allen Joe Moore

Allen J. Moore (1927-2016). Whether identifying himself as an empirical theologian in 1969 or as a practical theologian at the beginning of the 21st century, Allen Moore has always been at the work of "discerning the presence of Christ in the empirical, historical, and the social reality of the world." (Moore 1969, 150) Significant topics in his work include young adults, sexuality, family, media, the history of religious education and its development as an academic discipline, theological education, interaction of culture and religion, formulation of a practical theology approach to religious education, education within Methodism, and Wesley studies. Moore's work demonstrates foresight (e.g., speaking of a "postmodern" generation in 1969 and the impact of electronic media culture in 1976), and prophetic "nerve" as he addresses difficult social issues such as sexuality and family. The legacy of George Albert Coe, Harrison Elliot and the progressive religious education movement find expression and a reinvention through Moore. He grew up in Methodist faith communities that held together personal religious experience and social concern, and that mentored his religious calling as evidenced in his license to preach at age 16. His career engaged many contexts: United Methodist Church congregations, annual conference staff, and general boards; undergraduate and graduate theological education; academic societies; Navy chaplaincy programs; urban life; and global travel. Major academic influences on Moore's thought include, but are not limited to, Boston University School of Theology and its ethos of personalism (Donald Maynard, John Green, Clifford Moore, Walter Holcomb, and L. Harold DeWolf), Seward Hiltner, Gibson Winter, Ross Snyder, Mary Elizabeth Mullino Moore, and the works of George Albert Coe, Harrison Elliott, George Herbert Mead, Reuel Howe, Lewis Sherrill and John Wesley. Throughout his career, Moore lived out his dedication to education and theology in the life of the church, academy and society.

Biography

Allen Moore was born in Waco, Texas on September 7, 1927, which meant that his childhood was shaped by the Great Depression era. He had one brother, James L. Moore, who died in 2000. The Moore family had significant protestant roots. His mother was Methodist and his father Southern Baptist. Moore's grandfather on his father's side, Joseph Moore, was a Southern Baptist preacher. This grandfather died as a result of a snake bite during a revival meeting when Moore's father, J.D. Glenn Moore, was between 11 and 12 years of age. His mother, Lucy Moore, made sure of his regular attendance at church and church school.

Moore's time in church school likely sowed the seeds for his later passion for experiential, relational, and progressive education. During an interview, Moore observed that the content of the church school lessons he encountered has faded from memory but the experiences and relationships have not. He still remembers using sand tables in 5th grade to build and explore the villages of the first and second testaments, particularly the city of Jerusalem. He also recalls the junior department Sunday School teacher who was a newspaper editor and who shared his "liberal" views with Moore, another seed for his later work within progressive religious education. That same teacher, however, called on Moore's brother to recite something for the class and his brother refused to do so. His brother walked out of the building, never to return to church for the rest of his life. (Moore, 2003 interview)

Between the ages of twelve and fifteen, Moore was active in Boy Scouts and relationships related to the Scouting program played a part in his call to professional ministry. Part of the expectation of serving God in scouting was taking responsibility within congregations. This put him in relationship with two very formative pastors, Reverend Mansfield and Reverend Evans. Moore was given the responsibility to place the pastor's sermon manuscript on the pulpit and open the Bible to the designated verse. Such responsibility was considered an honor. (Moore, 2003 interview)

A significant turning point for Moore happened in the summer just before his sixteenth birthday [1943]. He attended and participated in the summer Youth Assembly of his Methodist annual conference. These assemblies were an important annual event in youth education and had a rich tradition in his annual conference. Moore recalls,

The Assembly combined strengths of leadership training and elements of the Methodist Camp Meeting. Our days were spent in workshops, Bible study groups, and sharing groups. Each evening we walked to the church for a preaching and singing service and an altar call. The preacher for this event was Steward Clendenin, who was to become two years later my district superintendent in the Bryan District of the Texas Annual Conference where I would become, for the first time, a student pastor. I do not remember the content of those evening sermons, but I do know that I was deeply moved and believed I was called to ministry … This inspirational experience was further enriched by the nightly singing of the Assembly theme hymn, 'Are Ye Able.'I know now that the hymn contains a great deal of questionable theology, but it does represent the music that was prominent in the Christian education movement at the time. In some ways it caught up the spirit of the age - liberal theology with the evangelical zeal and personal piety of Methodism. (Johnson-Siebold, 1999, p. 17)

In 1944, while still only 16 years old, Moore was licensed to preach. At this point he had never preached in his home congregation with the exception of leading their separate children's church. His first sermon was given in a Nazarene congregation. During this time he also attended Wednesday evening services at a Mexican American Methodist congregation, which were led by a friend from Baylor University. Moore was a student pastor from 1945 to 1950. Moore's father surprised the family one Sunday when he joined the Methodist Church - he felt it important that he be in line with his son's religion if he was a preacher.

Moore attended Southwestern University and graduated in 1949. He began majoring in religion but eventually changed to a major in sociology. In 1972 Moore was recognized with a Distinguished Alumnus Award. (Moore, 2003 interview) At Southwestern Moore was introduced to religious education by Dr. B.F. Jackson who did pioneering work in religious education and audio-visual methods. Jackson encouraged Moore to experiment with using films in his student pastorates. Jackson later joined the Methodist General Board of Education and Moore was reunited with Jackson when Moore was elected to that staff. Moore was also influenced by Southwestern sociology professor Dr. Frank Luksa from Czechoslovakia. He instilled in Moore "a broad understanding of social and cultural theory and a strong background in marriage and family studies," hallmarks of Moore's later contributions to religious education. (Johnson-Siebold, 1999, p. 64)

The period between 1950 and 1954 were very busy. During that time Moore pastored Kennedale Methodist in Kennedale, Texas; earned a M.A. in sociology and psychology of religion from Baylor University (1950); and earned a B.D. from Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University (1953). His interest in religious education continued while he delved more deeply into sociology and social ethics under Joe Matthews at SMU. (Johnson-Siebold, 1999, p. 64) Moore became ordained in the Methodist Church as a deacon in 1952 and an elder in 1953. Moore indicates that his career as a professional Christian educator really began in 1953 when he was sent as a representative from his annual conference to a national workshop on Christian family life at Iliff School of Theology. In 1954 he was sent to a second workshop, this time on older adult work at then Garrett Biblical Institute in Evanston, Illinois. Moore reflects:

These two workshops were life-changing experiences for me. Persons in leadership became my colleagues in religious education. I met persons who became not only my friends but who also became a significant network of friends and colleagues in Christian education work in a national church [Howard Ham (Iliff School of Theology), Edward Staples, Virginia Stafford, Robert Cox, Paul Maves (Drew University), William Case (Garrett Biblical Institute)]. Later when I joined the staff of the General Board of Education … turned to these persons I got to know in these two workshops for advice and counsel, for strategic planning and for some good fun. (Johnson-Siebold, 1999, p. 64-65)

From 1954 to 1956 he volunteered as the Conference Director of Adult Work and Family Life Education for the Central Texas Conference of the Methodist Church. In this role he became part of a staff deeply dedicated to religious education, willing to travel like "circuit riders" carrying Christian education supplies and support to congregations across a large area. (Johnson-Siebold, 1999, p. 65) Moore reflects:

I often drove seventy or eighty miles to do an Adult Curriculum Workshop in a small church of less than fifty members, or commuted the same distance to teach a class in a Christian workers School for five nights. I realized that I had found my special calling in ministry. (Johnson-Siebold, 1999, p. 65)

While a conference director, he was also the pastor for First Methodist Church in Moody, Texas, which was in the midst of a building project involving a sanctuary and educational unit for the conference. (Johnson-Siebold, 1999, p. 65)

At a national family life conference in Cleveland, Ohio Moore met the "'dean' of the Methodist professors of religious education," Dr. Donald Maynard of Boston University School of Theology. He was a leader in age level education and family life studies. (Johnson-Siebold, 1999, p. 65) Moore remembers:

I was very pleased with the warmth of Dr. Maynard's interest in me and his encouragement that I come to Boston for Doctor of Philosophy study. Religious education as well as Boston personalism in theology clearly dominated the intellectual life of The Methodist Church in the 1950's. Among Dr. Maynard's students are some of the leading religious educators of our time - Nelle Slater, Bruce Roberts, Robert Reber, Douglas Wingeier, and Garland Knott … On March 15, 1956, I arrived in New England to begin Ph.D. studies at Boston University. (Johnson-Siebold, 1999, p. 65)

After arriving at Boston University's divinity school in 1956, Moore was influenced by four faculty members in addition to Maynard: John Green, Clifford Moore, Walter Holcomb, and L. Harold DeWolf. Green was a marriage and family sociologist in the Graduate Department of Sociology. Clifford Moore had a background in youth work. Regarding Dr. Holcomb, Allen Moore comments:

Dr. Holcomb was a graduate of Union Seminary Teachers College program in New York City and was a student of Harrison Elliot. He introduced me to the 'reconstructionist' philosophy of education and this point of view shaped most of my work to this day. (Johnson-Siebold, 1999, p. 66)

Dr. DeWolf's areas were theology and ethics, although he published a book in 1963 entitled Teaching Our Faith In God whose acknowledgements included Walter Holcombe, Clifton Moore, and Donald Maynard. He expressed an interest in Allen Moore's work in sexual ethics and encouraged him to write in that area. (Johnson-Siebold, 1999, p. 66) During his first years at Boston, Moore served as Minister of Education and Counseling at the Chestnut Street Congregational Church in Worcester, Massachusetts (1956-57).

