Leading a local church in the age of the Spirit
Look elsewhere
LEADING A LOCAL CHURCH IN THE AGE OF THE SPIRIT
By Jonathan Gledhill
SPCK. 212 pages
ISBN 0 281 05471 1
Those who wish to understand the mind and ministry of a modern evangelical bishop will find this work a very useful guide. It is a panoramic view of local church ministry based on the author's experience of more than 20 years' ministry in a variety of parishes. Jonathan Gledhill is now the Bishop of Southampton.
The style is easy to read and there are 11 chapters dealing with the issues that most pastors face today. There is clear enthusiasm for the charismatic movement and the ordination of women, yet this exists alongside a concern to promote preaching (having been evidently inspired by the example of Alec Motyer, p.58).
However, my chief concern with this book is that, while the author himself was grounded in a clear understanding of the gospel, there is little hope that the ministry advocated here will produce such understanding in others. To see how the determined, laborious and zealous teaching of the Word of God is the true focus of evangelical ministry one will have to look elsewhere. Nevertheless, for the minister who already has a clear understanding of evangelical ministry this book may serve as a useful source of ideas and inspiration, if used with discretion.
Mark Burkill,
Leyton
© Evangelicals Now - May 2003
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