Overview
Head pastor or new volunteer, anyone serving in ministry will benefit from the wisdom found in the SPCK Library of Ministry. Written by prominent Anglican ministers with decades of experience to draw upon, this collection is full of well-researched theory supported by practical experience. The authors’ ideas and exercises will challenge your compassion, professionalism, patience, and creativity. The time-tested tools offered by this library will inspire you and remain a practical reference for your congregation and leadership.
The Logos version of this collection is powerful and easy to use. Perform comprehensive searches by topic to compare the perspectives of theologians, scholars, and ministry professionals. Access your preferred Scripture translation by clicking on the reference, saving time and adding biblical depth to your research.
Key Features
- Practical instruction for anyone in ministry
- Academic theory blended with real-life experience
- Guidance in topics from church appointments to youth ministry
Individual Titles
- Community and Ministry: An Introduction to Community Work in a Christian Context by Paul Ballard and Lesley Husselbee
- Supporting New Ministers in the Local Church: A Handbook by Keith Lamdin and David Tilley
- Pioneer Ministry and Fresh Expressions of Church by Angela Shier-Jones
- Being a Chaplain by Miranda Threlfall-Holmes and Mark Newitt
- How to Make Great Appointments in the Church: Calling, Competence and Chemistry by Claire Pedrick and Su Blanch
- Reader Ministry Explored by Cathy Rowling and Paula Gooder
- Reflective Caring: Imaginative Listening to Pastoral Experience by Bob Whorton
- Skills for Collaborative Ministry by Sally Nash, Jo Pimlott, and Paul Nash
- Supporting Dying Children and Their Families: A Handbook for Christian Ministry by Paul Nash
- Youth Ministry: A Multifaceted Approach by Sally Nash
- Developing in Ministry: Handbook for Effective Christian Learning and Training by Neil Evans
- Finding Your Leadership Style: A Guide for Ministers by Keith Lamdin
- Tools for Reflective Ministry by Sally Nash and Paul Nash
All clergy, ministers, church-related community workers and lay leaders need to understand how they and their churches may relate to the community in which they are set. This is an essential part of their training. This book provides a thorough and professional introduction to the subject, and includes topics such as: community work and mission; models of community work; ethnic, cultural and religious diversity; the local authority and voluntary agencies; working with volunteers; and spirituality in community participation.
This book aims to take on the challenge of equipping people with the skills, understanding and information to critically explore the field of community and ministry. It is a timely publication given the increasing government acknowledgement of the contribution of faith communities in both urban and rural community development and regeneration.
—Jim Robertson, chair, Enabling Group Churches Community Work Alliance
Paul Ballard is professor emeritus in the School of Religious and Theological Studies of Cardiff University. He is the coauthor of Practical Theology in Action.
Lesley Husselbee is tutor in church and community education at Northern College in Manchester. She has written articles for the National Christian Education Council, and is the coeditor of Free Churches and Society: The Nonconformist Contribution to Social Welfare 1800–2010.
A practical and reflective handbook for incumbents who oversee the first years of ministry of a junior colleague. It will make the wealth of material that has been developed in secular fields available within a church context, as well as the best practices already happening in the church.
Keith Lamdin was the director of the board for stewardship, training, evangelism, and ministry in the Oxford Diocese for 25 years. Now, as principal of Sarum College in Salisbury, he not only exercises a leadership role himself, but also specializes in the professional development of clergy, working as a consultant in the fields of health care and education. He launched an MA program in Christian approaches to leadership, is pioneering a program for women leaders in the church, and teaches at the Institute of Advanced Learning at Oxford University. He is the author of Finding Your Leadership Style.
David Tilley has trained Methodist ministers and worked with clergy in the Coventry Diocese through Continuing Ministerial Education.
In Pioneer Ministry, Shier-Jones offers a theological and practical guide for pioneer ministers and mission-minded congregations on how to initiate and support fresh expressions of church. Drawing on Scripture as well as case studies, she illustrates best practices—and highlights the possible dangers—in working to transform a vision into a reality.
