Welcome

You have reached the website rileycase.com. The purpose of the website is to introduce you to some of the books and writings of Riley B. Case. Specifically, we would like to introduce to you five books by Riley Case, plus his Happenings articles that have been sent by the Confessing Movement Within the United Methodist Church by e-blast over the past several years.

Books

These books (and the cost) are:

• Faith and Fury.  $20 (author discount), postage paid.
  
• Understanding the New United Methodist Hymnal. $3, plus $2.50 postage.
  
• Evangelical and Methodist A Popular History. $5, plus $2.50 postage.
  
• How Hackleburg Became a 13-Pie Church. $10, plus $2.50 postage.
  
• A Paper Route Is Good for the Soul. $10, plus $2.50 postage
  
• You’ll See Jesus On My Face. $10, plus $2.50 postage.

The books can be ordered from Riley Case,

• By mail: Riley Case, 4663 S 600 E, Kokomo, IN 46902,
  
• By email: [email protected] or
  
• By phone: 765/628-0540.
  

Check the links for fuller description and a sampling of each book.

Faith and Fury: Eli Farmer on the Frontier was released on September 19, 2018 by the Indiana Historical Society. The Indiana Historical Society is known for its You Are There live interactive exhibits and from September, 2018 through Spring 2020 the exhibit will feature an incident out of the Eli Farmer book that took place in Danville, Indiana on May 14, 1839. It involves a great revival in which a Methodist (Eli Farmer) and the Methodists actually cooperated with Baptists and Presbyterians.

The book, Evangelical and Methodist A Popular History was published by Abingdon Press in 2004. This is an academic book that traces Methodist populism, the Holiness Movement, the evangelical renewal, and the history of the Good News movement in the United Methodist Church.

How Hackleburg Became a 13-Pie Church was also published in 2004 and is a humorous account of a small-town United Methodist Church in Indiana.

The book, A Paper Route Is Good for the Soul was published in 2010 and is a collection of essays about Mennonites, United Methodist rural churches, growing up in LaGrange, Indiana, the beauties of North Dakota, and other topics.

You’ll See Jesus On My Face is the story of Cynthia Burch, a woman from Kokomo, IN, and her remarkable story of deliverance from bondage to new life in Christ. The book is Cynthia’s account of her life as told to Riley Case.

The book, Understanding the New United Methodist Hymnal was published by Bristol Books in 1989 and was originally meant to serve as a study book to introduce congregations to the new hymnal.   It has, however, served as more than that as it serves as a history of Methodist music generally and Methodist hymnals specifically.   It has been used in seminary classrooms.

The book covers such topics as: issues Within United Methodist Churches relating to hymnals, How hymns function, camp meeting music and its relationship to spirituals and gospel music, evangelical images, women’s images, the black perspective, the liberal reaction and music for a new day, Christian essentials in music, United Methodist distinctives in music, and a discussion of the church’s theological and cultural diversity.  

The Happenings articles are commentary on the United Methodist Church. They were sent originally as e-blasts to leaders in the United Methodist Church and interested persons. They are arranged by year and subject matter.

About Riley

Riley B. Case is a retired United Methodist pastor who lives at 4663 S 600 E, Kokomo, IN 46902. His contact information is:

Riley grew up in LaGrange, Indiana and graduated from LaGrange High School, Taylor University, and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, with an additional M.A. from Northwestern University. He also received the honorary doctorate from Taylor University in 1986. For forty-three years he served United Methodist Churches in North Indiana. He served for six years as the district superintendent of the Marion District. He was a General Conference delegate on five occasions from 1986 to 2000. He has been actively involved in the evangelical renewals movements of the church. He served on the Good News Board since 1973 and is an emeritus member of that board. He has also served on the Advisory Board of UMAction, part of the Institute of Religion and Democracy, and on the board of the Confessing Movement. He presently is employed as an associate director of the Confessing Movement Within the United Methodist Church.

In 1974 Riley helped develop the confirmation materials We Believe for Good News. These materials have gone through a number of printings and revisions and are still available through Bristol Books, 1201 E. Fifth St., Suite 2107, Anderson, IN96012 – 765/644-0856.

From 1984-1988 Riley served as a consultant on the Hymnal Revision Committee which was responsible for preparing the United Methodist Hymnal which was published in 1988. Out of that experience he wrote the book, Understanding Our New United Methodist Hymnal (check the link to this book). The book sold nearly 10,000 copies, was used as a seminary text, and can be ordered through from Riley Case directly.