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This much-needed book fully integrates principles of pastoral care, leadership, and theology to restore ministers a clearly defined pastoral identity. Moving from a critique of inadequate models for ministry--from community organizer to T.V. evangelist--Oden develops a more classical model, rich in its references to the past and compatible both with the Christian faith and theology through the ages and with current needs.
Further, Oden discusses the call to ministry; the meaning of ordination; pastoral self-understanding, role, and functions; biblical mandates for ministry; the issue of women in holy orders; Jesus as pastoral model; the pastoral office through out Christian tradition; and the five main areas of ministry: preaching, teaching, leading worship, administration, and pastoral care, with a special section on crisis ministry. And with his hybrid of classical tradition and practice, Oden's PASTORAL THEOLOGY will be a standard resource and reference in the filed for years to come.
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