Just prior to leaving for Boston, Moore accepted a project and theme that would prove to guide much of his future work. Moore remembers:

… was asked by Edward Staples of the Department of Family Life to develop an experimental leadership education course for high school youth based on the new paperback book by two Methodist scholars, E.M. and S.M. Duvall. The book, written especially for teens, was Facts of Life and Love (Association Press). I developed a course syllabus and taught the course twice in Texas, once in the rural district of Cleburne and once in the city of Fort Worth. Between fifty and seventy-five young people were enrolled in each course. Clearly there was a need for the church to begin to address the real needs of sexuality of youth, although not everyone felt it was appropriate. Someone wrote my bishop in protest. Bishop W.C. Martin of the Dallas-Fort Worth Area was at the time serving also as President of the National Council of Churches. He purchased the book and read it and responded to the complaint that he was not sure that it was appropriate for church but refused to take direct action. We became good friends and it was at his encouragement that I went in 1958 to the General Board of Education. (Johnson-Siebold, 1999, p. 66)

In 1957, Moore left Boston to become the Executive Administrator of the Denton Wesley Foundation and instructor in religion at North Texas State University and Texas Women's University. In 1958 Moore moved again, this time to Nashville, Tennessee to accept the position of Director of Young Adult Work and Senior Staff of the National Young Adult Research Project of the General Board of Education of the Methodist Church. He was in this position until 1963, the year he finished his Ph.D. from Boston University. His duties included responsibility for persons from 18 to 36 years of age, young adults, marriage and family life, sexuality and adult education. (Johnson-Siebold, 1999, p. 65) He became the Methodist representative to the National Council of Churches' Task Force on Human Sexuality. Moore understands such engagement as illustrative of the UMC General Board of Education's courage at that time to address "difficult and unpopular" issues. (Johnson-Siebold, 1999, p. 66)

The National Council of Churches called a consultation that heard the questions young adults were asking, including questions about premarital sexual expressions and homosexuality. This was followed by a consultation by the three divisions of the Board of Education with Seward Hiltner of the University of Chicago as a resource person. The religious education movement certainly had the 'nerve' to commit its resources and staff to the critical issues of the day. (Johnson-Siebold, 1999, p. 66)

Following the National Council of Churches consultation on young adults, Moore initiated a research project on young adults and urban problems. In addition to recruiting pastors and young adults in Chicago, Moore recruited two scholars from the University of Chicago: Gibson Winter (sociology of religion), and Ross Snyder (religious education). Moore recalls:

Extensive background studies were conducted in preparation for the consultation. These studies included studies of census trends in Chicago, case work on young adult programs in Methodist or other denominational local churches, a review of the popular and scholarly literature on young adults, extensive dialogue with Hugh Hefner, editor and publisher of Playboy magazine, who was engaged in a series of articles on young adult readership for the magazine, and a review of the current fictional literature on young adults, such as the book of Rona Jaffe … The written report from this conference became the primary agenda for young adult work within the Methodist Church and indirectly influenced the work of several denominations of the National Council of Churches. (Johnson-Siebold, 1999, p. 67)

This conference also led to the establishment by the Methodist Church of an interdivisional task force on older youth-young adult ministry. The task force was attuned to the anger in urban settings that would eventually lead to riots and to the emerging sexual revolution. Moore remembers that the church had a unique opportunity to be in ministry with this generation but to do so would require changes in the structure of the church and in forms of ministry. The task force initiated several pilot projects in a number of cities: "work within apartment complexes where young adults lived, ministry with trade school students, helping churches form young adult groups serving largely working and non-college youth, projects with unemployed and minority young adults caught in the ghettos of cities, … retreats and conferences around vocational groups … Events and workshops in human sexuality and marriage …" (Johnson-Siebold, 1999, p. 68) Another outcome of this work was the formation of the Religion and Homophile Society, originally in San Francisco and Los Angeles and later in Dallas, Chicago and New York. (Johnson-Siebold, 1999, p. 68) The Religion and Homophile Society brought homosexual communities into dialogue with the church. Moore views the Society as a precursor to the contemporary Reconciling Congregation movement in the United Methodist Church. From the combined efforts and programs of the task force, a significant pool of young adult workers and leaders were trained. Perhaps just as important, Christian education was viewed as being broader than the church school and engaged with social ministry. (Johnson-Siebold, 1999, p. 68) In 1960 Moore was a delegate to the White House Conference on Youth.

During the course of his doctoral studies and work at the Methodist Board of Education, Moore became increasing concerned about grounds for understanding and defining religious education. He was in a context and time that was rediscovering religious education as a holistic enterprise. Moore came to see practical theology as offering the needed framework for religious education. He became acquainted with practical theology through the works of Ross Snyder and Seward Hiltner. Both were active in the Association for Professors in Practical Fields (APPF). Moore became enamored by Snyder and Hiltner's work from reading all of the papers produced by the APPF's annual meetings. Through his later work, Moore became a key interpreter of Snyder's work to a wider audience. His dissertation used Hiltner's pastoral theology as a framework and then drew upon Ross Snyder, Reuel Howe, and Lewis Sherrill in religious education. Its title is "The Relation of Christian Education to Pastoral Theology: With Reference to the Function-Centered Theology of Stewart Hiltner." Moore received his Ph.D. from Boston University in 1963.

In the same year, 1963, Moore joined the faculty of the School of Theology at Claremont. Claremont became the context for Moore to develop several creative initiatives. Moore created and taught the course "Theology and Human Sexuality," which he believes was the first course devoted to that topic in theological education and it was influential in shaping similar courses offered at other Methodist schools. (Johnson-Siebold, 1999, p. 66) Another new initiative early in his tenure at Claremont was the Urban Training Institute. (Moore, 2003 interview) Moore also taught one of the first courses on communication at Claremont, which enriched his interest in, and use of, media in religious education. He initiated urban issues classes which engaged in firsthand interactions with community leaders and the homeless in the city. He believed that the experience would help students better understand the people with whom they were going to serve. Moore collaborated in sponsoring travel seminars and experimental workshops exploring the church's relationship to critical contemporary issues. (accessed from the CST website, http://www.cst.edu/mmc.htm at 4:53 est on 1/20/03)

From 1964 to 1968 Moore served as Dean of Students at Claremont. In1967 he became Professor of Theology, Personality and Education. Moore chaired the Claremont committee that eventually re-opened a doctoral program at the school. Claremont had offered a Th.D., which was inherited from when the school was part of the religion department at the University of Southern California. Soon after moving to Claremont, the doctoral program was closed. The new program was a Ph.D. degree in Theology and Personality that included elements addressing concerns of the classical theological disciplines. Attending to such issues won it support of the classical theological faculty who served on many of the program's dissertation committees. Moore spent a considerable amount of energy on doctoral seminars and mentoring students. His teaching load was evenly split between masters and doctoral level courses. (Moore, 2003 interview) His doctoral courses dealt with the history of religious education, practical theology, and family dynamics. Graduates of the program are on faculty at major seminaries, leadership positions in agencies, and professional practices. In 1988, Moore began serving as Dean of STC. In 1991 he became Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean and was the E. Stanley Jones Professor of Christian Mission and Education. He also held an appointment as Professor of Religion at the Claremont Graduate School.

Moore's work in sexuality and family extended beyond the Claremont campus. Between 1968 and 1972, he served as a consultant to the U.S. Navy Chaplains Corps in Family Life, Sexual Development, Young Adulthood. In 1970 Moore was the Chairman of the Research Conference on the Future of the Family in St. Louis. In 1972 he chaired the Conference on Resourcing the Family in Indianapolis, Indiana and was a delegate to the Conference on Religion and Research in Human Sexuality funded by the Stone Foundation in St. Louis. Prior to the 1972 General Conference of the United Methodist Church, Moore served as a member of the General Committee on Family Life and Chair of the Drafting Committee on the Resolution on the Family. Also on the committee were James Wall and Jackson Carroll. The bishops refused to allow the statement to come to the floor of the General Conference. Moore believes this to be the first time a resolution on the liberation of women and a statement on homosexuality was presented for the General Conference. Four years later the statement came to General Conference through a different committee with few changes and was passed. (Moore, 2003 interview)

Moore has helped shape several scholarly organizations. He was a founding member of the Association of Professors and Researchers in Religious Education (APRRE). Beginning in the 1950's, the National Council of Churches helped sponsor and organize an annual meeting of the "Professors and Research Section" under the leadership of their Division of Christian Education. In 1969, that section dissolved and formed an independent group, in order to encourage participation by professors whose religious communities were not members of the National Council of Churches, including Roman Catholics and Jews. APRRE emerged from that group, beginning with a handful of members in 1969 and growing to 311 in 2002. Moore served as Vice President in 1969 and President in 1970 and 1971. Students of the Claremont Ph.D. in Theology and Personality program have continued his legacy by regularly being in leadership positions in APRRE. There is also significant overlap in membership between APRRE and the Religious Education Association (REA). Moore served as Vice President of the Association for the Professional Education for Ministry (APEM), earlier known as the Association for Professors in Practical Fields (APPF), which was so influential in sparking his interest in practical theology. The concerns of this organization have re-emerged via the Association of Practical Theology. Through the years Moore has also been active in the United Methodist Association of Scholars in Christian Education (UMASCE), the American Academy of Religion (AAR), and the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion (SSSR). From 1974 to 1975, Moore was a Research Fellow in the Department of Anthropology at the London School of Economics and Political Science. In 1978 he received the Association for Theological Schools Award for Theological Scholarship and Research.

