This is a collection of essential passages on the ministry of the church. By selecting significant sources which share a common assumption concerning the nature of theology and its methodology, the editor presents a single consistent theology of ministry. The book is carefully organised to allow a thorough exploration of the different aspects of ministry. Contributors include Karl Barth, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Hans Kung, Helmut Thielicke and Thomas F. Torrance.

How do we make sense of death - in theology, in philosophy, in experience? How do religions other than Christianity deal with death and with dying? In the now predominantly secular societies of the West, what are we to make of the theologies of death develop by writers such as Becker, Hick, Thielicke and Macquarrie? Ray Anderson tackles his subject with clarity and without sentimentality. He discusses first the treatment - and indeed, the denial - of death by contemporary Western society, and its place in other religious traditions. Going on the discuss the origins of a Christian theology of...

Too often in the life of the church, theological reflection and the practical matters of leading and serving have been considered independently. The result has been the impoverishment of both Christian faith and Christian practice. In this groundbreaking book Ray Anderson reflects theologicallyand practically on preaching, worship, ethics, social justice, therapy, family, homosexuality, burnout in ministry, reconciliation in relationships and theological education itself. The result is The Shape of Practical Theology, a new and renewing foundation for engaging in Christian...

Ray Anderson offers a theological framework for the emerging church. Showing that an emergent theology is messianic, revelational, kingdom-coming and eschatological, this book addresses many of the concerns of those looking for a church that is contemporary, yet true to the gospel in its beliefs.