This book offers a close-up look at theological education in the U.S. today. The authors' goal is to understand the way in which institutional culture affects the outcome of the educational process. To that end, they undertake ethnographic studies of two seminaries-one evangelical and one mainline Protestant. These studies, written in a lively journalistic style, make up the first part of the book and offer fascinating portraits of two very different intellectual, religious, and social worlds.

The authors go on to analyze these disparate environments, and suggest how in each case...

This handbook for seminarians and clergy professionals places the congregation itself, rather than individual scholarly disciplines, at the center of congregational analysis. Using a comprehensive systems approach to congregations, this volume enables readers to analyze the ministries, stories, and processes that are at work in congregations. It provides techniques for studying the congregation as well as a framework for understanding the nature of the congregation.

Pastoral ministry is an occupation in flux. In this comprehensive study Jackson Carroll considers the many factors -- changing roles among clergy and laypeople, the opening of ordination to women, an increasing shortage of clergy, and more -- that are shaping congregations and ministers today. Building on Paul's image of Christians as -clay jars, - Carroll paints a portrait of -God's potters- -- pastors whose calling is to form their congregational jars so that they reveal rather than hide God's treasure.
A veteran clergy watcher, Carroll uses data from what is likely the most...

This is the first book to offer a comparative analysis of the impact of the post-war Baby Boom generation on Christianity around the world. Taking a cross-cultural approach, the contributors examine ten advanced countries, including England, France, Germany, Australia, and the United States, and explore the ways baby boomers have helped reshape and redefine establishment religions that is, the dominant, primarily Christian institutions. Their conclusions are broad and far-reaching, shedding light on the fate of religion in other countries now modernizing and those countries moving through the...

Description: Congregations today face both old and often new, unprecedented challenges--spiritual, moral, technological, and economic--for which there are no easy solutions. Facing such challenges calls for pastors able to lead with authority in ways at the same time faithful to the gospel and appropriate to the congregation's setting and the issues at hand. Yet many pastors are unsure of their authority, often experiencing conflict as they attempt to lead. Others have abused their authority and brought mistrust and suspicion to ordained ministry, making it difficult for other clergy to lead....

Not only do new church starts in significant numbers bring systemic change and renewal to mainline denominations, but new church development brings similar change to individual aging congregations in their vicinity. Author Stephen Compton argues that a decline in new church starts in the last half of the 20th century was the major contributor to the decline of mainline church groups--not liberalism or lack of faith, as is often cited. He shows in this book how introducing considerable numbers of new congregations into these old denominations can cause these venerable institutions to revisit...