In 1972 Moore and his wife, Jean, were divorced. Allen and Jean had three daughters together: Glenda, Joyce and Nan. In 1976 Allen married Mary Elizabeth Mullino Moore. Mary Elizabeth joined the Claremont faculty, teaching in Theology and Education. She is currently Director of the Program for Women in Theology and Ministry and Professor of Religion and Education at Candler School of Theology, Emory University. Allen is the stepfather of Mary Elizabeth's son, Cliff, and daughter, Rebecca. (Moore, 2003 interview) Allen and Mary Elizabeth Mullino Moore have collaborated on a number of projects and encourage each other's work. Allen's work was increasingly informed by process philosophy and theology as a result of Mary Elizabeth's work in that area. In fact, Allen uses Alfred North Whitehead's educational cycle (romance-precision-generalization) to describe their working styles. He depicts himself as the romantic, dealing with issues in a general way, and Mary Elizabeth as the precise person, dealing with issues more specifically. Together he thinks that they make a great team. They have found a way of encouraging each other. Mary Elizabeth has become a leader in practical theology and Allen sees her carrying on his passion in a great way. (Moore, 2003 interview)

Nineteen ninety four was the year Moore retired from Claremont. In his honor, the Claremont School of Theology established the Allen J. Moore Multicultural Resource and Research Center upon his retirement to support ministries that are meaningful and prophetic in an increasingly pluralistic, interconnected world. The Center provides a broad range of resources for use by students and local church leaders; resources that represent intercultural and culturally diverse approaches to worship, teaching, aesthetic communication, pastoral care, and urban ministry. In addition, the Center sponsors research, seminars, and resource development to enhance the Church's understanding of diversity and creative action. The Center has ministry and research collections, offers workshops and seminars, supports students in the development of resources, and bibliographic services. (accessed from the CST website, http://www.cst.edu/mmc.htm at 4:53 est on 1/20/03)

During the 1994-95 academic year, Moore studied similarities and differences in Methodist theological education, looking for an ethos that is distinctively Wesleyan. This involved global travel "Los Angeles to the United Kingdom, France, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, Tonga, and back to Los Angeles …" (Moore 1998, 217-18)

After Allen's retirement, the Moore's in 1999 moved to Atlanta, Georgia when Mary Elizabeth Mullino Moore joined the faculty at Candler School of Theology at Emory University. At the time of this writing, Allen Moore is teaching a course on the history of religious education on a part-time basis at Candler. Of particular interest to Moore is John Wesley's organization of over 200 Sunday Schools and the centrality of education for Wesley's doctrine of grace. Moore understands Wesley as seeing education as a way of understanding grace and making grace more operative in one's life, despite the prevalent view of education as breaking the will of the child. In his many travels, Moore is always struck by how essential education is to Methodism in each country. Moore is active in the Christian Educators Fellowship in North Georgia. (Moore, 2003 interview)

When asked what of his work that he is most proud or satisfied, Moore identified his book The Young Adult Generation and his work on the definition of religious education found in Changing Patterns of Religious Education , edited by Marvin Taylor (1984), which people are still using as a reference. (Moore, 2003 interview) He believes that his biggest strength in his career has been his ability to recognize needs and develop responses to those needs. (Moore, 2003 interview) The most significant change in his thinking has been the movement from seeing himself as a religious educator to being a practical theologian. (Moore, 2003 interview) When asked about the state of religious education, Moore views the field now as being diffuse with everyone working in different directions. Religious education is not a single-track enterprise any longer. Religious education is more local and inventive than it has been in the past. This also means that religious education is seen as more than schooling, which is a recovery of historical formulations of religious education - a project to which he has been devoted throughout his career. (Moore, 2003 interview) In 1999, Moore reflected:

My fifty years in ministry have seen many shifts in religious education. We moved from the Golden Age of religious education to an educational perspective that infiltrated the whole life of the church. Even more important, religious education has become a theological enterprise enriched by the discipline of practical theology. Although theological education has also undergone much change, the educational perspective had come increasingly to influence the decision-making structures, involve students much more in determining their own education, and a more human approach to theological education by the faculty. (Johnson-Siebold, 1999, p. 68)

Addendum: Allen J. Moore passed away on September 18th, 2016.

Contributions to Christian Education

The contributions of Allen Moore to the field of religious education are broad and are embodied in the schools, denomination, and associations he served and the students he taught. Scholarship and ministry dwell equally in him. He initiated academic and ministry programs. He gave impetus and leadership to scholarly associations and denominational initiatives. He gave insights, passion and opportunities to students that transformed their lives and through them shaped scholarship and educational ministries. Moore's educational legacy continues to grow through the teaching ministries of more than 60 students whose dissertations he supervised during his three-decade career at the Claremont School of Theology. In his curriculum vita, Moore depicts his work as including "young adulthood, early marriage, human sexual development, human communications, socialization and ritualistic behavior, organizational problems and development, theology and praxis, the reformation of pastoral theology, and intercultural patterns of religion and education."

Addressing pressing social issues by attending to the interplay of culture, education and theology is a hallmark of Moore's contributions. Frank Rogers, a faculty colleague at Claremont, has described him as a "theologian of culture." (Frank Rogers, email, 1/17/03) Charles Foster describes Moore as having a fascination with the formative influence of culture in the lives of people - from movies, to concerts, to cultural movements. To accept an invitation from Allen to teach a class or conduct a workshop almost invariably meant that one would also see and discuss at length a movie, explore one of the creative edges of Los Angeles, etc. (Charles R. Foster, email, 1/14/03)

Moore's work on cultural and religious dynamics in young adult development significantly influenced subsequent research in that area. (Charles R. Foster, email, 1/14/03) During the "sexual revolution" he was one of the few theologians reflecting on human sexuality and willing to do so publicly (an interview of Moore appears in the June 1967 issue of Playboy magazine). His development of the first theology and human sexuality class at a seminary shaped courses at a variety of schools. Moore's work was typically ahead of the times and includes many social issues beyond sexuality: urban dynamics, families, suburban captivity of the church, multiculturalism, and gay rights. His work on the intersection of culture, education and theology has become influential in understanding religious education as a mode of social reconstruction. (Frank Rogers, email, 1/17/03) Perhaps this is best captured in his edited work, Religious Education as Social Transformation . Here he reclaims the social progressive legacy of George Albert Coe and Harrison Elliot and then re-envisions religious education in light of practical theology. He consistently works to call the church back to faithfulness in engaging justice issues in society and to the role of education in this engagement. Jack Seymour has described Moore as "one of the most principled people I know" and his work as having "… an agenda of empowerment, and a belief that theology can free us to encounter a living God." (Jack Seymour, email, 1/21/03)

The field of religious education has been significantly influenced by Moore's work in the history of religious education and using practical theology as a conceptual framework for religious education. His historical work keeps in front of leaders in religious education basic commitments and core values for the field, particularly regarding society. While at Claremont, Moore was involved in an oral history of religious education project that taped interviews with formative figures in religious education. This collection remains at the Claremont library. History was an important component in the design of the Ph.D. program in religious education, involving exams, coursework, and support of the oral history project. Through Claremont graduates this historical consciousness continues. Moore draws upon history to reclaim vision and find inspiration, not to replicate the past. The values of the past must be reinterpreted and revalued in the present and this reflects his practical theology approach (the opening chapter of Religious Education as Social Transformation is an excellent example of this). Many see Moore's leadership in recovering practical theology as one of his most important contributions to religious education. The use of cultural, religious, and educational categories not only help clarify social issues but also understand how educators facilitate the construction of meaning and alternative, faithful ways of living in individuals and communities of faith.

Moore has shaped the field of religious education through institutional leadership and mentoring of others. Whether it was establishing academic associations, leading academic institutions or guiding denominational initiatives, Moore brought innovation and integration. Periodically he was in difficult positions because of the passions evoked by certain issues and institutional transition that demanded courage and strength. Moore was an effective dean for Claremont. This is a significant contribution given Claremont's role in educating not only scholars in religious education but also in pastoral counseling and classical disciplines and the school's influence in theological education in general. Moore became dean during a time of tremendous change at Claremont: major faculty members (such as John Cobb, James Sanders, and Howard Clinebell) retired and a new president of the school was installed. A new direction for Claremont emerged during his leadership. His effective leadership at Claremont, and in theological education generally, was grounded in his "comprehensive understanding of the way curriculum, leadership, context, teaching and learning function ecologically." (Charles R. Foster, email, 1/14/03)

Moore is also an effective mentor. Foster shares:

I think one of Allen's most significant contributions might be described as his uncanny ability to "sponsor" people into the field. He did this by creating opportunities (workshops/conferences) for people to explore the field, traditional and non-traditional academic opportunities to develop credentials for leadership in the field; and through his personal advocacy and mentoring of younger people in the field in congregations and the academy. (email, 1/14/03)

Because the doctoral program at Claremont included both religious education and pastoral care, Moore has students who became leaders in each field. Students of Allen Moore include (not an exhaustive listing): Robert Albers (pastoral care, Luther Seminary), Christine Blair (The American Church in Paris, Paris, France), Dean Blevins (Nazarene Theological Seminary), William Clements (pastoral care, Claremont School of Theology), Randy Litchfield (Methodist Theological School in Ohio), Sondra Matthaei (Saint Paul School of Theology, Kansas City, MO), Mary Elizabeth Moore (Candler School of Theology, Emory University), Russell Moy (Church Divinity School of the Pacific, Berkeley, CA), James Poling (pastoral care, Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary), David Sharrard (pastoral care, Lexington Theological Seminary), W. Alan Smith (Florida Southern College), Yolanda Smith (Yale Divinity School), Carolyn Wolf Spanier (Episcopal Theological School at Claremont, CA), Sharon Warner (Lexington Theological Seminary), Janet Weathers (Institute for Creative Transformation, Trenton, NJ), David F. White (Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary), and Chin Cheak Yu (Trinity Theological College, Singapore).

Moore consistently expected a lot from those he taught and mentored but this was always with an eye on reaching potentials. Jack Seymour shares:

… he was a wonderful, listening and challenging mentor for several of us young faculty in seminaries. He clearly called me out and provided a listening context where I could claim and grow in gifts he saw in me. He is a nurturing mentor for the field. (email, 1/21/03)

This is a testimony that this author shares. Allen saw something in me that others did not. He was willing to take a risk with me and more than that, create opportunities that broadened my horizons as an educator, a practical theological, a leader and as a human being.

Works Cited

  • Johnson-Siebold, J. (Ed.). (1999). Personal narratives about the history of Methodist Christian education in the Twentieth Century . United Methodist Association of Scholars in Christian Education. Photocopy publication with originals held by the General Commission on Archives and History of the United Methodist Church located at Drew University.
  • Moore, A. J. (2003). Telephone interview conducted by R.G. Litchfield . (January 22, 2003).
  • Moore, A. J. (1998). Some distinctive characteristics of Methodist theological education. Quarterly Review , 18 (3), 211-226.
  • Moore, A. J. (1969). The young adult generation: A perspective on the future . Nashville: Abingdon Press.