Angela Shier-Jones is a presbyter in the Methodist Church and is a member of the Connexional Fresh Ways team which supports and encourages fresh expressions throughout the British Methodist Church. She is the author of The Making of Ministry and coauthor of Methodist Present Potential and Unmasking Methodist Theology.
Is the chaplaincy a place for those who have sold out, can’t hack church ministry, and don’t believe in mission? Against the negative stereotypes, this book argues that chaplains are a valuable resource to the church. Embedded in prisons, hospitals, educational establishments, and the armed forces, chaplains often encounter social trends well in advance of institutional churches. Their experiences and expertise can aid in our thinking about ministry, ecclesiology, and engagement with contemporary society. The first five parts of this book gather together stories of 22 chaplains from a range of churches. The final section consists of four essays on key themes: multifaith issues, core skills needed by a chaplain, models of chaplaincy, and potential tensions caused by the work. This book is for chaplains, students, clergy, and all who are considering becoming a chaplain or who have dealings with people in such a role. Anyone who wonders what exactly chaplains do and, how and why they do it can learn from this book.
An excellent and intelligent overview of chaplaincy today and tomorrow. There is a huge amount here for established chaplains, for those new to this ministry, and for the whole church.
—Reverend Dr. Steven Croft, bishop of Sheffield
Miranda Threlfall-Holmes is an Anglican priest, historian, and theologian. She is chaplain and Solway Fellow of University College in Durham, an associate priest at St. John’s at Neville’s Cross, and a member of the Church of England’s General Synod. She trained for ordination at Cranmer Hall in Durham, and was then a curate at St. Gabriel’s of Heaton. She has been involved in ordination and lay theological training in Durham and Newcastle Dioceses for several years, teaching writing, tutoring in church history, and supervising chaplains. She has contributed articles to the Church Times, The Guardian, and Reuters, and authored the books Monks and Markets: Durham Cathedral Priory 1460–1520 and Essential History of Christianity.
Mark Newitt is a hospital chaplain in Sheffield, UK. He is particularly interested in the work of chaplaincy within neonatal and maternity units, and is currently studying for a doctorate in theology and ministry at Durham University, investigating the benefit of chaplaincy support to bereaved parents following the death of a baby. A member of the Society for the Study of Christian Ethics, he trained for ordination at Cranmer Hall in Durham, and was a curate in Northampton before taking up his current post. He has had a collection of liturgy published in Proost’s Pocket series, and articles published in the British Medical Journal, Practical Theology, and the Scottish Journal of Healthcare Chaplaincy.
This book is designed to provide practical help to those involved in filling a church vacancy. The wisdom and real-life examples demonstrate how to facilitate a positive, productive process that ends with a great appointment. This volume is useful to both those who seek appointments and those who actually make the final decisions.
This excellent book will help your church make the right choices about church staff. Packed with wisdom, experience, and humility. Make sure your church has a copy.
—Dr. Krish Kandiah, executive director, Churches in Mission Evangelical Alliance
With step-by-step strategies, encouragements to prayerful reflection, and creative use of story, the authors take us by the hand and help us through what can be a minefield. This is a book that is needed in every church, everywhere, whatever the denomination or brand. Highly recommended.
—Jeff Lucas, author, speaker, broadcaster
Claire Pedrick is the chief executive of 3DCoaching, a training company which provides organizational and career development through top quality coaching and group facilitation. Claire coaches individuals and teams in a variety of professions. She often contributes to the Christian websites Daily Bread and Wordlive.
Su Blanch is an expert in human resources, training, and development. She is experienced in facilitating learning through a range of techniques including coaching, action learning, classroom-based training, and enabling self-managed learning. Su currently works for 3DCoaching, and has extensive experience working with clergy at all levels.
The role of a reader in the Church of England focuses on “helping people understand and make sense of the way things are in the light of what we perceive to be God’s ways.” This volume is an introduction to the role and work of a Church of England reader. It covers a short history and the full range of reader ministries. This is a practical guide for candidates, trainees, licensed readers, and all who work with them. The public ministry of the Church of England currently comprises some 27,000 licensed ministers and more than 10,000 readers. In many parishes, it is readers who make the local patterns of worship sustainable from Sunday to Sunday.
