Reimagining Ministry offers an overview of mission and ministry in Britain for ordinands and practising clergy. It is intended as a contribution to thinking about ministry, in particular ordained ministry in the context of the social and cultural setting of the twenty-first century, several significant theological developments and a perception of the way God through the Holy Spirit is leading the church in Britain.Following an analysis of the situation in which ministry takes place, the author then invites his readers to consider a new and different paradigm of ministry for the church of the future. The groundwork for a new paradigm of ministry needs to include an account of the kingdom of God, which is the goal of mission; the role of the church in the mission of God; and, for reasons that will be developed briefly in the synopsis, individual discipleship and transformation.
The Revd Dr David Heywood is Director of Pastoral Studies at Ripon College Cuddesdon. He was ordained as an Anglican Priest in 1986 and has worked in parish ministry for 20 years.