Postcolonial Practice of Ministry

Postcolonial studies has challenged the Eurocentric frameworks and methodologies in the fields of biblical studies and theology. Postcolonial Practice of Ministry is a groundbreaking anthology that enables a new engagement between postcolonial and practical theologies, focused on three key areas of the practice of ministry: pastoral leadership, liturgical celebration, and interfaith engagement. Postcolonial Practice of Ministry will make an impact in at least two areas of theological reflection: first, among postcolonial scholars, it will stretch postcolonial theology into an area where it has been neglected; second, it will provide a comprehensive resource for rethinking the practice of ministry. Contributors to this volume are well-known scholars from different racial, national, and denominational backgrounds, bringing with them experiences of hybrid identities and multicultural churches. Many of them are pioneers in introducing postcolonial discourse to their fields.

This book was helpful for me as I continue to explore the implications of postcolonial theory in ministry and practical theology. The useful bibliographies point the reader to recent important contributions in these fields. As any good scholarship does, this book not only answered questions for me, but it also gave me new questions to pose.... I recommend this book to both scholars and practitioners who care about how to minister to all people., The book offers a vision for a contemporary church facing issues of globalization and pluralization, a church committed to a renewed repentance for what in our own Christian history has torn at and disrupted the missio Dei which humans collaborate in. It is written for pastors, for teachers, for seminarians, for those committed to exploring new models of liturgy, new models of leadership, and new models of interfaith dialogue. Every seminary library should own it, and every church leader looking forward to the next decades of church life should find a way to check it out., A truly landmark volume! And a book absolutely essential for moving postcolonial ‘theory’ beyond the hallowed halls of the Western academy and into the world. This wonderful collection weds two endeavors—postcolonial theology and practical theology—to disrupt colonization and imperialism on the ground and portray what a de-colonizing Christian theology and faith might look like in everyday life, religious practices, and ministry., Postcolonial Practice of Ministry is a first and much-needed anthology that offers the lens of postcolonial perspectives to inform and revise practices of ministry such as care, liturgy, and interfaith collaboration. The editors’ introduction and epilogue offer an engaging orientation to postcolonial thought. Each chapter is an invitation on the journey of decolonizing our Western minds and hearts to imagine more expansively practices of ministry and theological wisdom shaped by the authenticity of our global diversity. I welcome the availability of this resource.

Kwok Pui-lan is William F. Cole Professor of Christian Theology and Spirituality at Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.Stephen Burns is Stewart Distinguished Lecturer in Liturgical and Practical Theology, co-coordinator of ministerial formation, and associate dean of Trinity College Theological School, University of Melbourne, Australia.