Cathy Rowling is a priest of the Church of England with more than 20 years of experience training readers. Until early 2009, she was director of reader studies and diocesan director of ordinands in the Diocese of York. Cathy is now a canon emerita of York and the principal of Lindisfarne Regional Training Partnership, which provides a range of Christian adult learning opportunities in the northeast of England.
Paula Gooder was a lecturer in biblical studies at Ripon College Cuddesdon, and later at the Queen’s Foundation for Ecumenical Theological Studies, before becoming a freelance writer and lecturer. She lectures at King’s College London and the University of Birmingham, and acts as senior research scholar at the Queen’s Foundation of Birmingham, and canon theologian at Birmingham Cathedral. Her previous books include Only the Third Heaven? 2 Corinthians 12:1–10 and Heavenly Ascent, Exploring New Testament Greek: A Way In, and Searching for Meaning: An Introduction to Interpreting the New Testament.
Arising from the work of a pastoral team in a hospice, this book is an invitation to reflect on what happens when we truly listen to another person in need. The experience of a hospice chaplain, internal dialogues, and an imaginative approach to the Bible are at the heart of Bob Whorton’s writing. Reflective Caring describes the practice of “soul reflection” as a means of spiritual transformation. It is the process of paying attention, without judgment, to our deepest reactions which bubble up from our diverse inner-selves. With a bit of practice and the creative help of this guide, pastors and the people they care for can work together to gain greater internal unity.
Bob Whorton is a Methodist minister who worked for 19 years in various churches before becoming a hospital chaplain. His first chaplaincy posts were in high-security psychiatric hospitals, and for the past four years he has been the chaplain at Sir Michael Sobell House Hospice in Oxford. He has studied counseling and spiritual direction.
Contemporary mission and ministry emphasizes partnership. Yet this is often easier said than done. Skills for Collaborative Ministry will help you to work more effectively with other people, both inside and outside of the church. Each chapter focuses on a particular skill such as team building, facilitation, diversity skills, conflict resolution and evaluation techniques, then outlines the theory and the theology behind it. It is pure practical guidance. Written by an experienced team, the book includes exercises for individuals and groups, along with a range of ideas that can be adapted to your particular church. It will enable you to work collaboratively with confidence.
Working collaboratively is a vital part of effective Christian ministry. This book is comprehensive, practical, and crammed full of useful tips and insights on the subject. I’m sure it will prove to be a helpful resource to churches and other Christian organizations as they continue to seek a Christ-inspired, unified approach to ministry.
—Dr. John Sentamu, Archbishop of York
This book is well-timed, well-researched, and well-expressed. It will give you the tools you need for vision-making, team-building, understanding group processes, reflective evaluation, facilitation, conflict resolution, and effective leadership.
—Ray Simpson, International Community of Aidan and Hilda
This is a very readable book with helpful practical examples from the authors’ own experiences of collaborative working. It is a must for anyone who works with other people—clergy or lay—and particularly those who take a leading role or have the task of managing people. We are all still a work in progress, and this book will challenge you to look at yourself and the way you work as you make use of the points for reflection, discussion and action at the end of each chapter. I warmly recommend this book.
—Sonia Barron, national advisor, Committee for Minority Ethnic Anglican Concerns
Sally Nash is director of the Midlands Center for Youth Ministry, a partnership between St. John’s of Nottingham and Youth for Christ. She has been involved with Youth for Christ for over 25 years in the training and support of youth workers. She is the author of A Theology for Urban Youth Work and Sustaining Your Spirituality.
Jo Pimlott is assistant director at the Midlands Center for Youth Ministry, where she teaches youth and community work and practical theology. She is the author of several books on youth work including Inspire, Inspire, Too, Responding to Challenging Behavior, and An Introduction to Managing Yourself.
Paul Nash is senior chaplain at Birmingham Children’s Hospital and a tutor at the Midlands Center for Youth Ministry. He is involved in a number of community and church projects, as well as chaplaincy. He is vice chair of the Clinical Ethics Committee at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and author of What Theology for Youth Work?.
