Didache 20, 2 (2021)

The latest issue of Didache (sponsored by the International Board of Education of the Church of the Nazarene) is now online. The summaries are taken from Dean Blevins’ Introduction. It, and the individual essays, are available from here.

Dean G. Blevins

Introduction

Benjamin Espinoza

Humanizing Anthropos, Resisting Humanitas: Conceptualizing the Academic Labor of Latinx Faculty in Theological Education

Espinoza draws from Nishinti Osamu’s conceptualization of Anthropos and Humanitas as one explanatory system to understand how White European humans (Humanitas) created a colonial world order which tended to discard or colonize others (Anthropos). Dr. Espinoza then documents how Latinx theological educators resist this vision of Humanitas as they work to legitimize their own labor while creating a space for their own survival and thriving by humanizing Anthropos. 

Jeren Rowell

Support of the Ministry as a Means of Grace

Rowell’s address acknowledges the myriad economic challenges facing ministry, but also draws upon the writing of John Wesley to demonstrate a call to pastors, but also to the congregations called to support ministers.

Paul Harding

A Place to Belong: Finding Meaningful Community Principles in Online Streaming

Harding offers an intriguing treatise on how three online streaming communities… offer insights on the nature of community that might inform the church in the future. Originally written with the COVID pandemic in mind… Harding’s work really offers more substantive thinking around the interplay of technology and community for the future.

Rebekah Corner

An Eco-Theological and Social Justice Response to Climate Change

Corner fashions a Biblical response to this issue [climate change], a hermeneutic that encompasses both ecology and social justice.

Patrick Taylor

On a Mission from God: A Missional Reading of Søren Kierkegaard and the Attack Upon Christendom

Taylor invites participants in the missional theology movement… into conversation with one of the great Danish theologians of the previous two centuries, Søren Kierkegaard. Taylor acknowledges that many readers might not think of Kierkegaard and mission in the same sentence. However, Taylor endeavors to show that Kierkegaard, far from being unrelated to mission, offers a missional praxis of witness for the church today and especially for the Church in culturally-Christian contexts.

Karla Sanchez-Renfro

Missional Theology: Becoming a More Faithful Witness by Creating More Inclusion and Equality

Karla Sanchez-Renfro closes the edition by returning to the theme of diversity and particularly inclusion. Her writing, also as a student of Nazarene Theological Seminary, challenges the same missional theology movement by asserting those participating must create more inclusion and equality at all levels of participation. Ms. Sanchez-Renfro believes this inclusion proves vital if the movement wants to faithfully embody the gospel and encourage all to ‘fully participate in God's mission.’

Theology and Ministry: An Online Journal

I blogged about this years ago, but it’s just come to my attention again. Theology and Ministry is an open-access journal, a publication of Cranmer Hall, St John’s College, Durham.

According to its website blurb, it’s ‘a peer-reviewed annual publication featuring innovative work at the interface of theological study and ministerial practice and reflection’, which ‘publishes original research articles and book reviews by both established and emerging scholars and practitioners’.

The latest issue is available from here.

Crucible 11, 1 (March 2020)

The latest issue of Crucible, published by the Australian Evangelical Alliance, is now available online here, with the below articles (abstracts included, where available).

The Cauldron: peer reviewed articles

Peter A. Frith

Hitting the wall: Clergy Encountering the Emotional System in their First Parish

This paper summarises a research project which explored the lived experiences of Anglican clergy as they encountered their church’s emotional system in their first incumbency. Eleven vicars from three Australian dioceses were asked, in a phenomenological study, to describe the main challenges they faced as they led a congregation for the first time. All the participants identified the uncooperative and uncivil behaviour of influential church members as their chief concern. They also disclosed their own stress responses to the behaviour they encountered. These were distilled into five core themes: shock, inadequacy, alienation, relinquishment and hopelessness. Insights from Murray Bowen’s Family Systems Theory were introduced in the analysis phase in order to extract the emotional and systemic dimensions of the data. The study concluded that more highly differentiated clergy achieved lasting, systemic change even though they encountered the most intense conflict. Moderately differentiated clergy achieved temporary change while lower differentiated clergy, who faced the least intense conflict, were changed by the system. The findings in this study are applicable to church authorities, theological training institutions, clergy formation curricula, and aspirants to the pastorate in that they confirm that the emotional system constitutes a major challenge faced by modern church leaders.

