April 2012 DVD Course Review by Revd Canon John Thomson, Director of Ministry

Last Updated on Friday, 20 April 2012 13:59

Reaching Out: A Practical Guide to Pastoral Caring

(DVD and Course) from the Diocese of Oxford.

Pastoral Care is challenging with ‘sticky moments’ liable at any time. ‘It’s about engaging with human life in all its fullness’ says this course. So the authors have provided us with case studies, bible passages and questions to help us learn ‘what to say and do when you don’t know what to say and do’. The course of 4 sessions helps us face who we are, what caring means, how to listen well, how theology is part of the picture and how Jesus is part of all of this. It uses video clips, drama and has a helpful introduction to its themes and content. We are invited to consider our feelings, our thoughts and our actions in response to a number of situations. The course would be particularly good for a group of pastoral workers and for a parish care group but would also enrich anyone in ministry or who is involved in caring for someone. Why not borrow the DVD from the new resources Centre which was opened on 16th April?

Copies can be purchased from the Diocese of Oxford as long as stocks last. The price is £6 inc p&p if purchased before 30th June 2012. Order forms can be printed from the Oxford Diocesan web site: http://www.oxford.anglican.org/social-justice/pastoral-care/

March 2012 Book Reviews by Revd Canon John Thomson, Director of Ministry

Alastair Redfern, Being Anglican (London: DLT, 2008)

and

Samuel Wells, What Anglicans Believe: An Introduction (Norwich: Canterbury Press, 2011).

With the debate on the Anglican Covenant in full swing, it is worth digging around to get some idea of what Anglicanism is and how it has come to be in its present shape. These two books are easy access helpful introductions.

Alastair Redfern’s book was initially published in 2000. He begins by noting that the Church of England as it emerged from the controversies of the Reformation era rooted its life in common worship and human experience rather that in ideological views of church or Bible. It was shaped around the priorities of pastoral practice, church order, parish and inclusivity. Over time three key views of its unity were advocated but never resolved: the Book of Common Prayer, a distinctive theological method (Scripture, Reason and Tradition) and episcopacy. Essentially Redfern sees the English Anglican church as different fundamentalisms in conversation. He then tells the story of being Anglican through the work of key figures in that history. Richard Hooker provides the foundation with his sense that God participates in Scripture and nature and therefore these sources of insight about salvation are compatible through wise reflection. George Herbert shapes the tradition with his emphasis on parochial identity and the parish church as a praying community for all. William Laud shapes the national church with his conviction that the parish belongs to the wider Christian society within which monarch and bishops have appropriate authority. William Law shapes spirituality with his emphasis on the serious call of God to a distinctive godly life rooted in prayer and practical care for the poor. Joseph Butler enables the English church to grapple with its mission in an increasingly indifferent world with his emphasis upon the value of ordinary life and a personal rather than rationalistic approach to God. Charles Gore reforms Anglican identity by emphasising the witness of the committed community to the wider society in his notion a spiritual aristocracy expressed in moral and Eucharistic witness. Josephine Butler represents a prophetic as well as pastoral witness in her commitment to the cause of female emancipation and dignity whilst Henrietta Barnett embodies the commitment to work among the marginalised as she and her husband sought to connect such parish communities with the wider church as signs from the margins of God’s integrating love. Finally Michael Ramsay, the first seriously travelling Archbishop, represents the increasing need to see Anglicanism as beyond England, a communion held together historically with bonds of history, common worship and affection, but increasingly finding these insufficient as diversity overwhelms memory.

Samuel Well’s book is an introduction to what Anglicans believe as doctrine, the sources of faith, (Scripture, Reason and Tradition), the ordering of faith (worship, ministry and mission) and the character of faith through case studies of English, USA and now global Anglicanism. Much of the ground overlaps with Redfern but the value of this book is its clarity and yet comprehensiveness about Anglican faith.

Both books argue that Anglicans have something distinctive to offer. They help us to locate the current debates in historical, theological and contemporary realities. You can borrow them when the Resources Centre re-opens after Easter.

February 2012 Resource Review by Revd Canon John Thomson, Director of Ministry

James Lawrence, Mentoring Matters: Identify, Equip and Resource Mentors (Warwick: CPAS, 2011)

There’s been lots of work done on leadership development for churches and CPAS with their Growing Leaders Course has been part of this. They now add this excellent user friendly resource on mentoring to further enrich Christian discipleship and ministry at ground level. Mentoring involves helping a less experienced disciple or leader grow through their relationship with a more mature practitioner. The resource pack enables a parish or a deanery to set up a training course to equip mentors to exercise their role reflectively and fruitfully. The pack is divided into three sections. Part one, Getting Started, shows how to establish a church-based mentoring network. Part Two is an 8 session training process for mentors covering a wide range of material using biblical and contemporary insights. Part Three is a resource guide. There is a CD-ROM included. What I liked about the pack was its easy layout, its clear approach and the sense that it could work in any parish or deanery. It also fits within our diocesan vision and strategy since it is all about building up sustainable Christian communities, deepening discipleship and expanding ministry. We have a copy of the course in the Resources Centre so if the upfront cost is too high, why not borrow it from there.