What could be more painful than the death of a child? This practical guide offers invaluable and sensitive advice for all who work alongside terminally ill children, their families, and the bereaved. The author describes the different types of care that are needed depending on the age of the child, and on the particular needs of the child’s family. This volume also provides resources to help families remember and celebrate the life of a child, including rituals that can be used in preparation for death, at the time of death, and at funeral or memorial services.
For many in Christian ministry, the death of a child presents a major challenge. This book provides important insights into the issues surrounding such a tragedy, and a wealth of helpful advice on how best to respond to those issues. The author’s expertise, gained over many years in his demanding role as chaplain in a children’s hospital, has been distilled into a very readable handbook. Combining pastoral sensitivity with a well-reasoned theological perspective, Paul Nash has written a valuable guide for all involved with the world of dying children today.
—Derek Fraser, chair, UK Board for Healthcare Chaplaincy
Supporting a family with a dying child is a nightmare scenario for many professionals in pastoral roles. Paul Nash offers us an accessible and comprehensive guidebook to supporting such families, which is deeply grounded in pastoral experience and can only serve to improve professional practice.
—Mark Birch, chaplain, Helen and Douglas House, Oxford
There is a wealth of information in this handbook, drawn from many different perspectives. Especially moving are the contributions from parents of children and young people who have died. It is a resource to dip into, reflect on, and return to many times for those of us who care for families as we journey alongside them.
—Helen Jesty, chaplain, Naomi House, Winchester
Paul Nash is senior chaplain at Birmingham Children’s Hospital and a tutor at the Midlands Center for Youth Ministry. He is involved in a number of community and church projects, as well as chaplaincy. He is vice chair of the Clinical Ethics Committee at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and author of What Theology for Youth Work?.
This book explores the role of the youth pastor by examining the following metaphors often used to describe the position: “flawed hero,” “visionary architect,” “party planner,” and “guardian of souls.” Each chapter uses one of these titles as a central theme, then offers biblical or theological reflection on that particular aspect of youth ministry. The author explains the relevant theories and necessary skills by using real-life stories from youth workers. Each chapter concludes with questions for reflection and suggestions for further reading.
A wonderful book. Take both the wisdom and advice given and contextualize them. The benefits to your own youth ministry will be immeasurable.
—Gavin Calver, national director of British Youth for Christ
Sally Nash is director of the Midlands Center for Youth Ministry, a partnership between St. John’s of Nottingham and Youth for Christ. She has been involved with Youth for Christ for over 25 years in the training and support of youth workers. She is the author of A Theology for Urban Youth Work and Sustaining Your Spirituality.
This book describes how you can make a lasting impact on people’s lives and ministries by adopting an organic approach to ministry development. This approach is based on the organic model proposed by James Hopewell, and supported with thorough research and the author’s personal success stories. If all ministry workers started their planning by asking, “What difference will my actions make?,” then a honest evaluation of the answer would point them in a fruitful direction for ministry.
Working with Neil on clergy development is a joy, because he does the stuff he writes about. Developing in Ministry is analytical, reflective, practical and helpfully provocative. Grab it, dip into it, and form your own ideas on how to develop the clergy and laity in our churches. It’s excellent stuff.
—Reverend Pete Broadbent, bishop of Willesden
This book is a treasure trove of practical wisdom designed to inspire and deepen ministry in and for the whole people of God . . . In my view, this book has the potential to make a huge difference not only to how we think about ministry, but most importantly to how we do it.
—Paula Gooder, writer and theologian
Neil Evans is director of ministry for the Diocese of London. He has served as a parish priest in inner-city east London and suburban west London. Before ordination, he worked as a health service manager in Tower Hamlets. He has a DMin from King’s College London, in which his main focus was the professional development of clergy.
This book is for all ministers who are seeking to understand how leadership works and why it can be so difficult. The lessons are applicable to anyone who finds themselves in a leadership role in the local church or seeks to lead in their workplaces by using Christian values and behaviors.