Abraham Wu

Eating out in the Open: The Centrifugal, Missional Significance of the Eucharist

Throughout Scripture, and in the history of the Church, the Eucharist has been strongly associated with the Kingdom of God and the Missio Dei. This seems to be in stark contrast to how the Eucharist is often, in modern, Western Christianity, associated with rigid institutionalism, ecclesial division, and theological question – such as those around the nature of Christ’s presence. While these are important questions and issues for the Church, this paper argues that they fail to capture the inherent meaning of the Eucharist, which acts as the sign and sacrament of the Kingdom. Indeed, this paper explores how the Eucharist is not merely centripetal but also a centrifugal force that holds the key to the Church’s missional renewal. By exploring how the Eucharist reveals the Church’s identity as a missional community, how it initiates and challenges the Church’s mission of hospitality, and how it catalyses a sacramental approach to creation care and stewardship, this paper seeks to offer an integrative, sacramental approach to the Church’s mission that reclaims the Eucharist’s central place in ecclesiology and missiology.

Paul Kolawole Oladotun

God Will Supply All Your Needs According to His Glorious Riches: The Problem of Extreme Materialism among Nigerian Pastors

Over the years, the church in Nigeria has been God’s agent, turning the heart of a people to God. But recent activities in the church today betray the expected role of this agency in different parts of the world; to the point that many see Christianity as the root cause of major problems in society. In the past, churches in Nigeria stood up against immorality, corruption in moral defiance of societal norms. The reverse is the case today. Contemporary pastors in Nigeria are aids for committing modern-day fraud because of extreme materialism. Some ministers of God in Nigeria today have turned the church to money making venture. It is disheartening that in the recent time, many pastors’ measure success in the ministry by the size of congregations, numbers of houses as well as cars owned, and many more. The Nigerian pastorate has replaced the goal of faithfulness in the work of God with material, temporal things. In Nigeria, the church is seen as a means of filling one’s own pockets using various illegal and unbiblical means. As a result, this paper engages the vice ravaging Nigeria pastorate via the biblical lens of I Corinthians 9:13. In view of this, material things are not bad in themselves but ‘extreme materialism’ and the ‘lust’ attitude which has enslaved the contemporary Nigeria pastorate must be addressed through a correct re-definition of Call to ministry as well as a deeper level of faith on the path of the so called ‘pastors’.

The Test-tube: ministry resources

Barbara Kathleen Welch

Existential Shame: A Liturgical Approach to Soul Care of the Victims of Child abuse

This article offers suggested ways to help create safer worship environments for those who have been wounded in mind, body and spirit from child abuse. Most often Existential Shame distorts his/her faith; and his/her basic trust has been distorted or even aborted through child abuse. Pastors may offer safer worship opportunities through safer liturgies and rituals. Sensory liturgies may contribute to the healing process of the Limbic System/the emotional brain through the process of neuroplasticity because positive worship experiences help to create new neural pathways and connections in the Limbic System.

Ben Chenoweth

Doing Biblical Exegesis by Distance Well

This article suggests how theological educators may improve student learning in the area of biblical exegesis in on-line mode. It suggests a way forward would be to encourage student-to-student interaction on the biblical text itself, utilising exegetical worksheets to focus the discussion, while at the same time providing students with sample exegesis material. In that way the educator would be modelling what is expected. Assessment, too, should be focused on the real-world uses of biblical exegesis.

Neil Hudson on How We Get from Sunday Disciples to Whole-Life Disciples

There’s a great interview here with my friend and LICC colleague, Neil Hudson, around the theme of his recently-published book, Scattered and Gathered: Equipping Disciples for the Frontline (London: IVP, 2019). I admit I’m biased, but if I had to sell my shirt to get a copy, I would.

Barna Group on Christians at Work

The Barna Group, in conjunction with Abilene Christian University, recently published a study on the current state of faith and work integration for US Christians – Christians at Work, the first in a ‘vocation project’.

They’ve made available some samples of the research:

Erasing the Sacred/Secular Divide

Though Christian workers more often associate religious and pastoral roles with being a ‘calling’ or serving the common good, it may not matter to most Christians whether they or someone else works in a ‘sacred’ or ‘secular’ space. In a new study, Barna asked whether it was better for a Christian to become a pastor or missionary, or to represent his or her faith well at work.

