Academic Vocation in the Church and Academy Today : And With All of Your Mind

This book explores the vital, common, yet surprisingly often misunderstood and neglected vocation of people gifted to combine academic and priestly roles in church, church-related, and secular academic contexts. The works of those who unite priestly and academic functions into one vocation have been vital to the Church since its first-century foundations. The Church would have no practically informed theology or liturgy, and arguably no New Testament, if not for individuals who have been as gifted at researching, writing, and teaching as at conventional ministry skills like preaching and pastoral care. With a specific focus on Anglicanism as one useful lens, prominent voices from around the Anglican Communion reflect here on their experiences and expertise in academic-priestly vocation. Including contributions from the UK, USA, and Australia, this book makes a distinctive and timely offering to discussions that must surely continue.

The Reverend Dr Shaun C. Henson is a member of the Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of Oxford, Chaplain to St Hugh's College, Oxford, and is Associate Priest in the Benefice of Blenheim, Oxfordshire. Shaun, who has been an active priest and academic for the past decade, is the author of the recent God and Natural Order: Physics, Philosophy, and Theology (2014).

The Reverend Dr Michael J. Lakey took his PhD from Durham University. Following a fruitful decade as lecturer in New Testament at Ripon College Cuddesdon, Oxford, UK, Michael is now a parish priest in South Oxfordshire, UK, and an independent scholar working in Pauline Studies.