This book is about grace the unmerited favor of God and the many ways that God has provided for grace to reach us. The author does more than speak of abstract theological concepts; he opens for us a door to his own life, his own personality, and his own experiences. Through them he shows how God enters into the lives of men and women, imparting grace to them through the instruments of the sacraments and the sacramentals.
The Reverend Dr. Gregory S. Neal is the Senior Pastor of St. Stephen United Methodist Church of Mesquite, Texas, and Rector of Grace Incarnate Ministries. He is a graduate of Southern Methodist University with the B.A. in History, Russian Language, and Theology, Duke University with the M.Div. in Theology and Biblical Studies, and Trinity Graduate College with the Ph.D in Systematic Theology and New Testament Textual Criticism
Rev. Neal is an ordained United Methodist Elder and member of the North Texas Conference of the UMC. While trained as a scholar and theologian, Dr. Neal is nevertheless called to the pastoral ministry of the Church of Jesus Christ. During his 20 years in ministry he has served as Pastor of several Churches in North Carolina and North Texas, including First Celeste (1992 - 1993), Cockrell Hill (1993-1996), First Trenton/Blue Ridge (1996-1997), Beverly Drive (1997-2001), and First Seagoville (2001-2007). Currently, Greg serves as the Senior Pastor of St. Stephen United Methodist Church in Mesquite, Texas.
Rev. Neal has served on several boards and committees of the North Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church, including several District Boards of Ordained Ministry and the Division for National and World Outreach of the North Texas Conference Board of Global Ministries. From 1994 - 2003 Dr. Neal taught the General Board of Global Ministry's Schools of Christian Mission, serving as a Study Leader in the Mission Schools of Missouri East, Missouri West, Oklahoma, Nebraska, North Texas, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Virginia. He also served as the Dean of the North Texas Conference Cooperative Mission School from 1996-1997. As a recognized speaker on several theological topics, including Sacramental Theology, Neal has lead numerous spiritual retreats, revivals, and study seminars for groups all across the United States. Among those who have sought him out for such services have been the United Methodist Women, the United Methodist Men, Clergy groups from several denominations, and dozens of local churches.
Greg is a past member of the American Academy of Religion and the Society of Biblical Literature. A member of the Order of Saint Luke in the early 1990s he served as Prior of the Duke Divinity Chapter. His love of liturgy and the contemplative life, as well as his keen interest in the ecumenical movement, led to his being invited to become the first United Methodist Associate of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist, an Anglican Monastic community which has fed him spiritually for 20 years.
Dr. Neal is interested in many fields of Theological, Historical, and Biblical study, including Pneumatology, Christology, Philosophical Theology, New Testament Canonical and Textual Criticism, Pauline, Johannine, and Synoptic Studies, but his field of specialization is Sacramental Theology. He has a love of languages, and especially the study of linguistic theory. Over the past 25 years he has been a student of 10 languages: Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, Syriac, Coptic, Akkadian, Old Church Slavonic, Russian, and Theological German. Recently, Dr. Neal has begun a study of Dutch, and he is beginning to work on modern Hebrew. Some day he hopes to study one of the Far Eastern languages, like Japanese.
Greg is also fascinated with computers and the internet, and enjoys designing websites as a means of furthering his ministry. Rev. Neal has been a Macintosh person since the mid-1980s, and prior to the advent of the Mac he used one of several Apple II computers. Hence, it should come as no surprise that he doesn't use a Windows PC.
Like many ministers, Greg is an avid reader of many different literary genre. In addition to the theological and biblical fields, he particularly loves Science Fiction and Fantasy, his favorite authors being Robert A. Heinlein, James P. Hogan, Larry Niven, and Andre Norton. He also enjoys Tom Clancy's "Jack Ryan" series, the "Father Dowling Mystery" novels of Ralph McInnery, and the works of Mark Twain. Check out his Bookshelf for works of the Biblical, Theological, Historical, and Scientific genre.
Dr. Neal loves motion pictures of many different kinds, including classic films and current releases. His favorite classic-movie actor is William Powell and his all-time favorite actresses are Ingrid Bergman and Audrey Hepburn. Being a Science Fiction fan, it should not be a surprise to anyone that Greg is also a fan of Star Trek, Stargate SG1, and the new Battlestar Galactica.
Greg is also an avid world traveler, and especially loves ocean-going vessels and cruise ships. The Holland America Line is his Cruise Line of choice; although he has traveled on ships of other Lines, he particularly loves the charm and old-world grace and high level of service that is provided by their officers and crew. Thus far, he has enjoyed well over 200 days aboard HAL ships as a passenger, and even more days as a Volunteer Chaplain, and looks forward to many more years of ocean voyages on the decks of HAL's "Damships."
