booklogging

Amazon.co.uk: Learning for Ministry: Making the Most of Study and Training: Books
Steven Croft & Roger Walton
Learning for Ministry
Church House Publishing, 2005, viii + 210pp, ISBN 0 7151 4153 1

I declare a personal interest in this book: my spouse has been a ministerial student at the training institution that the authors have in common and wrote most of this book from. The book is an introduction to ministerial training for Anglicans and Methodists. The term 'ministerial' is understood broadly to encompass lay ministries as well as ordained and part-time modes as well as full-time. It is a comprehensive book and probably goes into enough detail to be useful while still remaining an undaunting size. The basic perspective is of what is “formation” for and individual and how the different dimensions of it are present in the processes of training that the C of E and the Methodist Church of Great Britain offer. So, the book doesn't only deal with academic matters but also with spirituality, character, community and learning more generally. It sets out what trainees might expect, and offers perspectives and advice for making the best use of what is on offer. It does so against a background of awareness of the common and not-so-common pitfalls and of a holistic understanding of training which is signalled by the use of the word formation (explained in the text). This means that helpful things are said about 'lifestyle that supports' formation (p.167). I felt that there was quite a lot of material which was about managing expectations, for example there was quite a lot on the why and how of assessment in a positively critical fashion which put it into a broader frame.

The text is punctuated with personal stories which launch reflections and which are well chosen in terms of their clarity for purpose. There are also points where the reader is invited to stop and to do their own personal reflection, not only is this good pedagogy in principle, but the questions and assignments suggested are helpful in themselves if undertaken as personal reflection. In fact, I got to thinking that I would be happy to give this book to someone who was getting closer to engaging in a formal training process, but that I would give it along with a nice notebook and a pen and or pencil to use alongside and with the encouragement to meet up a time or two to discuss what the book was raising by way of issues and learning (note to marketers; sell this book with a discount offer on a notebook and pen). I would have thought that publishing this as a workbook, with blank pages and spaces would be worth considering.

I would want to be a little more careful in giving the book to those involved in part-time modes of training, as quite a lot of it seemed most applicable to the full-time context, though I would be interested to hear how part-timers might react to it.

There are many wise and practical things written, and a reader who took the time to engage with the suggested exercises would almost certainly find that it enhanced their preparation for formal training as well as their engagement with the initial stages of it. In keeping with a fundamental perspective of the book, they would also find things that would set them up for ministry beyond the initial training phase if they were consistently incorporated into their way of life.