Balancing Career and Kids

As we continue our online series unpacking findings from Barna’s new study of vocation, we learn that men and women have an equal chance of feeling a sense of calling and fulfillment in their work – just not in every stage of life. In particular, working mothers face challenges when parenting and career mix.

The Church’s Role

A new Barna report on vocation shows that most Christians say they feel supported by their church when it comes to their career, claiming their local congregations help them understand how to live out their faith in the workplace.

What Faith Looks Like in the Workplace

In Barna’s recently released study on vocation, we found encouraging signs that Christians are living out their faith with integrity. In this release, we’ll look at the specific values and virtues that define today’s Christians’ work ethic.

‘Made to Flourish’ have posted two parts of an interview (here and here) with Barna president David Kinnaman on ‘the church and culture, discipleship, and how the church can navigate these conversations better in the future’.

Over at the Center for Faith + Work Los Angeles (also posted at ‘Made to Flourish’), Gage Arnold summarises ‘four takeaways’ from the survey, as follows:

1. Christians are doing away with sacred/secular language surrounding their work.

2. Christians are finding purposeful employment.

3. However, a majority are struggling to fully integrate their faith in their employment in a meaningful way.

4. Pastors are in a position to offer vocational guidance more than ever before.

Dayton Hartman on Lies Pastors Believe

Dayton Hartman, Lies Pastors Believe: 7 Ways to Elevate Yourself, Subvert the Gospel, and Undermine the Church (Belingham: Lexham Press, 2017).

I found this a tad ‘preachy’ in places, but enjoyed it overall. It’s helpful and challenging, with some practical tips throughout. The subtitles of the chapters give the gist of the ‘lies’:

1. The Visionary – ‘Jesus has called me to lead a movement’

2. The Iron Chef – ‘No one has ever fed them like me’

3. The Achiever – ‘Jesus loves me, this I earn’

4. The Called – ‘I am called to be a pastor’

5. The Holy Man – ‘My perceived holiness is more important than my pursuit of holiness’

6. The Anti-Family Man – ‘I must sacrifice my home life for my ministry life’

7. The Castaway – ‘I’m the only one on this island’

An article by the author was recently posted on the 9Marks website, which captures the burden of chapter 4 – ‘The Church Needs Fewer Men Who Feel “Called” to Ministry’ – in which he says:

‘In his first letter to the young pastor Timothy, the apostle Paul explains how a church ought to identify future elders and pastors: “If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task” (1 Tim 3:1). Paul doesn’t say “if someone is called”; he says if they “aspire.” I fear we have taken Old Testament language about the calling of prophets and superimposed it on the office of elder. Instead, we must reclaim the biblical language of “aspiring.”’

7 Ways to Pastor Professionals

Jeff Haanen and Dustin Moody have a short article here, outlining seven ways church leaders can pastor people in the workplace.

1.   Visit your members in the workplace.

2.   Host a commissioning service for church members in the workplace.

3.   Use workplace illustrations in your sermons.

4.   Pray for people in different industries.

5.   Feature worship music that affirms work and creation.

6.   Select small group curriculum that focuses on work, calling, and culture.

7  Host ‘all-of-life’ interviews in your worship services.

These are very similar to the sorts of suggestions we’ve made through the work of the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity (for example, here and see also here).

Journal of Biblical and Theological Studies 3.1 (2018) on Pastoral Theology

It’s well worth taking a look at the online Journal of Biblical and Theological Studies.

The most-recent full issue is devoted to pastoral theology, containing several interesting contributions (see below). The essays largely flow out of the renewed interest in recent years on the role of the ‘pastor-theologian’, seeking to ground pastoral ministry within a theological framework.

The full issue, which also contains a sizeable collection of book reviews, is available as a pdf here.

Justin L. McLendon

Current Issues in Pastoral Theology: An Editorial Introduction

This special issue of the Journal of Biblical and Theological Studies features articles exploring current issues in pastoral theology. The articles within this issue address academic and ecclesial concerns across the evangelical spectrum. In keeping with the mission of JBTS – to relay content that is original and yet accessible – this issue contains articles uniquely formulated to speak to seminary students, busy ministers, and scholars academically engaged in the broad field of pastoral theology. This issue includes an even selection of articles from scholars working within various academic institutions, in addition to articles from pastors engaged in the trenches of everyday pastoral ministry. In sum, this issue offers a distinct set of voices from varied backgrounds, ministry methodologies, and denominational alliances.

