Theologies for Pastoral Ministry

The Association of Theological Schools (ATS) has received a $788,000 grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help establish its Theologies for Pastoral Ministry project, which aims to create a book series on practical theological wisdom.

Theologies for Pastoral Ministry is being led by Craig Barnes, president emeritus of Princeton Theological Seminary, on behalf of ATS, and it seeks to address the current social changes being faced by pastors and the congregations they serve. The grant, which covers the first of the project’s three phases, started on January 1, 2024, and will conclude by June 30, 2025. The projected completion date is December 2028.

Under Barnes’ direction, the project will develop ten books focused on offering practical theological wisdom for pastoral ministry today. The books will arise from a series of five in-person gatherings of working pastors, (totaling about 60 people) representing the church’s diversity of traditions, race, generations, genders, and socio-economic settings. The gatherings will focus on the pressing questions of pastoral identity and mission, and participants will develop theological affirmations about the contemporary calling of the clergy.

Issues the book series will address include:

1. the social polarization that has divided congregations and the increasingly uncompromising positions of each side,
2. the pandemic and the ongoing need to maintain virtual worship and other forms of ministry,
3. the declining denominations that force pastors to reach out broadly and invite new congregants, which has led to complex questions about maintaining theological traditions,
4. the significant financial pressures that make it hard for many congregations to pay pastors and maintain aging buildings, and
5. the new theologies of ministry from churches of color.