Bibliography

Books

  • Moore, A. J. (1950). The structure and function of the marriage consultation center. Unpublished thesis, Baylor University.
  • Moore, A. J. (1958). New trends for summer conferences with young adults. Department of Christian Education of Adults, General Board of Education of the Methodist Church.
  • Moore, A. J. (1959). Our faith, our vocation, our mission. Program Emphasis for the Young Adult Fellowship. Department of Christian Education of Adults, General Board of Education of the Methodist Church.
  • Moore, A. J. (1961). Young adults-young churchmen. Leaflet of the Department of Christian Education of Adults, General Board of Education of the Methodist Church.
  • Moore, A. J. (1963). The relation of Christian education of pastoral theology: with reference to the function-centered theology of Stewart Hiltner. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Boston University Graduate School.
  • Moore, Allen J. (1969). The young adult generation: A perspective on the future. New York: Abingdon Press.
  • Moore, A. J. (1969, November). Findings and recommendations: Downtown Oakland Christian parish. Unpublished research paper, Claremont.
  • Moore, A. J. (1971). Young adult marriage project: Martial style inventory. School of Theology at Claremont, California.
  • Moore, A. J. (1971, December). Religious renewal project: First progress report. Washington DC: U.S. Navy Chaplain Corps Planning Group.
  • Moore, A. J., Compaan, A., & Hines, R. (1972). Bibliography of materials relevant to research on young adult marriage with emphasis on research in the 1960's, The Young Adult Marriage Project, Claremont, 45.
  • Moore, A. J. (1972, March). Religious renewal project: Second progress report. Washington DC: U.S. Navy Chaplain Corps Planning Group.
  • Moore, A. J. (1972, June). Final report of the religious renewal project. Washington DC: U.S. Navy Chaplain Corps Planning Group. Published for distribution by Chief of Chaplains, U.S. Navy Chaplain Corps.
  • Moore, A. J. (1980). Defining religious education: Some historical reflections. Background papers on the Disciplines of Religious Education (Vol. II). Nashville, Tennessee: Division of Education, Board of Discipleship, the United Methodist Church.

Chapters in Books

  • Moore, A. J. (1966). The church's young adult ministry. In M. J. Taylor (Ed.), An Introduction to Christian Education (pp. 193-204). Nashville and New York: Abingdon Press.
  • Moore, A. J. (1970, September). Introduction. In J. Wall (Ed.), Report on the research conference on the family. Nashville: General Board of Education, United Methodist Church, 7-9.
  • Moore, A. J. (1971). Abortion: a human choice. In Abortion: A human choice, (23-31). Published jointly by the division of General Welfare and the Department of Population Problems, Board of Christian Social Concerns of the United Methodist Church.
  • Moore, A. J. (1981). A holy people In F. Conklin (Ed.), Devotional Booklet for the 1981 Annual Conference of the Pacific and Southwest Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church.
  • Moore, A. J. (1981). The family relations of older persons. In W. M. Clements (Ed.), Ministry with the aging (175-192). San Francisco: Harper and Row.
  • Moore, A. J. (1982). Liberation and the future of Christian education. In J. Seymour & D. Miller. Contemporary approaches to Christian education (103-122). Nashville: Abingdon.
  • Moore, A. J. (1982, Spring). Some reflections on practical theology: From the perspective of a case study. Prepared during Ph.D. Seminar, STC.
  • Moore, A. J. (1982). The transforming church: Education for a life style of discipleship. In M. E. Moore, A living witness to Oikodome: Essays in honor of Ronald E. Osborn (50-69). Claremont, California: Disciples Seminary Foundation.
  • Moore, A. J. (1982). The future of church curriculum. In Harold Hipps (Ed), Confrontation curriculum: A project of Christian Educators Fellowship. Nashville, Tennessee: United Methodist Church.
  • Moore, A. J. (1984). Religious education as a discipline. In M. J. Taylor (Ed.), Changing patterns of religious education (89-105). Nashville: Abingdon Press.
  • Moore, A. J. (n.d.). The future of church curriculum. In R. Cookson (Ed.), Confrontation: Church School Curriculum. A monograph of the Christian Educators Fellowship of The United Methodist Church.
  • Moore, A. J. (1991). Recovery of the teaching office: Insights from education. In E. B. Price, By what authority: A conversation on teaching (155-176). Abingdon Press.
  • Moore, A. J. (1993). Denominational identity and the church school - teasing out a relationship. In J. Carroll & W. C. Roof (Eds.), Beyond establishment: Protestant identity in a post-protestant age (54-73). Louisville: Westminster/John Knox.

Articles

  • Moore, A. J. (1959, April). What Protestants believe. Group in action, four sessions. Adult Teacher, 31-47.
  • Moore, A. J. (1959, April-June). Community resources. Bible Teacher for Adults, 11-12.
  • Moore, A. J. (1959, July).Your class - part of a larger development. Adult Student, 21-23.
  • Moore, A. J. (1959, October). Parents must launch children into young adulthood. Christian Home, 27-31. Reprinted by Department of Christian Education of Adults, General Board of Education in The Methodist Church.
  • Moore, A. J. (1959, October). An effective ministry for single young adults. The Methodist Story, 3 (9), 27-28. Reprinted by Department of Christian Education of Adults, General Board of Education of the Methodist Church.
  • Moore, A. J. (1959, October). Unity in the local church. Adult Student, 18-21.
  • Moore, A. J. (1960, January) Christ and our freedom. Adult Student, 9-11.
  • Moore, A. J. (1960, May). New concern for the outsider. Adult Student, 9-11.
  • Moore, A. J. (1960, July). Christian citizenship. The group in action, four sessions. Adult Teacher, 10-27.
  • Moore, A. J. (1960, August). The Brass Ring. Adult Student, 21-22. Also, Christian Home, 51.
  • Moore, A. J. (1960, October). Financing the college marriage. Christian Home, 25-27.
  • Moore, A. J. (1960, November). Learning through the use of drama. Adult Student, 17-19.
  • Moore, A. J. (1961, March). From youth to adulthood. Adult Teacher, 18-19.
  • Moore, A. J. (1961, April-June). Fruits of wisdom. Teacher's Helps. Bible Teacher for Adults, 49-64.
  • Moore, A. J. (1961, May). Plan now for summer activities. Adult Teacher, 8-11.
  • Moore, A. J. (1961, July-September). Cluster groups for young adults. Bible Lessons for Adults, Cover III.
  • Moore, A. J. (1961, July-September). A young adult cluster group. Bible Teacher for Adults, 11-12. Reprinted as a leaflet with bibliography by Department of Christian Education of Adults, General Board of Education of the Methodist Church.
  • Moore, A. J. (1961, August). Educating young adults for marriage. Adult Student, 2-4. Reprinted by the Department of Christian Education of Adults, General Board of Education of the Methodist Church.
  • Moore, A. J. (1961, September). The nature of adult education. Adult Student, 18-21. Reprinted as a pamphlet by the Department of Christian Education of Adults, General Board of Education of the Methodist Church.
  • Moore, A. J. (1961, October). So you went to a summer conference. Adult Teacher, 4-5.
  • Moore, A. J. (1961, October). Church adult education. Adult Teacher, 7.
  • Moore, A. J. (1961, October-December). A larger ministry. Wesley Quarterly, 20 (4), 8-9.
  • Moore, A. J. (1961, November). Education for Christian parenthood. Christian Home, 37-41. Reprinted by Department of Christian Education of Adults, General Board of Education of the Methodist church, March, 1962.
  • Moore, A. J. (1961 November). Expanding opportunities for adult education. Adult Teacher, 16-17.
  • Moore, A. J. (1961, December). Some concerns for adult work. Adult Teacher, 9-10.
  • Moore, A. J. (1962, January). Poverty of belief. Adult Student,19-21.
  • Moore, A. J. (1962, January). The elective - what is it? The Church School, 15-16.
  • Moore, A. J. (1962, March). A mature attitude toward sex. Workers With Youth, 15 (3), 54-55.
  • Moore, A. J. (1962, March). The Christian family and rapid social change. The Church School, 1-3. Reprinted by the Department of the Christian Family, General Board of Education of the Methodist Church, 1962.
  • Moore, A. J. (1962, April-June). The impact of urbanization. Bible Teachers for Adults, 11-12.
  • Moore, A. J. (1962, May). What is happening to the North American family? Christian Home, 2-7.
  • Moore, A. J. (1962, May). Understanding older youth-young adults. Adult Student, 19-21.
  • Moore, A. J. (1962, May). The world of older youth-young adults. Workers With Youth, 15 (5), 54-55.
  • Moore, A. J. (1962, May-June). Preparing young adults for urban life. Bible Lessons for Adults, Cover III.
  • Moore, A. J. (1962, July). Evaluating and planning. Adult Teacher, 11-12.
  • Moore, A. J. (1962, August). Young adults. Adult Teacher, 21-22.
  • Moore, A. J. (1962, September). Effective adult education. Adult Teacher, 11-12.
  • Moore, A. J. (1962, September). Educating older youth-young adults for lay ministry. Workers with Youth, 15 (9), 54-55.
  • Moore, A. J. (n.d.). Growing toward maturity. Bible Lessons for Adults.
  • Moore, A. J. (1963, February). Education for religious maturity. Adult Student, 20-22.
  • Moore, A. J. (1963, March). Evangelism is witness. Adult Teacher, 10.
  • Moore, A. J. (1963, March). Workshop on witnessing. Adult Teacher, 11.
  • Moore, A. J. (1963, April). Workshop on education as theology. Adult Teacher, 19-21.
  • Moore, A. J. (1963, April). Planning for depth. Adult Teacher, 18.
  • Moore, A. J. (1963, November). Workshop: Foundations for adult Christian education. Adult Teacher, 19-21.
  • Moore, A. J. (1963, November). Adult council meeting. Adult Teacher, 18.
  • Moore, A. J. (1963, December). A relevant Christmas. Adult Student, 9-11.
  • Moore, A. J. (1964, February). The city, the young adult, and the church. Adult Student, 19-20.
  • Moore, A. J. (1964, April-June). Your ministry to young adults. Bible Lessons for Adults, Cover III.
  • Moore, A. J. (1964, April-June). Young adults who go to the city. Bible Teacher for Adults, 10-11.
  • Moore, A. J., & Martin, G. O. (1964, June). The four faces of me. An elective unit for adults. New York and Nashville: Abingdon Press. Reprinted from Adult Student (Martin), 23-43, and Adult Teacher (Moore), 32-47. The four faces of me, Leaders Helps: (1) The face looking in; (2) The face seeking response; (3) The face seeking response; (4) The great stone face. Adult Teacher, 32-47.
  • Moore, A. J. (1965, July 15). Playboy goes religious. Christian Advocate, 7-8.
  • Moore, A. J. (1964, July-August). Young adults move to the city. Wesley Quarterly, 23 (3), 11-12.
  • Moore, A. J. (1965, August). The scattered house. Christian Home, 4-6.
  • Moore, A. J. (1965, August). Future church adult education. The Church School, 22-24.
  • Moore, A. J. (1965, September-November). The young adult: A study in Christian communication in an urban society. Workers With Youth, Part I - 19 (1), 54-55; Part II - 19 (2), 54-55; Part III - 19 (3), 54-55.
  • Moore, A. J. (1965, September-October). The role of religious education in theological education. Religious Education, LX, 375-380.
  • Moore, A. J. (1966, April 21). Congregational development and lay training. Christian Advocate, 13-14.
  • Moore, A. J. (1966, May). A mature attitude toward sex. Workers with Youth, 19 (9), 54-55. Reprinted from March, 1962, 15 (3), 54-55.
  • Moore, A. J. (1966, November). A survey of student responsibility and action. Perspective. Bulletin of the School of Theology at Claremont, California.
  • Moore A. J. (1967, January 12). The cosmo girl: playboy inversion. Christian Advocate, 7-8. Reprinted in The Methodist Woman, January, 1968, 19-21. Reprinted in R. Theobald (Ed.), Dialogue on Women, Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill.
  • Moore, A. J. (1967, Spring). Playboyism: A dominant force in society. The Claremont Dialogue.
  • Moore, A. J., Adams, J. L., Cox, H., Lynn, R., Marty, M. E., Moody, H., Pike, J., Rogers, H., & Rubenstein, R. L. (1967, June). The playboy panel: Religion and the new morality. Playboy.
  • Moore, A. J. (1967, October). The lonely young adult. Christian Action, 3-8.
  • Moore, A. J. (1967, October 19). Comment - the generation 'gap': Can we hear the hippies. Christian Advocate, 2.
  • Moore, A. J. (1967, November). Polaris submarine religious resources project. Perspective, Bulletin of the School of Theology at Claremont.
  • Moore, A. J. (1967.November 6). Student government: An exercise in power and responsibility. Theology, 1-2.
  • Moore, A. J. (1967, October 19). The hippies and the church. Christian Advocate, 7-9. Abridged and reprinted in Classmate, April, 1968, 21-22.
  • Moore, A. J. (1968, January). When youth leave home for the city. Christian Home 8-11.
  • Moore, A. J. (1968, July-August). Education for the practice of ministry. Paper read at the annual meeting of the Graduate Professors of Christian Education, Dallas, Texas, February, 5-6, 1968 (mimeographed). Published in Religious Education, LXII, 294-300.
  • Moore, A. J. (1968, September). Social dissent. Christian Action, 11-18.
  • Moore, A. J. (1968, October). Making sex more human. Christian Action, 12-18.
  • Moore, A. J. (1968, November). The shape of the new ethical man. Christian Action, 23-31.
  • Moore, A. J. (1968, November). Who are the Joneses? Christian Home, 2-4.