Josh Branum

Elder as Shepherd: Implicit Use of the Shepherd Metaphor by the Apostle Paul

This paper analyzes the Pauline qualifications for eldership considering the shepherd metaphor. In this analysis, the author argues that Paul presents qualified elders as “good shepherds,” those of the utmost integrity, who are able to manage the flock of God well. The shepherd metaphor is utilized throughout both the Old and New Testaments, by various authors, and in a variety of contexts. From a New Testament perspective, the shepherd metaphor is used most frequently in reference to Jesus, but is later applied to elders. While one might expect the Apostle Paul, the author of the so-called “Pastoral Epistles,” to make much use of this metaphor, he only explicitly uses the shepherd metaphor on two occasions. This seeming omission has led some to dismiss it as a central aspect of his teaching. However, Paul demonstrates a heavy reliance on the shepherd metaphor implicitly, particularly in the qualifications for eldership in the books of 1 Timothy and Titus.

Gary L. Shultz Jr.

Theological Preaching and Preaching Through Theology: The Priority of the Pastor-Theologian

Over the last several years a renewed call for the re-emergence of pastor-theologians has occurred within Evangelicalism. The distinguishing mark of the pastor-theologian is that his broader theological ministry to the church and the academy is explicitly grounded in his pastoral ministry, and his broader theological ministry strengthens and reinforces his pastoral ministry. While pastoral ministry has many facets, its foundation is the ministry of the Word, and the heart of the ministry of the word is preaching. Therefore, preaching the Word should be the priority and aim of the pastor-theologian, not only in his pastoral ministry, but in his broader theological ministry. This article will establish this truth by demonstrating how preaching is the theological act that grounds all other aspects of pastoral ministry even as it is grounded itself by that ministry. It will then explore how that truth should impact the pastor-theologian’s broader theological ministry, leading it to be biblical, confessional, and culturally relevant, even when directed towards the academy. Preaching is the connecting center of the pastor-theologian’s ministry, resulting in effective pastoring and ecclesial theology that not only reinforce one other but together preach the good news of the gospel to the world.

Jonathan Master

Preaching Psalm 46 to the People of God Today

The preached word is the means that God has ordained for both the evangelization of the nations and for the building up of the church. As evangelicals, we are committed to the fact that all of scripture is inspired and profitable for the people of God: therefore, all scripture must be preached – including the Psalms. In Part 1, I present four recommendations for preaching Psalm 46 today. Each of these recommendations supplement the preacher’s regular homiletic preparation. These recommendations are intended to remind preachers of certain features of the Psalms in general and of this psalm in particular. In Part II, I present an example sermon, considering each of these guidelines.

Matthew Ward

What Worship Leaders Need Their Pastors to Know: A Call to Theological Leadership in Worship

Many pastors today do not understand their role in their church’s worship – they have not received training in the principles of corporate worship and someone else on staff has the title of “worship leader.” That elusive role is to provide theological leadership to the worship ministries of the local church. Theological leadership assumes that pastors have done the work of developing a theology of worship. It then involves two steps: contextualizing that theology to their unique local church and communicating it effectively with that local church. While there are many examples of a theology of worship available to consider, there are few examples of a contextualized theology; this article offers two that are still general enough to glean benefits and pitfalls. Communication is a two-way process. If pastors are to be effective theological leaders, they must cultivate meaningful relationships – particularly with their worship leaders, listen and learn, and not act out of fear.

Joshua D. Chatraw

A Way Forward for Pastor-Apologists: Navigating the Apologetic Method Debate

Benjamin D. Espinoza

Pastor Theologians, the Gospel, and the Ministry of Racial Conciliation

Evangelicalism has a historically tenuous relationship with racial conciliation. As our nation becomes increasingly diverse, we must rethink our approaches to racial conciliation. The purpose of this article is to give pastor theologians a vision and plan for developing a rich ministry of racial conciliation. The paper will situate racial conciliation as a gospel issue that demands a response. Next, the article will explore how scholars have reflected on the source, nature, and solutions to racism. Finally, I develop key practices and implications that will assist pastor theologians in being agents of racial conciliation in both ecclesial and academic spaces.

