The Spirit's Tether: Eight Lives in Ministry - Softcover

Warford, Malcolm L.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1566994152 ISBN 13: 9781566994156

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2011

Synopsis

The Spirit's Tether: Eight Lives in Ministry tells the stories of eight men and women from their days as students at Union Theological Seminary in New York through their work today as pastors in local congregations over thirty years later. Since 1976 when they entered Union, Malcolm L. Warford has documented their experiences, first in theological education and then through their ministries. Finally, he has asked them to reflect on their vocational journeys and express what their calling has meant to them personally and professionally. The book reveals eight richly textured narratives full of the insight, heartache, and delight that go hand in hand with the practice of ministry--unvarnished truths from eight who have been formed by this work and calling. The Spirit's Tether is a distinctive resource for ministers, congregational leaders, and those in theological education whose role it is to prepare women and men for their sojourns into ordained ministry.

About this title

About the Author

Malcolm L. Warford is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. He has been a pastor in Vermont, New York, and Kentucky; a member of the faculties of St. Louis University, Union Theological Seminary in New York, and Lexington Theological Seminary; and president of Eden Theological Seminary and Bangor Theological Seminary. From 1998 to 2009, he created and led The Lexington Seminar: Theological Teaching for the Church's Ministries, a Lilly Endowment-supported project for seminary and university divinity school faculties.

Review

What is the actual, observable, impact of a seminary education? There are gems of seasoned insight here in a tapestry of narratives and reflections tracing the 30-year careers of eight seminary-students-become-ministers. Warford provides an unprecedented perspective on the real outcomes of theological curriculum. (Theodore Brelsford, Director of Assessment, Candler School of Theology; pastor, Orchard Park Community Church; and coeditor, "Contextualizing Theological Education")

Eight ministers offer us a rare glimpse into the story of their lives from the outset of their seminary education, through early ministry experiences, and the deepening of their vocation into well-seasoned practitioners. Mac Warford persistently tracked their stories, recorded first-hand accounts, sets the cultural and religious stage, and deftly interprets 30 years of their experiences. Such stories, revealed honestly and with great integrity, are indispensable for those seeking to understand how ministers are shaped and formed over time.
(Kathleen A. Cahalan, professor, Saint John’s University School of Theology Seminary; author, "Introducing the Practice of Ministry")

As a Progressive Seminary survivor I was thrilled by The Spirit’s Tether. Malcolm Warford composed the first credible description of my life in ministry from seminary onward. No one before him has written of the refiner’s fire that burned away my tranquil faith, or chronicled the death of cheap grace. (Hollis G. D. Dodge, Pastor, St. Michael's United Church of Christ, Bridgewater, Virginia)

These remarkable stories provide the clarifying and challenging markers needed for those beginning or continuing the vocational journey of ordained ministry. The more we know about these eight, the more we discover about ourselves. We are reminded that a good theological education prepares people for the lifelong learning that occurs in the practice of ministry. (William B. Kincaid, Herald B. Monroe Professor in Practical Parish Ministry, Christian Theological Seminary, Indianapolis, Indiana)

Only a wise theological educator, himself a minister of the Word, could gather and shape such poignant, respectful profiles of seminarians who entered Union’s crucible in the 1970’s and three decades later continue to nourish life in the crucible of congregational ministry.
(Christa R. Klein, President, In Trust, the Association of Boards in Theological Education)

As a parish pastor, I commend Warford’s examination of the journeys of these eight pastors. He insightfully draws out the tensions in which all pastors live: theological and psychological, social and personal, spiritual and ordinary, and offers hope for faithful vocation, nourished by trust in the God who calls. (Mary Barber Reed, Pastor, The Presbyterian Church, Dover, DE)

This window into the lives and experiences of eight Christian ministers over a period of thirty years is a masterful contribution to our understanding of the links between individuals, congregations, and theological institutions. Insights for revitalizing Christian ministry are rooted in actual lives. An indispensable resource. (Tite Tiénou, Dean, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Illinois)

Warford gives us marvelous insights that can help guide theological education, the church, and ministerial formation in the years to come. This book models the gift of looking backward in order to look forward to help craft a better future for generations to come in ministry. (Emilie M. Townes, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Andrew W. Mellon Professor of African American Religion and Theology, Yale Divinity School)

Narratives weave a beautiful, rough tapestry of pastors’ lives wafted across decades of turbulent landscapes of American Christianity. The Spirit’s Tether is insightful...moving...even affirming for pastors, teachers, and others recollecting life, calling, and meaning. (Raymond Williams, LaFollette Distinguished Professor in the Humanities emeritus, Wabash College)

About this edition

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1566994152
• ISBN 13: 9781566994156
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 227