January Book Reviews 2012

January 2012 Book Reviews by:

Revd Canon Mark Wigglesworth, Director of Mission and Pioneer Ministry and

Revd Canon Dr John Thomson, Director of Ministry

Jim Currin, Sharing Faith the Jesus Way

(Abingdon:  The Bible Reading Fellowship)

ISBN 9 7781841 018621 £7.99 pp. 172.

Jim Currin has been a Church Army Evangelist since 1979 and is currently Secretary for Evangelisation at Churches Together in England.  He has vast experience of leading missions as well as training people in evangelism.  He has written articles, a number of Grove booklets  including “The 360 Gospel of Jesus”, which introduces some of these ideas and the website www.jesus360.org.uk which provides support material for the book.

The book is written for those who have struggled to know how to share their faith.  It is presented in a very practical and down to earth way with good real life examples and each chapter includes practical exercises to explore with a friend or wider group.

Jim’s basic premise is that by looking at Jesus’ encounter with people in the gospels we can develop a model for our own encounters with people.  Jim suggests that Jesus responded to the whole person and his response could not be predicted.

Jim develops a model of encounter which seeks to bring our story, God’s story and the story of the person together so they speak to each other.  The three being connected in a triangular relationship.  Our encounters with people involve listening to their story and bringing our story and God’s story to bear on it.

His chapter titles give a good indication of his approach.

• Jesus accepts you as you are.

• Jesus respects the other person and sees their need.

• God’s love is the key to the gospel.

• Prayer, care and share good news.

• Accompany those who follow Jesus

• Your journey, going on with God.

At the end of the book Jim collects 50 things that Jesus said to different people at different times in the 4 Gospels, these are all things that could have been an answer to the question “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”.  One observation he makes that is a challenge to some evangelists, and a liberation for many, is that the word ‘repent’ appears in only one of them!

I highly commend this book to anyone who is wanting to think more about sharing their faith with others.  It could be used by bible study / fellowship / cell groups or for a sermon series. Jim provides notes for a 6 week sermon series on his website.

Mark Wigglesworth,
Director of Mission and Pioneer Ministry

Claire Pedrick and Su Blanch,

How to Make Great Appointments in the Church:

Calling, Competence and Chemistry (London: SPCK, 2011)

This book is for all involved in appointing a new vicar or member of staff. It deals with section 12 meetings, the roles of patrons, archdeacons and dioceses, auditing your parish and examples of interviewing. For those praying about a new role, It’s worth reading to help you prepare for the new world of interviews and presentations.

Two things are happening at the same time. On the one hand the number of available stipendiary clergy is set to fall over the short term as retirements outpace ordinations. Yet on the other hand, the rigour expected of the appointments process has risen. Candidates and those making appointments have a much more demanding process to engage with. Perhaps, though, this is a good thing, since if there are less people available for posts, then it is even more important that the match between person and role is right. Of course no system is watertight and it remains a discernment process to be infused with prayer and careful judgement. At its best this means that those appointed have the confidence of their receiving community and have themselves prayed themselves more fully into their new vocation.

So how can those making appointments and candidates best prepare themselves? Well this is where Claire Pedrick and Su Blanch provide us with an easy to read, clear and wise pathway. Their company, 3D Coaching, has road tested this material with dioceses, candidates and other organizations. They focus good practice but emphasise that this is not just about process but also about listening to God. The title holds the clue. To make a great appointment attention should focus on the themes of calling, competence and character. Without these the outcome will disappoint everyone if an appointment is made. They trace how those involved can get ready, what the discernment process involves, the way selection takes place and how to manage transition.

And lastly a plug: We’ve invited Claire to lead a session called Moving On on 1st May. If you are a curate or someone considering a new role, book that date and come along. Flyers will be out in March.

John Thomson,

Director of Ministry

Both books are available from the Resources Centre.

Book Reviews by Revd Ian Smith December 2011

Preaching like a woman

Susan Durber 
SPCK 978-0281059188
£12.99

Susan’s book is effectively in 3 sections; there are chapters where she explains what she is doing and intended in a set of sermons; there are the sermons themselves and a final chapter on preparing a sermon.

The sermons read very well by themselves and I preferred to read her reasoning behind them after than before. The sermons can be read by themselves and are models of clarity with excellent beginning, middle and end. The final chapter on constructing a sermon is worth reading alone. She clearly works very hard with the biblical text before any sermon emerges.

I found this an immensely stimulating read and would commend it to all preachers. Those who preach regularly will especially benefit from the last chapter but the sermons themselves are devotionally rich.

Review by:  Revd Ian Smith

Fear and Trust – God-centred leadership

David Runcorn 
SPCK 9780281063895
£9.99

With leadership being a necessary ingredient of any parish profile now this book serves as an invaluable corrective to much that is written and absorbed in church today. It is both a profound reading of 1 and 2 Samuel as Old Testament texts that need exploring with fresh eyes and a book of distilled wisdom from an honest and experienced priest.

Careful reading of the Old Testament text reveals the work of God among women and the womb and not the warrior. It also reveals what listening and peacemaking skills are often omitted from busy programmes.

David Runcorn is to be thanked for this timely and beautifully written little book, which at just over a hundred pages says more in paragraphs than others manage in chapters. Ideal for a deanery chapter reflection?

Review by Revd Ian Smith