Collaborative Practical Theology by
Collaborative Practical Theology documents and analyses research on Christian practices conducted by academic practical theologians in collaboration with practitioners of different kinds in Christian practices all around the world. These practitioners include professional practitioners, everyday believers, volunteers and students in theological education. The book offers rationales for setting up joint investigation groups with different 'communities of practice', describes a wide range of collaborative research strategies and methods and also has a clear eye for their limitations. In Christian practices faith is mediated, enacted and nurtured. The aim of the book is to improve the utility of theological research on these practices. It communicates the vision that academic research is for the people of God in today's world.
Introducing Feminist Perspectives on Pastoral Theology by
This book introduces feminist perspectives in pastoral theology. It is concerned with both pastoral care and practice and also with pastoral theology and theory. It seeks to explore why the inclusion of women's experiences and of feminist perspectives is of vital importance to Christian pastoral practice and to a Christian understanding of God. It should be of interest to concerned practitioners and also has specifically in mind the needs of students of pastoral theology. It begins with the lived experience of violence in Church and society, moving through to the implications of this for our understanding of the human community and the divine.
Pastoral Bearings by
The study of lived religion is an enterprise which attempts to elucidate how 'ordinary' men and women in all times and places draw on religious behavior, media, and meanings to make sense of themselves and their world. Through the influence of liberation theology and postmodernism, pastoral theologians_like other scholars of religion_have begun more closely to examine the particularity of religious practice that is reflected through the rubric of lived religion. Pastoral Bearings offers up ten studies that exemplify the usefulness of the lived religion paradigm to the field of pastoral theology. The volume presents detailed qualitative research focused on the everyday beliefs and practices of individuals and groups and explores the implications of lived religion for interdisciplinary conversation, intercultural and gender analysis, and congregational studies. Reflecting upon the utility of this approach for pastoral theological research, education, and pastoral care, the studies collected in Pastoral Bearings demonstrate the importance of the study of lived religion.
Pastoral Theology by
While many pastoral ministry books focus on the practical duties of the pastor, few works actually consider how theological truth defines the pastor's role and responsibilities. These pragmatic ministry tools, though instructionally beneficial, essentially divorce biblical doctrine from ministerial practice. As a result, pastors' lives and ministries often lack the theological roots that provide the stability and nourishment necessary to sustain them. Pastoral Theology constructs a theological framework for pastoral ministry that is biblically derived, historically informed, doctrinally sound, missionally engaged, and contextually relevant. By using traditional theological categories the authors explore the correlation between evangelical doctrine and pastoral practice. Through careful theological integration they formulate a ministry philosophy that defines the pastoral office and determines its corresponding responsibilities in light of theological truth. The authors provide a theological understanding of the pastorate that will equip aspiring pastors to discern and pursue their calling, challenge younger pastors to build on ministerial truth instead of ministerial trends, and inspire seasoned pastors to be reinvigorated in their passion for Christ and his church.
Pastoral Theology for Public Ministry by
What does it mean to be engaged in Christian ministry in a shifting spiritual and religious landscape? Stephen Burns invites readers to think anew about the distinctiveness of public practices of pastoral presence. Rather than narrowly defining pastoral care and pastoral theology (pastoral counseling, preaching, youth groups, visits to elders, etc.) and theological academic categories (history, pastoral theology, liturgy, ethics and contemporary sociology), he argues for a new imagination and practice of pastoral presence - a presence that is representative, public, integrated, and expansive. Study guide included.
A Practical Christology for Pastoral Supervision by
This book sets out a Christological framework for developing and delivering pastoral supervision. Pastoral supervision is a key consideration for any denomination, congregation, or faith-based organisation, so this is a vital resource for well-being for clergy, chaplains, and a wide array of pastoral workers. Three central Christological themes, the revealing, re-membering, and restoring Jesus, provide the theological framework for good supervision practice. The book draws insights from three gospel passages--Luke 24:13-34, Luke 22:39-53 and John 21:1-14--for its Christological themes. The practical Christology for pastoral supervision is deepened and extended through three theologians: Martin Luther (reformed), Emil Brunner (neo-orthodox), and James McClendon (small B baptist). Professional supervision (coaching, mentoring, and spiritual direction) is increasingly sought--even required--by many people in church and faith-based organisations. This book will, therefore, be an excellent resource to theologians interested in supervision, practical theology, and Christology.
Recognizing Other Subjects by
How do we care justly when the self suffers because of the identity that they inhabit? Pastoral theologian Katharine E. Lassiter approaches this interdisciplinary question from a feminist perspective in order to understand how suffering, subject formation, and social injustice are connected. Lassiter identifies the challenges of identity in developing a pastoral theological anthropology, reflecting on tensions in her own experiences of caring for selves. Drawing from theories of recognition, she argues that doing just care requires recognizing the need for recognition as well as acknowledging the impediments to receiving interpersonal, social, and theological recognition. Bringing together resources from pastoral theology and social theory, she develops a feminist pastoral theology and praxis of encounter in order to advance a care that does justice. Scholars, social justice practitioners, and pastoral caregivers will be able to use this resource to discover not only how and why recognition affects human development but also how we might implement a liberative theological praxis that is attentive to the role of recognition in subject formation.
SCM Studyguide Pastoral Theology by
The SCM Studyguide to Pastoral Theology designed to support undergraduate courses for the training of clergy and lay pastoral workers at an accessible introductory level. The book aims to develop pastoral wisdom and integrity through a critical integration of theology and the human sciences. Introducing key themes in theological anthropology and pastoral practice, it shapes a creative pastoral vision which is deeply rooted in a Christian vision of what it means to be human and what it takes to care. Working with case studies, the book will introduce broad frameworks of understanding of issues such as growth, loss, and sexuality, together with critical perspectives on important aspects of practice such as language, power and boundaries.The book provides an accessible overview of key concepts in pastoral theology, offering key entry points for further discussion and study. Each chapter includes discussion questions and/or reflective exercises at the end of each chapter together with a short bibliography. Throughout the text, key summaries of learning will be indicated by boxed Practice Points.
The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Practical Theology by
Through a series of essays contributed by leading experts in the field, The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Practical Theology presents an introduction to practical theology as a major area of Christian study and practice, including an overview of its key developments, themes, methods, and future directions. The first comprehensive reference work to provide a survey, description and analysis of practical theology as an area of study A range of leading scholars in the field provide original contributions on the major areas, issues, and figures in practical theology Reviews an extensive range of methods for studying theology in practice, along with sub-disciplines in theological education such as pastoral care and preaching Covers developments in the discipline in a range of global contexts and distinct Christian traditions Shows how practical theology is relevant to everyday life