Reviews by Moore

  • Moore, A. J. (1961). [Review of the book To be a man]. New York: Association Press.
  • Moore, A. J. (1962, December). [Review of the book The rebirth of the laity published by Abingdon and The ministry of the laity published by Westminster]. Motive, 51-52.
  • Moore, A. J (1967). [Review of the book On becoming human]. Nashville and New York: Abingdon Press, 1967, in Christian Advocate, November 30, 1967, p. 18.
  • Moore, A. J. (1967) [Review of the book It's Happening]. Santa Barbara, California: Marc-Laird Publications, 1967, in Christian Advocate, December 28, 1967, 18-19.
  • Moore, A. J. (1968). McLuthan: pro and con. [Review of the book McLuhan: pro and con]. Funk and Wagnalls, 1968, in Christian Life, May 1, 1969, 17-18.
  • Moore, A. J. (1969, December). [Review of the book The church and the new generation published by Abingdon Press]. Christian Advocate, 18-19.
  • Moore, A. J. (1970, April). [Review of the book, Environmental man published by Harper & Row, 1969]. Christian Advocate, 16.
  • Moore, Allen J. (1970). [Review of the book Can these bones live?: The failure of Church Renewal Published by Sheed and Ward]. Religious Education, LXV (3), 298-299.
  • Moore, A. J. (1970). [Review of the book College education and the campus revolution published by Westminster Press, 1969]. Religious Education, LXV (5), 454-455.
  • Moore, A. J. (1972, April). [Review of the book The sex researchers Published by Little Brown]. Christian Advocate, 16-17.
  • Moore, A. J, (1973, January). [Review of the book Change, Conflict and Self-Determination published by Westminster Press, 1972.]. Review of Books and Religion.
  • Moore, A. J. (1974, January). [Review of the book The sexuality of Jesus published by Harper & Row, 1973]. Today's Ministry.
  • Moore, A. J. (1974, May). [Review of the books Sex and marriage in utopian communities: 19th century America published by Indiana University Press and The Changing Family published by Columbia University Press, 1973]. The Review of Books and Religion, 3 (8).
  • Moore, A. J. (1974, November-December). [Review of the book Identity and faith in young adults published by Paulist Press, 1973]. Religious Education, LXIX (6), 738.
  • Moore, A. J. (1976, January). [Review of the book Passages about earth: An exploration of the new planetary culture Published by Harper & Row,1974]. Today's Ministry.
  • Moore, A. J. (1977, April 14). [Review of the book Loneliness: Understanding and dealing with it Published by Abingdon Press, 1975]. The Circuit Rider.
  • Moore, A. J. (1977, November-December). [Review of the book Word of God, word of faith published by United Church Press, 1976]. Religious Education, LXXII (6), 664.
  • Moore, A. J. (1980, Winter). [Review of the book How to become your best self published by Word Books, 1979]. Perkins Journal, 42-43.
  • Moore, A. J. (1985, July). [Review of the book Practical theology: the emerging field in theology, church and world published by Harper & Row, 1983]. The Journal of Religion, 65 (3), 428-43.
  • Moore, A. J. (1968, Winter). The revolt against affluence. Religion in Life, 509-518.
  • Moore, A. J. (1969, January). The future of religious education. Together, 38.31.
  • Moore, A. J. (1959, February). Response to publishing house issue. Theology.
  • Moore, A, J. (1969, March). The changing values of youth. Christian Home, 8-10.
  • Moore, A. J. (1969, May). The city: both threat and promise. Face to Face, 13. Abridgment of "When youth leave home for the city," an article first appearing in Christian Home, January, 1968, 8-11.
  • Moore, A. J. (1969, May). Response to 'what do we communicate?' Christian Life.
  • Moore, A. J. (1969, August). Action education for adults. Church School, 6-7.
  • Moore, A. J. (1969, October). Church support urged for sex education. Christian Advocate, 23.
  • Moore, A. J. (1969, October). The question of authority. Christian Home, 2-4.
  • Moore, A. J., Lapsley, H. N., Johnson, J. R., Jr., & Mills, L. O. (1969, Winter). Theological curriculum for the 1970's: A Critique". Theological Education, 99-102.
  • Moore, A. J. (1970, January). The future is upon us. A leaflet of the Division of the Local Church, Board of Education of the United Methodist Church (8520-C). Revised and reprinted from Together, January, 1969, 28-31, and Professionally Yours, November, 1969.
  • Moore, A. J. (1969, November-December). An educational approach to renewal in local churches. Religious Education, LXIV (6), 472-479.
  • Moore, A. J. (1970, September). The changing college scene. Christian Home, 7-9.
  • Moore, A. J. (1970, August 1). Young adult marriage. A research report prepared for the Personal Information System, U.S. Navy Submarine Fleet and Chaplain Corps. Revised as an address to the Supervisory Chaplain's Conference, Naval Air Station, Memphis, Tennessee and published for distribution, October 21, 1970.
  • Moore, A. J. (1971, January). Life styles: Understanding our divisions. Christian Advocate, 9-10.
  • Moore, A. J. (1971, January). The place of scientific models and theological reflection in the practice of Ministry. Pastoral Psychology, 25-34.
  • Moore, A. J. (1971, January-February). The church as a communication center: A vision of the future. Spectrum, 8-11.
  • Moore, A. J. (1971, Spring). The future is upon us. The United Methodist Teacher, III-IV, 4-10. Reprinted from Together, January, 1969, 28-31.
  • Moore, A. J. (1971, October). Life style and youth values. Christian Home, October, 5-8.
  • Moore, A. J. (1971, October). What makes them run. Face to Face, 22-25.
  • Moore, A. J. (1971, November). Outer position on abortion: One-dimensional view. Christian Advocate, 10-11.
  • Moore, A. J. (1972, May). A summer job: More than money. Face to Face, 23-26.
  • Moore, A. J. (1973, Summer). Action education for adults. Spectrum, 38-42.
  • Moore, A. J. (1972, December). Sexual expression: A personal choice. Engage, 6-15.
  • Moore, A. J. (1973, April). Concern for the quality of human life. The Interpreter, XVII (4), 3-6.
  • Moore, A. J. (1973, July). New marital life styles - and a theological perspective. Christian Home, 13-16.
  • Moore, A. J. (1976, June). Choosing values in a media environment. ESA Engage/Social Action, 17-23.
  • Moore, A. J. (1976, Summer). The D. Min. a decade later. Theological Education, XII (4), 219-226.
  • Moore, A. J. (1977, July). I was a stranger and they cared for me… . The Church School, 12-13.
  • Moore, A. J. (1978). Culturing a people. Chicago Theological Seminary Register.
  • Moore, A J. (1978, April). Growing in self-esteem. Christian Home, 15-17.
  • Moore, A. J. (1978, September-October). Religious education as living theology: some reflections on the contributions of Ross Snyder. Religious Education LXXIII (5), 541-550.
  • Moore, A. J. (1978-79, Winter). Moral education and the church. Youth Leader, 4-10.
  • Moore, A. J. (1978). Toward a theology of Christian education for the 1980's. A monograph of the Department of Church School Development of the General Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church.
  • Moore, A. J. (1979, July). The caring community as gift of faith. Church School, 4-5.
  • Moore, A. J. (1980, May). Looking to tomorrow - the bad news and the good news. The Church School, 12 (9), 2-3.
  • Moore, A. J. (1983). Pastoral teaching: A revisionist view. Quarterly Review, 3 (3), 63-76.
  • Moore, A. J. (1984). Recovery of theological nerve. Religious Education, LXXIX (1), 24-29.
  • Moore, A. J. (1985, July). Practical theology: The emerging field in theology, church and world. Journal of Religion, 65 (3), 428-43.
  • Moore, A. J. (1987). Teenage sexuality and public morality. Christian Century.
  • Moore, A. J. (1987). A social theory of religious education. Religious Education, 82 (3), 45-425.
  • Moore, A. J. (1992). Shifting boundaries: Contextual approaches to the structure of theological education. Theology Today, 49, 447-448.
  • Moore, A. J. (1998, Fall). Some distinctive characteristics of Methodist theological education. Quarterly Review, 18, 211-225.
  • Moore, A. J. (2003, Fall). One hundred years of the Religious Education Association. Religious Education, 98, 426-436.

