The Future Shape Of Anglican Ministry

A new generation of leadership is emerging within the Anglican Communion. This book examines the challenges and opportunities facing these young leaders and Anglicanism more broadly. It explores the nature and shape of Anglican ministry in the new millennium. Designed for those who are considering ordination and those who are in training for the same, it is of appeal to lay leaders as well. Donald M. Lewis (DPhil, Oxford) is Professor of Church History and Academic Dean at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. An active Anglican, he is also the secretary of Regent College's Anglican Studies Program.

To many people, the Church of England and worldwide Anglican Communion has the aura of an institution that is dislocated and adrift. Buffeted by tempestuous and stormy debates on sexuality, gender, authority and power – to say nothing of priorities in mission and ministry, and the leadership and management of the church – a once confident Anglicanism appears to be anxious and vulnerable. The Future Shape of Anglicanism offers a constructive and critical engagement with the currents and contours that have brought the church to this point. It assesses and evaluates the forces now shaping the church and challenges them culturally, critically, and theologically. The Future Shape of Anglicanism engages with the church of the present that is simultaneously dissenting and loyal, as well as critical and constructive. For all who are engaged in ecclesiological investigations, and for those who study the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion, this book offers new maps and charts for the present and future. It is an essential companion and guide to some of the movements and forces that are currently shaping the church.

This volume, endorsed by Anglican bishops and scholars around the world, is important reading for those preparing for the Global Anglican Future Conference in Jerusalem in June 2018 - and for those in other traditions too. Author Stephen Noll has been a watchman and participant in Anglican affairs over the past quarter century, as a priest and educator in the USA and Uganda. This highly readable anthology of his writings, often written in the heat of the battle, chronicles the departure of the Anglican establishment in North America and England from classic Christian teaching on Scripture, marriage, and church order. Professor Noll concludes: "I want to commend to readers the vision of a renewed and reformed Global Anglican Communion, a communion of churches that builds on the heritage of the Church of England and represents the emerging leadership of formerly colonial Anglican churches, whereby the oversight of doctrine and discipline has shifted from Canterbury to the Global South."

This timely, multi-faceted book by a collection of leading thinkers and practitioners provides church leaders with the resources to re-imagine church and ministry in the twenty-first century. Looking at both traditional forms of church and fresh expressions, this wide-ranging book offers invaluable historical, psychological, sociological and theological perspectives on the parish system. Leading thinkers outline the challenges facing the Church, present suggestions for areas for development, and set out principles for future growth.

Fresh expressions of church may offer a fresh take on ancient Anglican tradition and worship. But what difference are they making for the people who call them their church home? Journalist and religion commentator Becky Garrison spent a year visiting US based mission-shaped ministries. Where most books focus on the pioneers who founded these congregations, Garrison shifts to focus on the people on the ground: what drew them to the community, why they come back and how they understand themselves to be “church.” In the process, she reveals wisdom around evangelism, Christian formation and discipleship that every congregation can use to flourish in this postmodern age.

Wesley Carr's ministry within the Church of England is renowned and distinguished. As Dean of Westminster Abbey he is often at the forefront of national religious ceremonies. His ministry, academic posts and widely acclaimed books have also established him as one of the leading pastoral theologians in recent times. The Character of Wisdom brings together leading writers, thinkers and broadcasters to reflect on Dr Carr's many and varied contributions to church and national life, and on particular aspects of his ministry and writings. The authors explore themes such as the nature of priestly ministry, the role of clergy and the church, the function of cathedrals, ministry and the media, church finance, discipleship and vocation, and New Testament theology. Presenting an invaluable guide to the present and future shape of pastoral theology, public theology, and ministry, this book shows how practising pastoral theology can hope to reveal something of the manifold wisdom of God. The contributors to this volume are: Paul Avis; Duncan B. Forrester; Robin Gill; Stephen Lowe; Christopher Moody; Anton Obholzer; Emma Percy; Martyn Percy; Alastair Redfern; Edward R. Shapiro; Angela Tilby; Francis Ward; and Tom Wright.