Leading and equipping people for good deeds as a crucial part of parish ministry. The article examines the role that equipment for good works, as an integral part of church ministry, can play in ...revitalising and help congregations to grow. The investigation is conducted through an exegetical analysis of Ephesians 2, focusing on verse 10. The results of the study of Ephesians are then compared with other Scriptures where good works are mentioned. From this research, it becomes clear that good works do not play a role in the justification and salvation of believers, because it is solely the work of God’s undeserved grace. However, good works are an integral part of God’s purpose in his redemption of humanity. Humanity is not saved by good works but rather unto good works. According to Ephesians, good works serve to proclaim the greatness of God’s grace towards believers. God prepares the good works for believers. Believers are enabled to do good works through the gifts that Christ and the Spirit give them, and the equipment they receive through the special services. From the Gospels, it is evident that good works were a characteristic of Jesus’ mission, and therefore also the calling of his disciples. In the pastoral letters, good works are described as part of Christ’s purpose for which He acquired a people for Himself. The ultimate goal of equipping from the Word, is the ability to do good works. Therefore, good works testify to maturity in faith, reliability, and dedication. A lack of good works puts a question mark on someone’s faith. The conclusion from the research is that deliberate equipping of members to actively do good works, should be an integral part of church ministry. Each member of the congregation should be held responsible for using the opportunities that God creates for them, to do good works. The lack of a structured ministry of equipping members for distributing God’s grace by good works, can be a leading cause of stagnation and decline in congregations. Contribution: The article contributes to practical theological reflection on ministry in the church through in-depth exegetical analysis and comparison of Scripture with Scripture. The place of equipping for good works, which is often overlooked in reformed circles, is highlighted here.
Articles in the section 'Learning from experience and reflecting on ministry' draw on insights of experienced practitioners focusing on well-defined issues of relevance to rural church and rural ...society. In this article Canon Tony Neal reflects on the role that retired clergy may play in mentoring new incumbents. Drawing on his personal experience in the Diocese of Truro, he sets his case study within the context of two reports published by the Church of England in 2006 and concentrates on three themes: reflecting on the nature of mentoring, mentoring through reflection, and mentoring by example. This case study points to agenda for future research.
This article considers the role of the fictional dialogue as a surrogate for the godly ministry, with a focus on early seventeenth-century England. The dialogue form was, in this period, used to ...extend a minister’s reach—it could inoculate parishioners against post-Reformation divisions, minimizing conflict, assuaging doubts, and directing public attention back to preaching. Godly dialogues therefore provide unique insights into the pressures that religious conflict placed on puritan ministers, and the methods they thought best to provide resolution and certainty. Using approaches adapted from literary scholarship, examining questions of form, authorial intention and popular reception, the article surveys a range of dialogic works composed by early Stuart ministers. It asks how far the dialogues’ authors drew on professional experience in crafting fictional conversations, and how they adapted literary techniques to speak to specific conflicts and audiences.
This reflection is based on 10 years’ experience of parish ministry in the Church of Scotland. While offering a territorial ministry – even in overseas former missionary churches – I became deeply ...aware of religious pluralism in each parish. I explored this religious pluralism in relation to Jewish and Muslim communities living in the parishes that I served. In particular, in dialogue and sharing with imams and rabbis, we explored interconfessional and intercultural challenges of living together and worshiping together. I have invited rabbis and imams to ‘preach’ during public worship; likewise, I have been invited to offer reflections in synagogues and mosques during times of ‘holy prayer’. This reflection documents the interconfessional and intercultural challenges of parish ministry and religious pluralism.
The main issue of this article is an analysis of problems related to the preparation of clergy and the scientifi c development of pastoral theology in the Russian Orthodox Church. These problems and ...ways to solve them are reviewed on the basis of Russian theological education of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. The paper is not limited to studying the pastoral component of higher theological education realized in the Russian Theological Academies of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. It also reviews the relevant theoretical heritage, namely, projects and discussions re-lated to those problems. Special attention is given to the role of pastoral theology within the system of theological science and higher theological education. In the conclusion, the author highlights several key problems that are relevant to today’s theological high schools as well
: The competing claims of atheism, pluralism, and Islam have all penetrated to the parish level in various degrees. The author describes her parish experience, examines Peters's recommendations, and ...offers an additional recommendation of her own: collaboration when appropriate.
In March 1961, the valedictorian of Andalusia High School in Andalusia, Alabama, wrote Reinhold Niebuhr for advice on her upcoming commencement speech. With his customary generosity and humility, ...Niebuhr replied that he was honored by her request for help with her speech. He demurred, writing, “I doubt if one can give any guidance which has not been given by now.” But he continued and suggested a topic: “I can only say we live in an era which has great promise and great peril.”¹
That a young girl from a small town in Alabama appealed to Niebuhr for guidance demonstrates the
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