If you’re lost, a map can be very useful. But if you’re in uncharted territory a guide is what you need. But if no guide is available you need to learn how to read the landscape and navigate by the stars. This book is not a map of leadership. It is written by someone whose wisdom has helped me enormously. Keith Lamdin is a guide to be trusted. But the real value of the book is this: in the ever changing landscape of our own leadership it will teach you how to travel well.
—Stephen Cottrell, bishop of Chelmsford
There are few people I know who are better resourced than Keith Lamdin to write on this subject. Keith has reviewed and tested a huge amount of material over the years, and put together, with his know-how, this book which will inform you and form you as a leader. This . . . is packed with wisdom and challenge and will repay careful study.
—Mike Hill, bishop of Bristol
Finding Your Leadership Style helpfully contributes to the current complex discussions on Christian leadership by looking through a scriptural lens at changing motifs for leadership today. The mix of personal stories, good cross-referencing, and the examination of the pros and cons of a range models from “warrior” to “contemplative” offers a good tool for those in leadership to reflect on their ministry today.
—Elizabeth Welch, minister, Clapton Park United Reformed Church at the Round Chapel, London
Keith Lamdin was the director of the board for stewardship, training, evangelism, and ministry in the Oxford Diocese for 25 years. Now, as principal of Sarum College in Salisbury, he not only exercises a leadership role himself, but also specializes in the professional development of clergy, working as a consultant in the fields of health care and education. He launched an MA program in Christian approaches to leadership, is pioneering a program for women leaders in the church, and teaches at the Institute of Advanced Learning at Oxford University. He is the author of Finding Your Leadership Style.
In reflective practice, we are asked to consider our own experiences and ask, “What went well?,” “what went badly?,” and “how might I do better next time?” Tools for Reflective Ministry contains practical exercises and ideas on how to do this both theologically and spiritually, placing Christianity at the core of the discipline. Topics include using metaphor in reflection, spiritual practices for reflection, reframing the past, imagining the future, understanding the present, using culture in reflection, reflecting without words, reflecting with nature, and reflecting together.
Winsome and inviting, this practical, inspirational book is an invaluable help to all who would dive beneath the surface of themselves. Well-researched, but never wooden, it is a feast for all who lament the famine of reflection that blights those of us who feel stranded in a sound bite culture.
—Jeff Lucas, author, speaker, and broadcaster
Sally and Paul Nash summarize and synthesize the contributions of many teachers and guides and offer an impressive array of ideas, strategies, tools, questions, insights, practices, examples, and exercises to stimulate and equip us. A resource book to plunder again and again, alone and with others.
—Stuart Murray Williams, Urban Expression
Sally Nash is director of the Midlands Center for Youth Ministry, a partnership between St. John’s of Nottingham and Youth for Christ. She has been involved with Youth for Christ for over 25 years in the training and support of youth workers. She is the author of A Theology for Urban Youth Work and Sustaining Your Spirituality.
Paul Nash is senior chaplain at Birmingham Children’s Hospital and a tutor at the Midlands Center for Youth Ministry. He is involved in a number of community and church projects, as well as chaplaincy. He is vice chair of the Clinical Ethics Committee at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and author of What Theology for Youth Work?.
Product Details
- Title: SPCK Library of Ministry
- Publisher: SPCK
- Volumes: 13
- Pages: 2,276
More details about these resources
- Being a Chaplain
- Community and Ministry: An Introduction to Community Development in a Christian Context
- Developing in Ministry: A Handbook for Effective Christian Learning and Training
- Finding Your Leadership Style: A Guide for Ministers
- How to Make Great Appointments in the Church: Calling, Competence and Chemistry
- Pioneer Ministry and Fresh Expressions of Church
- Reader Ministry Explored
- Reflective Caring: Imaginative Listening to Pastoral Experience
- Skills for Collaborative Ministry
- Supporting Dying Children and Their Families: A Handbook for Christian Ministry
- Supporting New Ministers in the Local Church: A Handbook
- Tools for Reflective Ministry
- Youth Ministry: A Multi-Faceted Approach