Overture to Practical Theology: The Music of Religious Inquiry

"In Overture to Practical Theology, Jeanne Stevenson-Moessner takes a new route to introduce theology students and others to the field of practical theology. Although she is certainly aware of relatively recent efforts to show the academic credentials of practical theology through careful definition (citing that of David Tracy), analysis of components, and linkages to other disciplines within and without the overall framework of theology, she proceeds by means of a double analogy, rather than abstract academic precision, to illumine practical theology. Actual case studies also helpfully illumine aspects of her work" From the Foreword by James N. Lapsley. The book examines biblical foundations, historical roots, and current manifestations of social justice ministry. Stevenseon-Moessner shows how practical theology addresses racism, sexism, violence, anti-Semitism, ecological imbalance, and life at the margins of society--the vexing issues of today's ministry.

Jeanne Stevenson-Moessner is Professor of Pastoral Care at Perkins School of Theology in Dallas, Texas. She is a Henry Luce III Fellow, former Resident Member of the Center for Theological Inquiry, former Chair of the Society for Pastoral Theology, and a Fellow in the American Association of Pastoral Counselors. She is ordained in the Presbyterian Church (USA).