Sharing the Body of Christ: Towards an Ecumenically Informed Reformed Theology of Ministry from a Missionary Perspective

Theology of ministry seems to be in vogue these days. There is a growing awareness that questions about the legitimacy, content and structure of church ministry need to be thought through to enable churches to meet their missional challenges. Moreover, these challenges are certainly not just limited to some churches or denominations. There is a growing awareness that the search for an appropriate and credible ministerial expression of the church's mission in contemporary culture is to be ecumenically informed. This study concerns an attempt to explore how Reformed churches in the Netherlands can meet the twofold challenge of mission and ecumenism. What is needed for the development of an ecumenically informed theology of ordained ministry that serves the missionary calling of the church? To answer that question, this book offers historical-theological explorations and systematic-theological analyses, culminating in an articulation of presuppositions, principles, and tasks for ordained ministry.