Owen Strachan

Light from the Third Great Awakening: Harold Ockenga and the Call to Future Pastor-Theologians

Something remarkable transpired in the mid-twentieth century. Just as the First Great Awakening reset the ecclesiastical paradigm along gospel-demarcated lines in the 1700s, and just as the Second Great Awakening redrew the Protestant map through the explosion of upstart groups like the Baptists and Methodists, so the Third Great Awakening of the neo-evangelical years fundamentally recalibrated and repositioned evangelicalism for unprecedented expansion and activity.

Many individuals contributed to this galaxy-formation. Upon close reflection, however, Harold Ockenga – with Billy Graham and Carl Henry – formed the three horsemen of the Neo-Evangelical Resurgence. It is the purpose of this article to first explore Ockenga’s significance for the current day, as the twenty-first century church’s experience mirrors that of the neo-evangelicals some 60–70 years ago. Ockenga offers us an example of a richly theological pastorate, and a pulpit that majored in doctrine over storytelling and sentimentality.

In what follows, we shall see that, in a doctrinally-deficient era like ours, Ockenga offers the rising generations of pastors a faithful model to which to aspire and, God allowing, assume. This model we call the pastor-theologian. After showing what the pastor-theologian is and is to be, we offer five considerations for the rising generation of shepherds of God’s flock, considerations that together urge the church to invest in the doctrinal formation, personal courage, and theistic confidence of its pastors.

Douglas Estes

Pastor-Scholar: The Pastor Theologian and Scholarship

There is a critical need today for pastor-scholars to serve the Church and to advance theological knowledge. The pastor who is a scholar will utilize the format of the written word to dialogue with an important part of modern society – scholars and educated readers – through the form of scholarly discourse. Though the pastor- scholar is not a common calling, once one embraces this calling, there are several essential characteristics that can positively impact the pastor-scholar’s profession and standing.

Michael W. Goheen

Pastoral Theology in a Missional Mode

In this article I argue for the renewal of pastoral theology from a missional mode. This approach to pastoral theology offers rich resources addressing critical areas of contemporary concern. This article is more than just academic reflection. In fact, this reflects a curricular work in progress at Missional Training Center, Phoenix, Arizona – an extension site of Covenant Theological Seminary, St Louis, Missouri. For the past six years we have been attempting some creative approaches to theological education based on the rich insights from the 1960s—1980s offered by Western mission leaders and Southern hemisphere church leaders on theological education in a missional mode. I am especially indebted to the insights of Lesslie Newbigin, Harvie Conn, and David Bosch, and will draw primarily on their work in this article. 

I begin by briefly exposing the roots of this problematic view of pastoral theology. I then sketch the missional turn in the 20th century and note its considerable impact beginning with ecclesiology, and then on theology and leadership. This understanding of mission provides a solid theological foundation for the renewal of pastoral theology. Finally, I work out some of the significant implications of this missional turn for rethinking pastoral theology.

Andrew Zantingh

Toward a Theology of Pastoral Care in a Missional Mode

For close to twenty-five years, I have been learning how to care for the congregations God has called me to serve. In this respect, I am like most other professional pastors who paid significant money to be trained by professional professors to gain the necessary skills and techniques to do specialized care in a congregational setting. In addition to being a pastor, I now also teach graduate level pastoral care courses for pastors. The following paper is my theological reflection on the task of training pastors to do pastoral care in a missional way. There are some significant problems with our current approach to pastoral theology. In this volume, Michael Goheen identifies three crucial assumptions that have negatively shaped pastoral theology’s historical growth as a theological discipline: a theory-practice dichotomy, a professionalized view of the pastoral ministry, and a non-missional understanding of the church. My pastoral care experience bears out how these three assumptions have led to a faulty pastoral theology. In this article, I wish to offer an alternative approach to pastoral care from a missional mode. In doing so, I offer a solution which overcomes the theory-praxis dichotomy, that properly positions the role of the pastors as lead discipler, and one that correctly locates pastoral care in the context of a missional understanding of the church. I will do this by sketching the problem of pastoral care from ministry experience, by constructing theological contours that reframe pastoral care in the missional mode, by offering a concrete example of this kind of pastoral care in action, and finally by sketching a dynamic approach to theological education that can equip pastors for such care.

