Priestly ministry in the Church of England needs a radical rethink...

George Herbert died in 1633. His legacy continues. His poems are read and sung, and his parish ministry remains the model for the Church of England's understanding of how and where and why its priests should minister. But there is a problem. The memory of Herbert celebrated by the Church is an inaccurate one, and, in its inaccuracy, is unfair on Herbert himself and his successors in the ordained ministry.

This is a book of the long view. It sets out to assess realistically the context of Herbert's life and...