Women, Church, And Leadership New Paradigms [Hardcover]

Description: This book is about leadership, a scholarly and pastoral response to the urgent demand for the renewal of the contemporary Christian church. It challenges readers to articulate the identity and vision of the church in new ways, and encourages them to revitalize their ministry with fresh insight and passion from women's perspectives. The eight essays written by female scholars in relation to various areas of theological study and the nine pastoral responses to the essays written by ministers from seven different denominations, based on their experiences of actual ministerial settings, provide new paradigms of church leadership--theologically profound, practically relevant, and historically timely. This volume, a product of a collaborative process between academia and church, promises to be a most useful resource to renew the leadership of the church and its vocational commitment to the transformation of the church and society. Endorsements: This is a book befitting the pioneering scholar and leader it honors. These essays advance the essential conversations required for contemporary church leadership with scholarly integrity and pastoral sensitivity. --Lovett H. Weems Jr. Professor of Church Leadership and Director of the Lewis Center for Church Leadership Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington, DC In anxious and disorienting times, these essays provide refreshing and bold paradigms for the future leadership of the church. As befits the honoring of Jean Miller Schmidt, this is a clarion call that pulls us deeply into the leadership of God, that honors the fruit of our heritage, that focuses on the edifying experience of women and others whose witness has been marginalized as a way to the future. This volume is filled with grace, confidence, and vibrant hope. --Rev. Dr. Mark A. Fowler Murray H. Leiffer Associate Professor of Congregational Leadership Executive Director of the Institute for Transformative Leaders & Communities Garrett-Evangelicall*