The Pattern of Our Calling: Ministry Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

Ministry has always changed, adapting to time and place. But the pace of change has increased. There is a greater need for success and less tolerance of diversity. A few high-achievers hold up their heads whilst others struggle or wonder how to make sense of what feels like failure. Our theology is impoverished and we are so quick to adopt new models that we have forgotten our own past. David Hoyle explores the changing theologies of ministry during the church’s history with the aim of challenging the lack of theological reflection in some of today’s results-driven understanding of ministry that seems more influenced by the business world than by Christian theology and tradition. Setting out to explain why theologians said what they said about ministry, why it might matter, and why it might be exciting, Hoyle covers nearly two thousand years of theological reflection from the Didache to Michael Ramsey and current writers, and provides a synthesis not found anywhere else. The book offers realistic sustenance to practitioners struggling with the new demands on clergy.

David Hoyle is Dean of Bristol Cathedral. He advises on the selection of candidates for ordination training, has taught on two theological courses, and is a governor of Ripon College Cuddesdon. He has been Diocesan Director of Ministry for nearly eight years.
He is widely experienced in ministerial review at a senior level and is on the Archbishops Development and Appointments Group, at the heart of the new leadership culture. He is in demand as a conference and seminar speaker on ministry and the themes in this book.
He has a PhD in Church History (Cambridge) which has been published (Reformation and Religious Identity, Boydell) and taught theology in Cambridge.