Practice What You Preach Virtues, Ethics, and Power in the Lives of Pastoral Ministers and Their Congregations

by Keenan, SJ, James F.,; Kotva, Joseph

• ISBN13: 9781580510646
• ISBN10: 1580510647
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-10-01
• Publisher: Sheed & Ward

Summary

Calling for accountability, Practice What You Preach discusses ethical questions that arise in congregations and pastoral leadership. Formation of pastors, empowering leaders, resolving power struggles between clergy and laity_these and other critical pastoral issues are addressed by an ecumenical group of contributors. Divided into four parts: the way the churches train their pastors; the way their pastors live; the way communities worship; and the way communities behave, this collection identifies and offers positive solutions to areas where churches are often slow to change. Each essay begins with a case describing a typical problem_from wages to in-fighting_and then discusses what virtues or character traits might be developed to resolve the problem effectively.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	xi
Introduction: Why a Course on Virtue Ethics in Church Ministry?	1	(12)
James F. Keenan
Joseph Kotva, Jr.
PART ONE: PASTORAL MINISTERS AND POWER
SECTION ONE: The Way Churches Train Their Pastors
Introduction	13	(4)
James F. Keenan
Joseph Kotva, Jr.
A. Admissions and Candidacy Development
Christ and Darwin Go to Church: Ministerial Selection and the Candidacy Process	17	(12)
Richard Bondi
Testing Religious Order Candidates for HIV	29	(14)
James F. Keenan
B. Ordination, Marriage, and Pastoral Assignments
Ordination and Immigration	43	(13)
Carlos Piar
Married Clergy and the Acceptance of Appointments	56	(15)
Gilbert Meilaender
SECTION TWO: The Way Pastors Live
Introduction	67	(4)
James F. Keenan
Joseph Kotva, Jr.
A. The Pastor and Personal Relationships
Seeking Out Good Friends	71	(10)
Joseph Kotva, Jr.
The Wisdom of Boundaries: Power and Vulnerability in Ministry	81	(20)
Richard M. Gula
Virtue Ethics and the Sexual Formation of Clergy	101	(14)
Sondra Ely Wheeler
B. Context Affecting Self-Understanding
In the Shadow of the Execution Chamber: Affirming Wholeness in a Broken Place	115	(13)
Judith W. Kay
Virtue Ethics and the Problem of African American Clergy Ethics in the Culture of Deference	128	(19)
Samuel K. Roberts
PART TWO: CONGREGATIONS AND POWER
SECTION ONE: The Way Communities Worship
Introduction	143	(4)
James F. Keenan
Joseph Kotva, Jr.
A. Truth in Prayer and Preaching
Transformed in Prayer	147	(10)
Joseph Kotva, Jr.
The Preacher and the Virtue of Forgiveness	157	(14)
William H. Willimon
B. Inclusive Language and Communion
Imaging and Speaking of God	171	(15)
Diana Fritz Cates
No One Goes Away Hungry from the Table of the Lord: Eucharistic Sharing in Ecumenical Contexts	186	(23)
Margaret A. Farley
SECTION TWO: The Way Communities Behave
Introduction	203	(6)
James F. Keenan
Joseph Kotva, Jr.
A. Empowering Leaders
Leadership in Empowering Others: A Case Study from Rural Congregations/Parishes	209	(16)
Shannon Jung
Patricia Beattie Jung
Ministerial Malaise and Disillusionment: Recovering Hope in Ministry	225	(14)
Paul J. Wadell
B. Arbitrating Conflict
Debating Homosexuality: Disagreements Held in Patience and Hope	239	(13)
Charles Pinches
Doctrine and Ecclesiastical Authority: A Contemporary Controversy in the Armenian Church	252	(16)
Vigen Guroian
Serving the Church and Facing the Law: Virtues for Committee Members Evaluating a Pastor	268	(12)
William Johnson Everett
C. The Measure of Justice
Vicious Virtue? Patience, Justice, and Salaries in the Church	280	(13)
Karen Lebacqz
Shirley Macemon
``His Dogs More Than Us'': Virtue in Situations of Conflict Between Women Religious and Their Ecclesiastical Employers	293	(22)
Anne E. Patrick
Collegiality as a Moral and Ethical Practice	315	(18)
M. Shawn Copeland
Contributors	333