Paper and Report in a Seminar

  • Moore, A. J. (1958, July). Education for family living. Paper read at the Southeastern Jurisdiction Young Adult Workshop, Lake Junaluska, North Carolina. Duplicated for distribution by the Department of Christian Education of Adults, General Board of Education of the Methodist Church.
  • Moore, A. J. (1960). New trends for young adults. Department of Christian Education of Adults, General Board of Education of the Methodist Church.Moore, A. J. (1960, August). The future course of young adult work in the Methodist Church. Study document for the field staff in education, The Department of Christian Education of Adults, General Board of Education of the Methodist Church.
  • Moore, A. J. (1962). The young adult: a social-cultural understanding. Paper read at the Young Adult Section Meeting, National Adult Education Conference, Detroit, Michigan, and published in the Annual Report of the Young Adults Section.
  • Moore, A. J. (1962). Toward understanding older youth-young adults. Nashville, TN: General Board of Education of the Methodist Church. Monograph #2 in a series.
  • Moore, A. J. (1962, April). An attempt to begin formulating a theoretical foundation for defining the educative ministry. Paper prepared for the staff of the Division of the Local Church, General Board of Education of the Methodist Church.
  • Moore, A. J. (1964). A concept of an organizing structure for church school curriculum. Study paper prepared for the Committee on the Study of Adult Curriculum, The Curriculum Committee of the Methodist Church. Duplicated as a study document for general circulation by Adult Department, Editorial Division of the Methodist Church, 1964.
  • Moore, A. J., Snyder, R., & Mowry, C. (1964). The transition years. Lectures at a Workshop on the Young Adult Generation and the Contemporary Church. Published by the Service Department, General board of Education of the Methodist Church.
  • Moore, A. J. (1964, May 16-17). Field education: some theological and educational presuppositions. Unpublished paper prepared for the Field Education Committee, School of Theology at Claremont, California, January 15, 1964. Reproduced as a study document, consultation on Educative Ministry of Pastors, General Board of Education of the Methodist Church, Nashville, Tennessee.
  • Moore, A. J. (1964, June 7-9). The role of religious education in theological education. Paper read at the Association of Seminary Professors in the Practical Fields, Fort Worth, Texas. Published in Eighth Biennial Report of the Association of Seminary Professors in the Practical Fields.
  • Moore, A. J. (1965, October 10). Renewal as theology and reflection. A paper prepared for the faculty at the School of Theology at Claremont, California.
  • Moore, A. J. (1965, December 1). Congregational development and lay training. Report for the Committee on Lay Training, Conference Board of Education, Southern California-Arizona Annual Conference of the Methodist Church.
  • Moore, A. J. (1966, February). The function of adolescent sex education in helping youth move into mature sexuality in our culture. Paper prepared for the Consultation on Sex Education, Board of Education, Southern California-Arizona Conference of the Methodist Church. Published in the findings of the consultation.
  • Moore, A. J. (1966, August 4-5). The new theology and the religious education of young adults. Paper read at the Orientation School for New Navy Chaplains, Newport, Rhode Island.
  • Moore, A. J. (1966, August 4-5). A psycho-cultural profile of the young adult. Paper read at the Orientation School for New Navy Chaplains, Newport, Rhode Island.
  • Moore, A. J. (1966, August 4-5). The intensive encounter as a mode of ministry. Paper read at the Orientation School for New Navy Chaplains, Newport, Rhode Island.
  • Moore, A. J. (1966, October 16-17). The church and sex education. Paper read at the meeting of Methodist Professors of Family Life, Chicago. Published in the proceedings of the meeting.
  • Moore, A. J., & Wilford, E. (1966, December). The ministry with young adults. Lectures presented to the Navy Chaplain School, Newport, Rhode Island. Published by the District Chaplain, Eleventh District, U.S. Navy.
  • Moore, A. J. (1967, June 19-23). A configuration approach to the young adult developmental sequence in the life cycle. Paper presented for the Conference on Resources for the Lead project under the sponsorship of the chief of Chaplains, U.S. Navy, and the Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, held at the U.S. Naval Base, Charleston, South Carolina. (Mimeographed. Also published in the findings of the Lead project.)
  • Moore, A. J. (1967, October 16). Summary paper on the young adult developmental sequence. Lead Project Report, U.S. Navy Chaplain Corps.
  • Moore, A. J. (1968, January 15). The young adult submariner and sexuality. Report prepared for Lead Project, U.S. Navy Chaplain Corps. Revised and enlarged, December 30, 1968.
  • Moore, A. J. (1968, April). The future of religious education. Paper prepared for the Convocation on Christian Education, Long Beach, California. Abridged for the Southern California-Arizona Methodist Board of Education, October, 1968.
  • Moore, A. J. (Ed.). (1968, June 13-16). The practical fields in the curriculum of the 70s. Tenth Biennial report presented at the American Association of Seminary Professors in the Practical Fields, St. Louis, Missouri. Publication date: January, 1969.
  • Moore, Allen J. (1969, February 7-9). An ecumenical approach to renewal in local churches. Paper read to the Professors and Research Section of the division of Christian Education, National Council of Churches of Christ, U.S.A, Garrett Theological Seminary, Evanston, Illinois.
  • Moore, A. J. (1969, February 7). Continuing theological education. Paper prepared for the faculty retreat, School of Theology at Claremont, California.
  • Moore, A. J. (1969, September). Sex education in the church, Family Life Task Force on Sex Education. Report of the General Committee on Christian Family Life, United Methodist Church.
  • Moore, A. J. (1969, December 1969). The young adult and issues of sexuality. Report of research, including a background paper, issue identification, and bibliography, prepared for Lead Project, U.S. Navy chaplain Corps.
  • Moore, A. J. (1970, June 21). In recognition of Ross Snyder. Address at the 20th Anniversary Banquet of the Association for Education for the Professional Ministry. Published in the Biennial Report of the Association.
  • Moore, A. J. (1971, March). A study of navy chapel programs. A report of the Chaplain Corps Planning Group, U. S. Navy, Washington D.C.
  • Moore, A. J. (1974, January). Abortion: Human rights and moral choice. Address to Conference on Ethics and Abortion, Planned Parenthood Association, San Diego.
  • Moore, A. J. (1975, March). The sociological context of theology. A paper read at the Conference on Sociology of Theology, Urban Theology Unit, Sheffield, England. Published in New City, Sheffield, England.
  • Moore, A. J. (1979, October 30-November 1). Life style education. A paper prepared for Local Church Leaders on Hunger and Life Style Changes. Scarritt College, Nashville, Tennessee.
  • Moore, A. J. (1980, Summer). Defining the academic discipline of religious education, I. Report of the Task Force prepared for United Methodist Association of Professors of Christian Education.
  • Moore, A. J. (1980, Summer). Defining the academic discipline of religious education, II. Report of the Task Force prepared for United Methodist Association of Professors of Christian Education.
  • Moore, A. J. (1982, February 18-20). Life style education. A paper read at the Conference on Education and Social Transformation, Claremont, California. Revised from an earlier paper, unpublished,1982.

Others

  • Moore, A. J. (1960). Discussion starters for The Brass Ring television series for young adults, Department of Adult Work, The National Council of Churches, New York.
  • Moore, A. J. (1962). From youth to adulthood. A pamphlet of the Youth and Adult Departments, General Board of Education of the Methodist Church.
  • Moore, A. J. (1963). Utilization Guide for Face to Face 35mm. Second Color Filmstrip. Nashville: Television, Radio and Film Commission, the Methodist Church.
  • Moore, A. J. (1968, November). A theological brief for a film: 'why get married'? Unpublished manuscript prepared for Family Films, Hollywood, California.
  • Moore, A. J. (1968). The young adult: A perspective on the future. Unpublished manuscript, School of Theology at Claremont, California.
  • Moore, A. J. (1969, August). The Church and the Under-25 Generation: (1) "Coming of Age"; (2) "The Generation Gap"; (3) "Becoming Adult"; and (4) "The Church Ministers to the New Generation" [Filmstrip scripts]. Hollywood: Family Films.
  • Moore, A. J. (1971, January 1). Personal information program on young adult marriage. Publication for U.S. Navy Sub-fleet and Chaplain Corps, 106.
  • Moore, Allen J. (1971, March). Personal Information program on young adult marriage. Supplement I, Print Resources. Publication for U.S. Navy Sub-fleet and Chaplain Corps, 43.
  • Moore, A. J. (1972). Study Guide for Resolution on the family. General Conference of the United Methodist Church. General Committee on Family Live, P.O. Box 871, Nashville, Tennessee, 37202. Leaflet #3006-B.

