Practice what You Preach: Virtues, Ethics, and Power in the Lives of Pastoral Ministers and Their CongregationsJames F. Keenan, Joseph J. Kotva Calling for accountability, Practice What You Preach discusses ethical questions that arise in congregations and pastoral leadership. Formation of pastors, empowering leaders, resolving power struggles between clergy and laity-these and other critical pastoral issues are addressed by an ecumenical group of contributors. Divided into four parts: the way the churches train their pastors; the way their pastors live; the way communities worship; and the way communities behave, this collection identifies and offers positive solutions to areas where churches are often slow to change. Each essay begins with a case describing a typical problem-from wages to in-fighting-and then discusses what virtues or character traits might be developed to resolve the problem effectively. |
Contents
Admissions and Candidacy Development | 17 |
Testing Religious Order Candidates for HIV | 29 |
Ordination Marriage and Pastoral Assignments | 43 |
Married Clergy and the Acceptance of Appointments | 56 |
The Way Pastors Live | 67 |
The Pastor and Personal Relationships | 71 |
The Wisdom of Boundaries Power and Vulnerability in Ministry | 81 |
Virtue Ethics and the Sexual Formation of Clergy | 101 |
Inclusive Language and Communion | 171 |
No One Goes Away Hungry from the Table of the Lord Eucharistic Sharing in Ecumenical Contexts | 186 |
The Way Communities Behave | 203 |
Empowering Leaders Chapter Fourteen Leadership in Empowering Others A Case Study from Rural CongregationsParishes | 209 |
Ministerial Malaise and Disillusionment Recovering Hope in Ministry | 225 |
Arbitrating Conflict | 239 |
Doctrine and Ecclesiastical Authority A Contemporary Controversy in the Armenian Church | 252 |
Serving the Church and Facing the Law Virtues for Committee Members Evaluating a Pastor | 268 |
Context Affecting SelfUnderstanding | 115 |
Virtue Ethics and the Problem of African American Clergy Ethics in the Culture of Deference | 128 |
CONGREGATIONS AND POWER | 141 |
The Way Communities Worship | 143 |
Truth in Prayer and Preaching | 147 |
The Preacher and the Virtue of Forgiveness | 157 |
The Measure of Justice | 280 |
His Dogs More Than Us Virtue in Situations of Conflict Between Women Religious and Their Ecclesiastical Employers | 293 |
Collegiality as a Moral and Ethical Practice | 315 |
Contributors | 333 |
Common terms and phrases
African American Armenian Church become Billingsley boundaries candidate Carl Catholicos character Christ Christian clergy commitment Committee communion Coney Island congregation context council courage covenantal culture of deference decision denomination desire director ecclesial ecumenical essay Eucharist evangelism evolutionary psychology faith Father feel forgiveness friends friendship God's gospel habits Holy homosexual human humility Ibid institution issue Jesus John Joseph Kotva justice Karekin Kathleen Griffin Kearney Keenan Key West laity leaders leadership lives male marriage means minister ministry moral Nerses ordination parish parishioners pastor Pastor Lord patience person position practices prayer prisoner provincial superior prudence questions relationship religious orders requires response Richard Bondi role Roman Catholic Ruth salary Sarah seek seminary sense sexual shared sisters social spiritual direction Stanley Hauerwas style teach testing theological tion tradition trust truth understanding unity University Press virtue ethics vulnerable worship