The Heart of the Matter: Pastoral Ministry in Anabaptist Perspective

Throughout some 500 years of life as a people, Anabaptist-Mennonites have pioneered their own understandings and practices of pastoral ministry, rooted in their understandings of the teachings of Jesus and the Bible. In 14 chapter, writers who have dedicated themselves to studying and teaching pastoral ministry reflect on what can be learned from viewing ministry in Anabaptist perspective. Pondering Anabaptist understandings of such images of the pastor as shepherd, teacher, healer, and prophet as well as such issues as leadership, authority, ecclesiology, improvisation, and much more, the authors both affirm the resources for pastoral ministry found in the Anabaptist tradition and suggest areas for growth.