Leadership in the Church for a People of Hope

This title offers an introduction to leadership in the church from a practical and theological point of view. This book explores Church leadership in the context of the 21st century and to ask how it must change and adapt while being true to its roots; it brings together insights from theology, history, and the social sciences in a way that will show that it has much to learn from contemporary leadership studies while also being different in important ways. Many leadership studies either ignore the need for leadership to be properly ecclesiologically grounded and hence risk simply uncritically importing secular models, or put forward a simplistic biblical view of leadership which fails to make creative use of what can be learned from secular studies. To ignore the present context of the Church, as some studies do, is to fail to see how previous explorations of Church leadership are based upon assumptions or presuppositions which are no longer valid thus perpetuating anachronistic models of leadership and the Church that hinder its ability to move forward. The book will attempt to redress these imbalances.

'In times of tumultuous change - especially for the church - either insulation or invention is a natural response: reverting to assertions about Eternal Truth, or casting about in hopes of catching current wisdom. This book takes neither course; rather, by surveying a wide range of theologians from ages past and present, it provides an historical warrant for employing creative imagination in developing Christian leaders. This book is an especially articulate appeal for the role of empowered lay leadership in the reformation of the Church.' - The Rev. Dr. David J. Schlafer, Homiletical Formation, Bethesda, MD, USA.

The Reverend Prebendary Dr Graham Dodds is Principal of the School of Formation, Diocese of Bath and Wells and and advisor of the Bishop of Bath and Wells in educational matters. Mervyn Davies is Scholar-in-Residence at Sarum College, Salisbury, and honorary Senior Lecturer in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at Bristol University.