Marcus J. Serven

The Care of Souls: John Calvin’s Shepherding Ministry

Many Christians today have distinct impressions of who John Calvin was, but most have never read a single line from his Institutes of the Christian Religion, or benefited from the careful exegesis found in his Commentaries on the Bible, or reflected upon a single salient point from one of his many published sermons. In brief, the reformer John Calvin (1509–1564) has been misinterpreted, misread, and misunderstood. He is, perhaps, best known for his views on the doctrines of election, predestination, and reprobation. He is also known for his pivotal role in the prosecution of the arch-heretic Michael Servetus (1511–1553) who rejected the Trinity and the deity of Jesus Christ. But none of these disconnected pieces of information can demonstrate, in my opinion, the true character of the man. And so, who really was John Calvin? Hughes O. Old, a noted scholar of Calvin’s life and theology, states the opinion that, “John Calvin is chiefly remembered as a biblical scholar and a systematic theologian.” Cearly, Calvin distinguished himself through his theological writing and teaching ministry. However, he also was the preeminent pastor of the city of Geneva during the time of the Protestant Reformation. John T. McNeill notes, “Jean Daniel Benoit, the expert on Calvin’s work in the cure of souls, states boldly that the Genevan Reformer was more pastor than theologian, that, to be exact, he was a theologian in order to be a better pastor. In his whole reforming work he was a shepherd of souls.” Thus, it is Calvin’s shepherding ministry that will be 

explored in this article – in particular, his pastoral care of souls.

Book Reviews 

Theology and Ministry 4 (2016)

The latest issue of Theology and Ministry: An Online Journal, from St. John’s College Durham, is available here. It contains the below essays.

Jocelyn Bryan

Editorial

John W.B. Tomlinson

Ministry and History: A Survey of Over 300 Religious Practitioners

Recognising that the nature and the activity of the Church are in part defined by its history, this study investigates the degree and type of engagement in history by those who lead ministry in the local church. How is their interest in history, if they have any, expressed? Do they feel adequately trained to use history in their work? Does history have a particular relevance to different areas of their ministry? Is the historical religious building a valuable resource or a burden? From the responses certain patterns emerge, influenced by – among other factors – age, experience and gender. Denomination also plays a significant part both in what areas of church history seem relevant and in how such history can be used in ministry. This study raises again the question of how the church brings together its theology and its history.

Peter T.H. Hatton

Wisdom’s Feast: Proverbs as a Resource for Theological Education

This article argues that the biblical book of Proverbs offers a humane, generous pedagogy that has the power to helpfully address those currently engaged in Theological Education. This is a pedagogy grounded in a relationship that seeks to draw both teachers and learners into an engagement modelled on the familial and commensal – ‘host:guest’, rather than ‘instructor:passive recipient’ – while prompting a participatory, questioning learning style. It reaffirms the importance of the acquisition of wisdom and the formation of character at the heart of enterprise. It cautions against pedagogical methods that reduce residential and commensal elements in theological education.

Michael Hirst

Poverty, Place and Presence: Positioning Methodism in England, 2001 to 2011

The Methodist Church in Britain has a long-standing commitment to mission alongside the poor. That priority, informed by an understanding of how churches commit to social action through encounter and engagement, might be expected to align its presence with disadvantaged areas: to enter into solidarity with the poorest in society. This paper investigates how far the Methodist priority for the poor intersects with the everyday geographies of its local presence. Cross-sectional and longitudinal data on the distribution of Methodist personnel and agencies are evaluated against neighbourhood variations in social and economic deprivation. There was no evidence of a Methodist presence skewed towards the most deprived communities in England. Findings raise questions about how church structures and roles can be arranged to fulfil beliefs, values and expectations, and have implications for the deployment of ministers and the location of activities in response to unmet needs in the population due to lack of resources and opportunities.

Trudie Morris

‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them’ – Inhabiting the Sacred Space: Exploring the Curatorial with Children

In this paper the practice of co-curating the Eucharist with children is explored. The context is an ongoing research enquiry seeking to address the theological question of what it means for children to be at the centre of Eucharistic worship as an expression of the Kingdom of God. The focus on curating liturgical worship draws upon developments in the field of museum curation. Key concepts are presented: that as an insider researcher I am the subject of my research and that my primary values are questions of justice, discovery and experience. Dialogue partners from the fields of education research and children’s spirituality support the key concepts. The argument presented is that the practice of co-curating the Eucharist with children is important in developing worshipping communities with a pilgrim model for discipleship.

Tom Stuckey

Repairing Altars of Sacrifice Tom Stuckey

Is Elijah a suitable role model for an ordained minister in today’s declining Church? This paper suggests that the ordained should adopt the kenotic ministerial pattern of Paul as found in his letter to the Philippians rather than the power model of Elijah. In a secular context such as ours, it is also important that the ordained minister listens to the faith stories of the elderly in the local congregations. Their memories, when redeemed, can stimulate and open up imaginative options for the future.