Works about Allen Moore

  • Drovhahl, R. R. (1990). [Review of the book Religious education as social transformation]. Christian Education Journal, 11 (1), 123-25.
  • Getz, G. A. (1970). [Review of the book The young adult generation]. Bibliotheca sacra, 127 (507), 276-77.
  • Graves, A. W. (1970). [Review of the book The young adult generation]. Review and expositor, 67 (10), 110.
  • Lines, T. A. (1990). [Review of the book Religious education as social transformation]. Review and expositor, 87 (2), 363.
  • Lines, T. A. (1992). The religious educator as revolutionary. Functional images of the religious educator (pp. 356-401). Birmingham, AL: Religious Education Press. Lines draws upon Moore's assessment of George Albert Coe and Harrison Elliot, and Moore's cultural work in Moore's A social theory of religious education (1989).
  • Moore, M. E. (1983). Education for continuity and change. Nashville: Abingdon Press. Mary Elizabeth Moore draws upon Allen Moore's empirical theological perspective in dealing with the interconnections of culture and theology.
  • O'Brien, M. R. (1991). [Review of the book Religious education as social transformation]. Religious Education, 86 (3), 479-80.
  • Reklau, T. S. (1989). [Review of the book Religious education as social transformation]. Christian Century, 106 (29), 1125.
  • Schipani, D. S. (1988) Religious education encounters liberation theology. Birmingham, AL: Religious Education Press. Schipani draws upon Moore's interpretation of liberation education and its role in Christian education.

Excerpts from Publications

Moore, A. J. (2003, Fall). One hundred years of the Religious Education Association. Religious Education , 98, 426-436.

"Possibly the greatest challenge now facing the [Religious Education] Association and its journal [ Religious Education ] is one of relevance… . The fist concern for discussion is the role of the religious community in current debates over primary, secondary, and higher education. How can diversity in our society be addressed as a source of learning in public schools? What political and moral issues are inherent in debates about school vouchers? Some of the issues are religious (access to religious schools), but other issues pervade the discussion (racism, classism, and the subtle desire to maintain a Protestant establishment)… . The journal also needs to give more attention to "comparative education." … North America s no longer Protestant or Christian, and we need to learn from other countries how education might engage with issues inherent in our religious pluralism… . [George Albert] Coe's vision of religion as the "democracy of God" needs new attention in our time, and the Religious Education Association and its journal need to enter the debate over education and begin to make some proposals that are both radical and far-reaching. Public education deserves the attention of the religious community, partly because many of the issues are religious and partly because public education is central to democracy." (p. 435)

Moore, A. J. (1998, Fall). Some distinctive characteristics of Methodist theological education. Quarterly Review , 18, 211-225.

"Possibly no one in eighteenth-century England contributed more to the reform of popular education than John Wesley. He was especially sensitive to the plight of the poor and disadvantaged - children and youth who had little hope for a worthwhile life and few opportunities for education, as well as adults who had little of their own humanity… . Education, he believed, is a means of grace by which God enables people to grow in awareness and receptivity to God's love." (p. 213)

"… Rather than being doctrinaire or ideological, Wesley and his followers can be characterized by their ecumenical spirit and efforts at reconciliation. In fact, Methodists have often been better known for their orthopraxy than for their orthodoxy." (p. 216)

"… Education [in the Wesleyan tradition] was essential for affirming the dignity of every person and leading people to awareness of their vocation in service to humankind and society." (p. 217)

"… Methodists have always placed an emphasis upon scripture (within the context of other sources of theology), upon the doing of theology versus reliance upon rigid and sterile doctrines, and upon the deed (competent acts of ministry, acts of charity, and a life of piety). In this sense Wesley was a practical theologian who himself learned from the changing situations and from the needs of his societies. The distinctive ethos of Methodist theological education is grounded in what has come to be called practical divinity." (p. 224)

Moore, A. J. (1991). Recovery of the teaching office: Insights from education. In E. B. Price, By what authority: A conversation on teaching (155-176). Abingdon Press.

"… few directors of Christian education understand themselves primarily as teachers. Our work has come increasingly to be that of educational managers, or administrators of educational programs. We justify our existence by the apology that all that the church does is eduate. Few of the powerful people in the local church understand their role as teachers." (p. 160)

"… A basic assumption of this chapter is that the teaching office of the church will finally find clarity as the church enters seriously into the public discourse regarding teaching in general, including discourse about the role of the teacher in the common school… . All forms of education in modern society are interdependent. If we do not look beyond our parochial needs, the concept of teacher will consequently escape us." (p. 168)

"The issue of content in the teaching life of the church remains critical… . Content seems to be largely determined by marketing rather than by the authority of the church. In another sense, this is the nature of Methodism. Our theology is pragmatic and grows out of both perceived needs and the practical concerns of the church." (p.170)

"… Personal growth and enrichment are important dimensions of education, but the issue remains as what is required to make United Methodists "culturally literate" with a common language or symbol system and a shared vision of our life together… . I would propose here that theological study is the essential task of the local congregation… . All believers, and not just the clergy, have the need to engage in the study that will lead to what [Ed] Farley calls "reflective wisdom" (defined as "the interpretation of tradition, action, truth, and work as they come together in situations")." (p. 172)

Moore, A. J. (1987). A social theory of religious education. Religious Education , 82 (3), 45-425.

"Our concern here is to give renewed attention to the sociological and ethical roots or religious education with the recognition that the social order continues to serve as an important focus for religious education. We can seek to learn from those early religious education theorists who found the new science of sociology to be a basis for theory formulation, and we can seek to benefit from our newer awareness of some fundamental social issues. For example, we have come to understand in our time that the context of the social experience includes the interaction between the local order and the global order. The structures of humanity cannot be limited to one region of the world because no society can be fully ethical and responsible apart from an awareness and a concern for the social well-being of the whole of God's creation." (pp. 10, 11)

"… The social-ethical dimension of religious education has been prominent in liberation education, in what might loosely be called lifestyle education and in recent work in the practical theology of religious education." (p. 19)

"[in addressing liberation education]… Our own liberating activities need critical examination, and the function of religious education is to help persons examine why they do what they do in order to find a social witness consistent with their social context. Education should serve also to examine the underlying ideologies in our own political systems and to help persons make radical social decisions that will have a positive impact on others." (p. 22)

"[in addressing lifestyle education] What we are suggesting here is that lifestyle is both the way we live our lives and the subculture with which we identify; both are the product of choices. These choices can be made more conscious and deliberate through an educational dialectic in which the options are brought into direct conflict. Choices, then, are not made at random but are selected out of a matrix of possibilities. Something must be selected, and something rejected. Radical change requires something similar to a conversion experience in which psychologically a "super decision" is made that changes the course of one's life… . Lifestyle education must be an education that is oriented to the world - the space and history in which one lives - and the human need that calls from the world." (p. 27)

"Education, in the best sense of the word, really is concerned with envisioning. Although I would not want to take away from the dialectic emphasis on critical reflection as a form of knowing, I do want to suggest that imagination needs also to be emphasized. The arts and literature, especially biography, can serve to deliver a group from limited perspectives and to stimulate dreams of a new social reality. The power of vision in learning has again come to the attention of educators. Creativity - the transcendent reaching beyond the immediate concrete world - delivers the learner from the bland and mundane to a larger view of human life and the world." (p. 28)

"… Transformation in much of psychological literature has a larger meaning than conversion, and the changes described by the conversion experience are usually as much social as personal. Katz describes transformation as not only a change of consciousness but also a personal reorientation that leads to new social connections and a new sense of responsibility within the community. Educationally, transformation involves the reorganization of information and experiences which leads to a change in perception and awareness." (p. 29)

"[in addressing practical theology] … In a sense, practical theology in its contemporary meaning is no longer limited to the work of the clergy or to the inward life of the congregation; it is a socio-cultural approach to theology… For religious education in particular, practical theology serves to create persons who are "capable of entering in a community of practical theological reflection and participating in the action that would follow from it." [citing Don Browning who significantly informs Moore's approach to practical theology]" (p. 30)

"… Partly because of a dichotomizing of church and world, religious education theory has been divided between nurture of persons for the church and social action. In the religious education proposed here, the community of faith exists to serve the world… . Practical theology as an approach to social religious education helps to deal with the problem that the progressive religious educators [Coe and Elliott] could never resolve. They either neglected theology because of a prior claim from educational functions or they chose a particular form of theology for religious education alone… . The separation between theology and the social sciences can be overcome by more attention tot he [revised] correlation method." (pp. 32, 33)

Moore, A. J. (1987). Teenage sexuality and public morality. Christian Century .

"Sexual practices can never be examined and understood independently of other social factors. Moralists often do not recognize the complex ways in which sexual behavior is intertwined with issues of education, economics, politics, national security and employment." (p. 747)

"… They [mainline churches] have found it increasingly difficult to talk openly and honestly about sexual issues, and seem to have become virtually powerless to provide leadership in matters of sexuality. A decade ago many mainline churches were engaged in articulating the virtues of the sexual revolution, formulating significant and far-reaching theological pronouncements on the central issues of sexuality, and experimenting with some new and imaginative programs of sex education. The churches seem to have lost their prophetic nerve in matters of sexual morality and have forgotten how to affirm the mystery and goodness of sex. Teenagers (especially those who are most marginal to the church) need the church to be with them in their sexuality." (p. 749)

"The sexual ethics of young people today is a paradigm of how difficult it is to make moral judgments or to find ready answers to complicated moral questions. Christian social ethics goes beyond prescriptive behavior of what is essentially right or essentially wrong. It has to do with public standards that allow for all persons to participate in a just social order and in a community in which the promises of a good life may be a realized hope for all. The issue of chastity is only one aspect of the larger sexual conundrum that confronts teens. The other side is the kind of ethical norms that the church and society can articulate that will support those, including teens, who may, for whatever reason, deviate from "acceptable moral behavior" and engage in sexual relations prior to marriage." (p. 750)

Moore, A. J. (1984). Religious education as a discipline. In M. J. Taylor (Ed.), Changing patterns of religious education (89-105). Nashville: Abingdon Press.

