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A Biblical and Theological Basis for Collaborative Ministry and Leadership

The Revd Andrew Dawswell is Vicar of St Johns, Knypersley

Andrew Dawswell notes that collaborative ministry is much discussed in the Church of England. It is usually seen as self evidently right, or as a pragmatic response to diminishing resources. In this article he considers the nature of ministry and leadership, collective and individual, as discussed in Old and New Testament scholarship, and in current theology influencing the development of ministry leadership teams.

Love your enemies

The Religious Enemy : The response of the Church to religious pressure in Acts

I Howard Marshall is Emeritus Professor of New Testament Exegesis and Honorary Research Professor, University of Aberdeen, and Chair of the Tyndale Fellowship for Biblical and Theological Research.

I Howard Marshall contributes the second article in the series entitled Love your enemies. Here he considers the various forms of religious opposition encountered by the Church as recounted in Acts. Opposition accompanies the spread of the gospel because of the Christian identification of Jesus as the Messiah. Luke's account of the Acts of the Apostles recognises that the Christian movement poses a threat to basic values of Jewish communities concerning the law of Moses and the Temple . Love for those opposed to this Christian movement is shown primarily though the preaching of the gospel, the word of grace. Non-believers are not seen as enemies, instead they are sinners and people in need of salvation.

Alien Voices: Listening to Faith's Passionate Agnostics

The Revd Dr John Williams is Co-ordinator for Local Ministry in the Diocese of Wakefield

John Williams argues that the churches need a mission strategy that is about more than reasserting historic orthodoxy as clearly and confidently as possible. There is a need for genuine dialogue, a readiness to listen to and learn from the voices of those who are passionately committed to spiritual exploration and theological questioning, but cannot be part of the church.

Spirituality of Time: Reflections on a Hospice Placement

The Revd Andrew Lord is Curate of West Haddon, Long Buckby, Watford and Winwick

Andrew Lord writes this theological reflection out of his experiences in a local hospice as part of ordination training. The particular limitations on time in a hospice, for those coming to the end of life and for those who are carers, result in an openness to the present. Creation and life are seen in small things. He critiques different approaches to time in the thinking of Augustine and Barth, and offers a variety of models of prayer related to different theological understandings of God and time.


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