Kategoria BISAC: Religion >> Christian Ministry - Pastoral Resources

Theological ideas and biblical injunctions have frequently been employed to legitimate the physical abuse of children. Some theological ideas are inherently abusive because they create fear in a child's mind, causing a child to feel alone, odd, and of little worth. Donald Capps exposes the abuses that theology and the Bible have inflicted on vast numbers of children. In particular, he is concerned with the "hidden" abuses of children by well-intentioned adults and the role that religion plays in the legitimation of these abuses.

This book is about enduring and surviving the most painful of all losses: the death of one's child. This is the story of a journey from grief to healing. But more, it is a story of faith and love told so that others may find comfort and understanding when faced with this most devastating loss.

Many churches are unprepared to face the challenges inherent in family life today. Others, though, have developed innovative and exciting responses. In this book, case studies provide insights and strategies to help develop a practical theological perspective on family ministry. This new perspective represents a fresh and powerful witness to the place of families within contemporary communities of faith.

The Family, Culture, and Religion series offers informed and responsible analyses of the state of the American family from a religious perspective and provides practical assistance...

This revised edition of Alan Gripe's book on the responsibilities of interim pastors is a guide through the problems and possibilities of interim ministry in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Full of biblical and theological insight as well as practical wisdom, this book is built on personal experience and grounded in the theology and polity of the Presbyterian Church.

For students new to preaching, these dynamic movements are summed up in a ten-step process that moves speaker from preparation to presentation.

A comprehensive social and systemic foundation for pastoral and caretaking that will be an invaluable guide for the activities of parish ministers and counseling practitioners. Graham's model better interprets and responds to the interplay between individuals and the larger cultural and environmental realities which contribute to their distress and its transformation.

"For anyone responding to a call to the ministry, this book will be an excellent guide." --Jimmy Carter, Thirty-ninth President of the United States and Nobel Peace Prize Winner

The Fund for Theological Education (FTE) annually invites our nation's premier preachers to address a group of young adults who are considering a vocation in pastoral ministry. As part of the FTE's honoring of their outgoing president, Dr. James Waits, for his remarkable service, they have collected these superb sermons. These eight sermons on vocation offer an important resource for high school and college...

Partners in Ministry is built upon the basic assumption that ministry is the fundamental vocation of all Christians and not simply clergy. Drawing on their extensive experience in leading the Partners in Ministry program, the authors provide direct, practical guidance on how the ministries of laity and clergy can complement and strengthen each other. The basic building block in their approach is the ministry team, in which one's status as clergy or laity does not matter, but one's sense of God's call and gifts for ministry does. Ministry is the fundamental vocation of all...

Power is a persistent topic of conversation in circles both sacred and secular. Yet, how are those who follow a crucified Christ, one "whose strength was made perfect in weakness," to think about power?

Martha Ellen Stortz presents an important volume for all those who lead or would lead in the ministry of the church. She lays an ecumenical groundwork for understanding ministry and authority, then systematically examines the different dimensions of power inherent in both: power over -- or coercive power; power within -- or charismatic power; and power with -- or coactive power....

One of the difficulties women clergy face is the lack of mentors. Although women make up a sizable percentage of parish clergy, once out of seminary they often experience isolation and lack of contact with other women in professional ministry. This situation is especially problematic as women's experience of the tasks and roles of ministry differ from those of men, sometimes subtly, sometimes more so. Where do they turn for help in figuring out the ups and downs of following God's call into ministry as a woman? How can the men with whom they work understand the challenges their female...

According to the authors, feminists and womanists in pastoral theology have begun to reconstruct the definitions, parameters, and commitments of pastoral care and counseling. These changes have critical implications for care within congregations and for the understanding of theology in...

Carter writes a piece which will stir the sympathies of pastors thwarted by their own efforts to emulate a congregation's successful predecessor. Within months, these pastors see little success as fatigue and burn-out set in.

All Christians are graced with specific and distinctive spiritual gifts. Too often pastors forget that God has given them particular gifts for ministry. While all pastors must attend to the different tasks of congregational ministry, they need to discover those functions for which they have been particularly gifted. When they begin to make these gifts the...

Yet, according to Willimon, a "cloud of witnesses" surrounds those in ordained ministry, forebears from whom they could learn if they had the opportunity to listen. The challenges and joys of ministry are not new; they have been present since the first Christian congregations began. From the age of the church fathers and mothers, into...

The pastoral ministry is in danger of losing its focus, say the authors of this perceptive and timely study. Specialization in preaching, counseling, evangelism, administration, and education has diffused the impact of practical theology. And because of competing ideas as to what now is central, the very image of ministry may be breaking down. Foundations for a Practical Theology of Ministry responds to the problem by introducing a specific method for doing practical theology which will be welcomed by concerned church leaders everywhere.

Presenting a realistic, workable...