"What is at issue in a definition of religious education as a discipline involves several questions. What is the delineated area of study, and what are the procedures suitable to it? IS the discipline education, religion, theology, or religious education? Or is it instead an interdisciplinary subject, as represented by religion and education or theology and education?…The question is whether there is a common subject matter made up of ideas, methods, concepts, and a shared community of scholarly inquiry. [discussion of criteria for discipline]…

This leads us to suggest that religious education is an intentional, deliberate study of teaching-learning and the educative process as it relates to the faith and practices of a religious community. Although religious education may draw upon literature from cognate fields and the larger arena of knowledge, it should also seek in a deliberate way to incorporate the literature from its own history, as well as from the theological traditions to which it belongs. In seeking to develop a body of knowledge, religious education needs to reflect critically upon knowledge from other disciplines in an effort to reconstruct it within the frame of reference that is religious education, while at the same time it [seeks] to construct new knowledge out of the practices of religious teaching-learning.

The task of a discipline of religious education is therefore to construct, test, evaluate, and reconstruct theory and practice of religious teaching-learning within the faith community. This needs to include both critical practice and reflective study of the religious experience of persons within the educative context, as well as experimentation in the forms of religious teaching-learning." (pp. 90, 91)

Moore, A. J. (1976, June). Choosing values in a media environment. ESA Engage/Social Action , 17-23.

"… The result of the so-called electronic revolution has been the creation of a new environment that has changed the shape of human life and has influenced how people relate to one another." (p. 17)

"… What all of this suggests is that we are too often "massaged" by media rather than consciously choosing what we are to see or hear. We are also less aware of the values with which we are saturated and certainly find it more difficult to sort out what the good life is all about." (p. 18)

"… the issue today is not just with what television does to people, but includes also what people do with television… . From an interactionist point of view, the individual is more than a subject that is acted upon by some external force. The individual is also an actor who selects from the environment the influences that are most appropriate… . For the Christian, the response is related to a specific situation and is always made in the light of the individual's understanding of what God is about in the world. Just as God acts in relationship to human action, we must likewise act toward the world with full knowledge that there is meaning in the world that calls from us some response. We are an influence ourselves! What is valuable about the mass media environment is that is becomes the "stage" out of which we must live a "re-sponding" life." (pp. 19, 20)

"The new environment is God's world and it is in this world that God is ever present. It was not just the pretechnological world that God loved but just as he cared for the tulips in the fields and the birds in the trees, he cares for the television sets and the actors who move across the screen. It is in such a world that persons live with all their needs and wants, their shortcomings, and their dreams of a better tomorrow. It is a world in which the religious is implicit in all that is said and expressed." (pp. 22-23)

"The new media has probably more than any other single event in human history forced us to take seriously what it means to choose and to find ways by which to obey the claims of conscience and to respond to that which tries to influence us. In short, it is within the world in which God is ever present that we are called to take responsibility, not only for ourselves, but also for our neighbor… . It is in the light of our understanding of Christ as the center of human existence and meaning that we choose those values that will serve the welfare of all people…" (p. 23)

"Christ informs our preferences among the options that are available, and transforms the practical into the ideal. It is within history, with whatever it brings, that the Christian response is made, and the nature of that response only makes sense within the concreteness of the social environment in which we find ourselves. It is in that human act of choosing and responding that Christ affirms the goodness of all humankind." (p. 23)

Moore, A. J. (1978). Religious education as a discipline.

"The social and psychological interpretation of theology is what I have referred to as "cultural hermeneutics." What I mean by this is the way in which the social and psychological structures of human experience of a particular time and place (event or experience) are clarified and interpreted theologically." (p. 545)

"Cultural hermeneutics have therefore a two-fold purpose. The first is to increase our understanding of who we are and where we are located both in the ordinary experiences of life and in the stream of history of which we are a part. The second is to interpret the living experiences of a shared humanity in order that truth can become more explicit and that the present experience might find its relationship to a historical stream of experience." (pp. 546-47)

Moore, Allen J. (1969). The young adult generation: A perspective on the future . New York: Abingdon Press.

"It is my belief that empirical research does not support the popular notion that there is a massive generation gap in our society. Instead, it is my thesis that what we have with the present young adults is what can be described as a "post-modern generation." They are the first generation to have modern parents who broke the shackles of tradition and gave birth to social, moral, and religious revolutions. This present young adult generation has only continued to feed the change which has been going on in our society for several decades… . Young adults do not establish revolutions as much as they reflect the deep and far-reaching changes which are already taking place in society." (pp. 5, 6)

"The new generation of young adults seems to be to a large extent a prototype of Bonhoeffer's myth of a world coming of age. The young adults reflect the growing autonomy of human life and man's increasing confidence in his ability to handle his own affairs without the aid of religion… . Increasingly, among young adults who have grown up under the influence of science and technology, there is evidenced a growing confidence in man's ability to solve his own problems, an enlarged faith in a universe which holds no secrets, and a belief in the essential intelligibility of the moral. The moral temper of the young adult is that of a world coming of age." (pp. 14, 15)

"… there are parents and adults who because of background, social setting, and personal openness have joined with the younger generation in finding more relevant ways to live as human beings in our changing world. To conclude that only young adults have been touched by the new environment would be an error… . We can conclude therefore that the generational gap is a reality, but a reality enhanced, not entirely by age differences, but by the larger issue of what it means to be man in the new age." (pp. 34, 35)

"… Anthropology, psychology, and sociology serve theology in its attempt to understand what God is presently doing and saying through the events of history. It is in the work and in the midst of the human situation that theology must search today for understanding and ultimate meaning. The human sciences, when read theologically, push us beyond the descriptive (what is?) to an understanding of what is happening (what it means?)." (p. 150)

"… In this young adult generation we may come to understand what Christianity has long believed: the gospel calls us to leave the past behind and to move with hope and confidence into the future… . To be a Christian is to believe in change and the promises that it brings… . As any observer will recognize, change does not necessarily result in a better quality of human life… . Christian hope avoids the pitfalls of optimism and despair." (pp. 159, 160)

"… young adults seem to have little sense of history, and therefore they have little understanding of the significance of change. Now history refers to more than the past, although the past is essential to an appreciation of the present as well as to the forecasting of the future. History is also concerned with present actions, events, and changes. For the Christian, history is significant for two reasons. First, it is within history that truth is comprehended. The Word which was in Christ was not a static word to be understood only once in history. As Karl Barth reminds us, the Word also becomes time. It becomes history, and it is within the events of change that Jesus Christ comes again and again to man." (pp. 161, 162)

"Second, God as creator and actor is within history. Creation is a continuous process, and God is ever acting in the events of change. The Christian faith believes that God is speaking to man through the events of history. It is the responsibility of the Christian to discern what God is doing in the world and join in his work. Change is the process by which man shares in the ongoing work of creation and the full realization fo the God who lives in the affairs of men." (p. 162)

 

The following reading list was selected to sample Moore's work chronologically, book and article formats, and major areas of interest (history of religious education, Methodism, social justice, practical theology, theological education, sexuality, media and young adults).

Moore, A. J. (2003). One hundred years of the Religious Education Association. Religious Education , 98 (4), 426-36.

Moore addresses the early social influences in the formation of the Religious Education Association. He gives special attention to formative leaders, issues involving the association's journal, and challenges the association must face in the future.

Moore, A. J. (1998) Some distinctive characteristics of Methodist Theological Education. Quarterly Review , 18 (3), 211-26.

Moore studies similarities and differences in Methodist theological education, looking for an ethos that is distinctively Wesleyan. He considers John Wesley's educational work and draws on visits to seminaries during extensive global travel.

Moore, A. J. (1991). Recovery of the teaching office: Insights from education. In E. B. Price & C. R. Foster (Eds.), By what authority: A conversation on teaching among United Methodists (pp. 155-76). Nashville: Abingdon Press.

Moore addresses the decline of the teaching office in United Methodism and examines reform movements in general education for clues about understandings of teaching. He calls for the revaluation of teaching, clarifying philosophical groundings for education, and attending to the nature of content in teaching.

Moore, A. J. (1989). A social theory of religious education. In A. J. Moore (Ed.), Religious education as social transformation . Birmingham, AL: Religious Education Press.

Moore reclaims the social progressive legacy of George Albert Coe and Harrison Elliot and then re-envisions religious education in light of liberation education, lifestyle education, and practical theology.

Moore, A. J. (1987) Teen-age sexuality and public morality. Christian Century , 104 (25), 747-50.

Moore reviews trends and habits in teen-age sexuality and argues that sexual behavior is complexly intertwined with a variety of socio-political dynamics. He calls progressive Christianity to be with youth in a difficult process of moral discernment regarding sexuality.

Moore, A. J. (1984). Religious education as a discipline. In M. J. Taylor (Ed.), Changing Patterns of Religious Education . Nashville: Abingdon Press.

Moore reviews criteria for defining an area of study as a discipline, external forces influencing religious education, historical movements in the development of religious education, and definitions of religious education emerging at the time.

Moore, A. J. (1978). Religious education as living theology: Some reflections on the contributions of Ross Snyder. Religious Education , 73 (5), 541-550.

Moore highlights significant features in the work of Snyder, who is a major influence on Moore. Elements of Snyder's work include: religious education as an empirical theological discipline, phenomenology, interpretation and engagement of culture, and transformation of the whole individual.

Moore, A. J. (1976). Choosing values in a media environment. Engage/Social Action , 4 (6), 17-23.

Moore names ways that electronic media creates a new human environment. He argues that people interact and respond to this environment instead of being passively shaped by the environment. He argues that Christians need to be enabled to make choices and recognize God's movements in this environment.

Moore, A. J. (1969). The young adult generation: A perspective on the future . Nashville: Abingdon Press.

This book conveys significant and insightful research on young adults. Moore challenges common assumptions about young adults and sees them as forecasters of where culture will move. He sees this cohort as a reflection of humanity's coming of age (prophetic in nature) and sketches a theology of change. Issues he considers include: origins of youth culture, religion and morality, young adulthood as a stage of life, and intimacy.

Author Information

Randy G. Litchfield

Randy G. Litchfield is Professor of Christian Education in the Jean Beatty Browning Chair in Christian Education at Methodist Theological School in Ohio. The Jean Beatty Browning Chair exists in memory of Robert Browning's first wife. Randy Litchfield received his Ph.D. in Theology and Personality (emphasis in Religious Education) at Claremont School of Theology.