The Minister as Moral Theologian: Ethical Dimensions of Pastoral Leadership

by Sondra Ely Wheeler

Publisher:

Baker Academic

, 2017

Overview

The ordinary practice of ministry requires pastors and Christian leaders to serve as moral theologians in their communities. Ministers must preach about morally challenging texts, teach about moral issues and conflicts, offer moral counsel, and serve as an example regarding the shape of faithful Christian life.

Respected scholar and veteran teacher Sondra Wheeler offers Christian leaders tools for facing the demands and seizing the opportunities of being a moral teacher. Grounding pastoral ethics in spiritual formation and spiritual disciplines, she invites leaders to reconnect the demands of their office with their aspirations as a disciple. The book integrates ethical preaching, teaching, and counsel with the pastor’s own moral and spiritual life and is focused on the day-to-day challenges and possibilities of ministry in churches and other institutional settings. Offering guidance many practicing pastors wish they had received in seminary, this is an essential text for courses in the practice of ministry.

Key Features

• Calls attention to all the dimensions of pastoral ministry that involve ministers deeply in work that is normally assigned to Christian ethics
• Examines the ways pastors are called upon to be moral theologians in residence for the communities they serve
• Offers guidance on how pastors can teach and model Christian ethics in their ministry more consciously

Contents

• The Minister as Ethicist
• Preaching on Morally Difficult Texts and Occasions
• Teaching about Moral Issues
• Giving Moral Counsel
• Serving as a Moral Example

Praise for The Minister as Moral Theologian

Some pastors approach their work as moral theologians seriously but not humbly, thereby failing to recognize the complexity of the task. Others recognize that complexity but respond by shunning the responsibility. This important book challenges both of these errors, and in the process it provides everyday counsel that is as practical as it is sophisticated. Sondra Wheeler is an exceptionally wise moral theologian, and all who heed her words will be the wiser for it.

Craig C. Hill, dean, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University

The Minister as Moral Theologian is a wise, compassionate, and direct treatment of Christian ethics in the pastoral tasks of preaching, teaching, and counseling. Wheeler reminds us of the challenges, joys, blessings, and wonders of pastoral ministry. This is a must-read for seminarians and seasoned clergy alike.

Kathryn Greene-McCreight, associate chaplain, The Episcopal Church at Yale; author of Darkness Is My Only Companion: A Christian Response to Mental Illness

For pastors faced with the challenging task of living as Christians and teaching others to do so as well, Sondra Wheeler has written a book that is both learned and wise. She wears her considerable learning lightly, writing prose that is simultaneously winsome and direct. Even more important, every page displays wisdom—a mature insight that will be her greatest gift to her readers.

Gilbert Meilaender, senior research professor, Valparaiso University

Product Details

• Title: The Minister as Moral Theologian: Ethical Dimensions of Pastoral Leadership
• Author: Sondra Ely Wheeler
• Publisher: Baker Academic
• Print Publication Date: 2017
• Pages: 160
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
• Resource ID: LLS:MNSTRSPSTLDRSHP
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2021-04-29T16:57:35Z

About Sondra Ely Wheeler

Sondra Wheeler is a member of the United Methodist Church. Within the broad discipline of Christian ethics, she specializes in theological bioethics, biblical ethics, virtue ethics and the historical roots of Christian moral theology. a book retrieving the Christian tradition on love for a general audience; and a manuscript on the moral character of the relationship between parents and children. The Current Topics in The : A Topical A