Recent decades have seen a significant shift in emphasis and vocabulary in writing on Church ministry. A rise in the language of leadership and strategy has been accompanied by talk of planning, targets and outcomes, to be addressed in a dynamic, positive and forward-looking manner. Some have enthusiastically welcomed such developments, but others view them with suspicion and concern, not convinced of their appropriateness within the body of Christ. Drawing on the work of renowned psychiatrist Iain McGilchrist, Fullness of Vision, Fullness of Life offers a framework for making sense of these developments, and of the divergent reactions they evoke. The book goes on to offer a vision for a rebalanced mode of ministry, a mode which harnesses the best features of the newer emphases, but sees these as always in the service of God within a broader domain, in which grace, love, joy, wisdom and relationship are prioritised.
Jonathan Kimber is currently the Interim Chaplain at King's College Cambridge. He was previously a parish priest in Northampton, and then Director of Ministry & Discipleship for the Diocese of Worcester. He holds a PhD from King's College London on Leadership in the Church, and is an accredited coach and pastoral supervisor.