Book Reviews

Journal of Contemporary Ministry 1 (2015)

Thanks to Rob Bradshaw for the heads up on this one...

From Harvest Bible College in Australia comes the first volume of the Journal of Contemporary Ministry, which ‘will act as a place for reporting research and

discussing issues related to contemporary ministry, including related theological and

biblical questions’.

The table of contents is below, along with abstracts of the main articles.

Editorial

About This Journal

Jon K. Newton

Editorial

Peer-Reviewed Articles

Philip Hughes

The Multi-Dimensional Issue of Culture and Christian Ministry

The categories of the theology of culture developed by H. Richard Niebuhr in Christ and Culture can be applied to approaches to ministry. Empirical studies of the church in northern Thailand demonstrated that in terms of architecture, the forms of service and other observable forms, the churches were often ‘counter-cultural’. However, in other ways, such as in the themes of sermons and how they were developed, there was a strong Thai cultural flavour. Observations show that many mainstream Australian churches express themselves in ways which are counter to contemporary culture, for example in their architecture and forms of music, although their values and emphases often reflect contemporary culture. Charismatic churches more frequently use contemporary forms of architecture and music, but are counter-cultural, for example, in their teaching on many aspects of life, such as pre-marital sexuality. Heelas and Woodhead argue that charismatic churches are closer to contemporary culture in the ways they are open to the ‘subjectivity’ of formation of the self in contemporary Western societies, and suggest that may explain their greater appeal to many younger people than the appeal of the mainstream churches. There are several dimensions to ministry, including, for example, contextual, substantive and essential, which may all relate to culture in different ways. The challenge for theology is to work out in which dimensions ministry should be cultural, in which it should be ‘counter-cultural’, and in which it should be seeking to transform the culture.

Juhani Ensio Tuovinen

Cultural Differences between Australian Denominations on Coming to Faith

In 2001 and 2006 church attendees in many denominations across Australia were surveyed about various aspects of coming to faith. Many substantial similarities and differences were found, such as the importance of various factors in bringing them to faith and the ages at which they came to faith. The results indicate that there are important cultural differences in the way coming to faith is understood and acted on in the various denominations. In this paper the empirical evidence from two national surveys will be considered, highlighting what the various denominations can learn from each other.

Graeme Vincent Flett

Visual Technologies within a Consumerist Culture

The use of visual technology is now a familiar medium of communication in most churches across New Zealand and Australia. Its accessibility and effectiveness in branding has had wide appeal especially to those leading large churches, who are eager to promote their identity, enlarge the size of their existing congregation(s), and expand influence within a consumerist-culture of lifestyle choices. Large Pentecostal churches are some of the most adept at utilising and absorbing these visual technologies, and do so, to great effect. This creates a level of vulnerability within Pentecostalism which largely goes unnoticed – the hidden absorption of a consumptive way of being. The pragmatism of its leaders to be relevant within this culture creates its own blind-spot. This quest for relevance tends to negate the need for theological critique and a robust process by which to evaluate various visual technologies thus allowing elements of secularity the scope to shape and re-shape congregational identity.

In this paper I discuss to what extent these visual technologies (an aberration of contemporary culture) are shaping a Pentecostal ecclesia and the behavioural patterns of its participants. A brief explanation of how images work is offered. This is followed by a case study of East Auckland Elim Christian Centre (EE) and its use of visual technologies. (EE is one of the largest churches in Auckland). The paper argues that while EE is very effective in communicating its identity and vision, its absorption of visual advertising practices (and thus of popular culture) makes it susceptible to the secular forces that run counter to the gospel, and may even in time, undermine the integrity of its own vision.

Andrew A. Groza

With the Curiosity of an Oddity from a Bygone Era: the Gospel and Our Culture Network (GOCN) conversation and its contribution to mission to the West

The Western church inhabits a post-Christian context, which is just as significant a mission field as any from a non-Western background. Not realising this fact will cause the church to perpetuate paradigms of self-understandings and models of mission that do not fit this new reality, thereby draining the church’s relevance for today. The Gospel and Our Culture Network (GOCN) have been addressing this issue for decades and the literature they have produced gives theological grounding for mission to the West. An exploration of their major tenets can help focus and reenergise the church’s self-understanding and motivation for mission. The effects of one such church that has sought to apply one of the central motifs spurred by the GOCN conversation reveals the benefit of this deep theological reflection.

