Ministry in Three Dimensions

Download or read book Ministry in Three Dimensions written by Steven Croft and published by Darton Longman and Todd. This book was released on 2008 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Ministry in Three Dimensions, Steven Croft outlines the challenges - greater geographical and social mobility, and older, smaller congregations, for example - that today’s society presents to the churches, explaining that models of mission and ministry which were once perfectly adequate no longer work in this new situation.The author identifies some of the potentially harmful ways in which attempts have been made to meet these new challenges, suggesting the use of secular management models as one such false trail. Far better and more fruitful is to recover a biblically-based understanding of ministry.In scripture and through Church history he explores the dimensions of ministry indicated by three different Greek words found in the New Testament: diakonia, presbyteros and episcope, uncovering the rich tradition surrounding what it means to be an ordained leader in the Church.Steven Croft draws out insights from which a new, relevant understanding of ordained ministry can be built across the denominations, and explores how to put these insights into practice, suggesting ways in which each minister can balance the three dimensions in their own setting.