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Title: Caring for the Small Church: Insights from Women in Ministry (Small Church in Action) by Nancy T. Foltz, Douglas Alan Walrath ISBN: 0-8170-1175-7 Publisher: Judson Pr Pub. Date: December, 1993 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $10.00

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Average Customer Rating: 2 (1 review)

Rating: 2
Summary: Look Elsewhere for Insight into Ministry
Comment: Although the title and the forward suggests that this book speaks to the practical differences of men and women in small church ministry, sex plays really no role save for some hackneyed observations. Women are more concerned about relationships. Small churches care about relationships. Therefore, women have an important voice in our understanding of small church ministry. Nonetheless, Foltz draws many of her categories and descriptions from men such as Tex Sample and James Hopewell. In itself, mention of these men and their work is not bad. However, the title speaks more to the currents in academia and the mainline church with their discovery of "gender" rather than substantive contributions to practical theology.

Another troubling aspect of the book is its emphasis on the social sciences rather than the traditional resources of the church such as Scripture, theology and liturgy. As a result, God plays little role in the entire book. The book is about leadership based upon relationship and experience. The fact that it is about the Church's ministry is merely arbitrary. Profiles of women C.E.O.s would have taught me more concerning the leadership styles of women and about the same amount concerning the Church of Jesus Christ.

The best example of the book's ignorance of the traditions of Christianity is the chapter entitled, "Caring for Your Spiritual Life." In the chapter, Foltz describes the "cycle of spirituality." This cycle consists of three phases. One phase involves our discontinuities of life--when the need for change is immanent. The next phase is improvisation--trying to make meaning by "reweaving the threads of past experience." The last phase is composition--living out our new situation. Scripture, the Sacraments, or even the Church's rich heritage of spiritual disciplines are overlooked. Traditional categories such as sinfulness and forgiveness are not criticized. They are merely ignored.

Experienced pastors will discover little in the book that they don't already know. For example, one chapter discusses the rituals of church life. These rituals occur on more levels than merely the visible. These unspoken rituals say much about the identity of a church. For example, the dinner to welcome new church members into its fold says something different than not having that dinner. This is not exactly new revelation but still an important observation. Nonetheless, these tidbits of wisdom did not redeem the book.