This is the third volume of Ferguson's collected essays, and includes some of his most memorable work, especially on ""laying on of hands."" ""Since the middle of the last century, no scholar of early Christianity has been more respected, even revered, than Everett Ferguson. He has displayed in his life and his many writings that the gift of the early church to Christians today is not only its theological ideas, but its testimony to the lived reality of Christian faith. In this edifying volume of essays, with essays on psalm-singing, spiritual sacrifice, the art of praise, active and contemplative lives, Ferguson, a wise teacher of our age, invites readers to contemplate the depth and richness of the church's first teachers."" --Robert Louis Wilken, William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor Emeritus of the History of Christianity, University of Virginia Everett Ferguson is Distinguished Scholar in Residence at Abilene Christian University. He was editor of The Encyclopedia of Early Christianity (2nd ed., 1997) and is author of many works including Early Christians Speak (2 vols., 1999, 2002); Backgrounds of Early Christianity (3rd ed., 2003); Inheriting Wisdom: Readings for Today from Ancient Christian Writers (2004); Church History, vol. 1, From Christ to Pre-Reformation (2005); and Baptism in the Early Church: History, Theology, and Liturgy in the First Five Centuries (2009). Ferguson received the ""Distinguished Service Award"" from the North American Patristics Society (2008) and the ""Vestigia Award for Excellence in Early Christian Studies and Service to the Church"" from the Wheaton Center for Early Christian Studies (2002).