Pastoral Reflections

Jeremy Weetman

In Praise of Pastors

Student Articles

Asanga De Costa

What is the preferred/dominant leadership/authority style that can be used as a tool that is both culturally appropriate and biblically justifiable, to identify and develop emerging leadership of Sri Lankan Pentecostal/modern church?

Theses Listing

Book Reviews

Art Lindsley on Five Ways Pastors Can Affirm Faith, Calling, and Vocation

There’s a nice, short piece on the Gospel Coalition blog by Art Lindsley on ‘5 Ways Pastors Can Affirm Faith, Calling, and Vocation’:

1. Watch your language

2. Pray for people in professions

3. Interview workers

4. Commission people for ministry in their work

5. Stress that you can have a ministry at work

Theology and Ministry: An Online Journal

From St. John’s College Durham comes Theology and Ministry, ‘a peer-reviewed annual publication featuring innovative work at the interdisciplinary interface of theological study and ministerial practice and reflection’, which ‘encourages the rapid and inexpensive on-line publication of distinguished work, making articles available to a world-wide readership at minimal cost’.

Bravo!

The first issue is available now, with articles and reviews downloadable from here.

All the pieces look interesting, but the first one particularly caught my eye, by Richard Briggs and Pete Phillips – ‘The Bible as Augmented Reality’:

‘This paper explores the notion of the Bible as “augmented reality”, a phrase used to refer to the addition of a layer of digital data superimposed upon our normal field of vision. We look at some points of contact between this notion and that of the Bible as the Church’s book and a light for its life. We then turn to various reference points for thinking through this image more widely, in literature, theology, and philosophy. A final section considers initial areas for further exploration in developing the image, as one among many useful ways of thinking about the Bible in today’s world.’

Tom Shapiro on How Congregations Learn

This week’s ‘Alban Weekly’ is by Tom Shapiro on ‘How Your Congregation Learns’.

He starts by noting the significance of ongoing learning, of knowing how one’s congregation learns, before outlining a learning framework of seven overarching behaviours observed by the The Indianapolis Center for Congregations, which ‘apply to almost any congregational challenge’:

(1) Congregations that learn well find and use outside resources.

(2) Congregations that learn well live within a worldview of theological coherence.

(3) Congregations that learn well ask open-ended questions and practice active listening.

(4) Congregations learn well when clergy and laity learn together.

(5) Congregations learn well by attending to rites of passages.

(6) Congregations learn well when they slow things down.

(7) Congregations learn well when they say ‘no’ and say ‘yes’.

9Marks eJournal 9, 4 (July-August 2012) on Mercy Ministry in the Church

The latest issue of the 9Marks eJournal is now available as a pdf here.

In the Editor’s Note, Jonathan Leeman writes:

‘Over the last few years, 9Marks has offered occasional warnings about mission creep in the local church. We believe the local church exists to make disciples and to teach them to do everything that the Lord Jesus commanded. Therefore, the local church, its pastors, its public gatherings, and any joint institutional resources belonging to the body should be dedicated to equipping the membership for works of ministry through teaching the truth in love. Acts of mercy are surely essential for God’s people, but for the institutional church, teaching is essential in a way that organized and structured mercy-ministry programs are not. Teaching is the water that gives life to all Christian activity inside and outside of church building doors.

‘But like every kindergarten teacher knows, sometimes the line is thin between teaching a kid to build a popsicle-stick house and being willing to get glue on your fingers and to build it with her. It just may be that, from time to time, even often, the local institutional church will best fulfill its Matthew-28 and Ephesians-4 mission by getting glue on its fingers. This not only teaches the saints what it means to be a Christian, it also provides a natural vehicle for organizing and facilitating their new-found love to do mercy ministry.

‘Bottom line: the local church, institutionally speaking, is called to teach. That is its job. Lose that, you lose everything. But that institution is made up of human beings who must go and do. And where institutional resources (staff time, budget monies, etc.) are available for something more than teaching, they might be wisely and wonderfully stewarded in helping church members to pursue the good deeds that Jesus commands them to do.

‘For these reasons, 9Marks wants to offer constructive help for how local churches might pursue such organized mercy ministry...’