Resurrecting Excellence

In the introduction to the book the authors say they struggled with whether excellence was the right thing to commend in Christian ministry. They decided it was and even gave their book the title Resurrecting Excellence. If you are inclined to think that resurrecting excellence is big demand for anyone in ministry don't be put off.  This is a good book that provokes thought and reflection about ministry, what should shape ministry, what sustains ministry and what excellent ministry is. The  subtitle of the book shaping faithful christian ministry says a lot about the book is about and why it worth reading.

The authors define Christian excellence as a life patterned in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ- which is, to borrow a phrase- a more excellent way.  It is this excellent way of allowing our lives and ministry to be shaped by Jesus Christ and his reign that they are seeking to resurrect.  Ministers (the focus of this book is largely on ordained ministry) seeking to resurrect excellence should seek to be ambitious for the gospel and the reign of God.  So the excellence they speak about is not about our own expectations, achievements, efforts or talents.  It is about the excellence of the grace of God and of call to constantly renew a vocation that bears witness to Easter hope and joy.

Ministry shaped by the excellence of the gospel will be lived communal, encourage fellowship,  and be lived at the intersections.  This is a life of interruptions that make room for others.  Such leadership requires attention to living in a such way that you are no spent up, but sustained by prayer and other practices of faith. Christian leaders need to both participate in Christian practices for their own well-being and be able to equip others to participate in the practices of Christian faith. Resurrecting excellence is grounded in discipleship and can only truly be learned and lived in the company of other disciples.  It is shaped by attention to Scripture.

The vocation of those who are ordained can be understood as having three dimensions or models- calling, profession and office.  These models overlap and complement each other.  Each of these models is discussed in the book, both the helpfulness of the image and the distortions that can arise in each model.

Ministry is above all else a gift before it is a task.  It is a call to be overwhelmed by God's 'grace, mercy generosity and joy.'  It is about letting ourselves by embraced, nourished by being attentive to the treasures of the gospel.

To rediscover excellence in ministry is to find treasure and to value that treasure by seeking to live faithfully, ambitious for the gospel of Jesus Christ.  

This is a book well worth reading if you want to think about the nature of minister, especially ordained ministry in a way that draws you into reflecting on what ministry is grounded in, what sustains ministry and how the answer to these questions help shape the practice of ministry.

(Resurrecting Excellence:Shaping Faithful Christian Ministry L.Gregory Jones & Kevin R. Armstrong Eerdmans, Grand Rapids. 2006)