Done and Left Undone: Grace in the Meantime of Ministry

An original and thoughtful approach to a grace-filled theology of leadership.

In a post-Christian culture, parish clergy can find themselves at a loss, ill-equipped to deal with a reality for which seminary did not prepare them. As a result, the Church and its clergy can seem to flounder from one "program" to the next or get enamored with secular self-help strategies. To learn to lead well in this new context, the Church needs to help clergy refocus on what both works and is true to their tradition and theology. Enter Scott Benhase, whose Done and Left Undone proposes an ascetical theology of leadership based in St. Benedict's Promise of Stability, Obedience, and Conversion of Life.

The Promise helps clergy move forward from their inward identity to their outward askesis (discipline), their inner life experience of resting in the mercy of God's grace in harmony with their outward role in the church. Benhase believes parish clergy can lead faithfully and well without following a program or leadership style that does not fit them. Leading from ascetical grace does not require parish clergy to be something they are not. It invites them, rather, to a way of being and an askesis that will help them be both faithful and effective in parish leadership.

Author: Scott Anson Benhase
Publisher: Church Publishing
Published: 01/01/2018
Pages: 176
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.48lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.40w x 0.40d
ISBN: 9781640650169

About the Author
Benhase, Scott Anson: - Scott Anson Benhaseis the 10th Bishop of Georgia. He has been ordained for almost 35 years. He served in parish ministry for 27 years and has been a diocesan bishop for eight years. In parish ministry, he had a pattern of calls that led him to parishes that were longing for redevelopment and refocusing toward a deeper life of grace and a robust engagement in the community. As bishop, he has instituted specific, required training programs for all parish clergy so that they can be more effective in their leadership.