Description: Church leadership and authority have been perennial theological issues facing Protestant churches of the Reformed tradition since the sixteenth century. What is ordination and what occurs when the Church ordains women and men to offices are questions that Reformed churches have attempted to answer for over five hundred years. In Here I Am, Lord, Send Me, Neal Presa combs the rich confessional, constitutional, and theological tradition of the Reformed churches. He critiques previous methods that have tried to answer questions of the meaning of ordination, and then proposes a new methodology that focuses on the ritual and stories of ordination, the shape and content of an assembly's worship. This work provides pathways for deeper and helpful engagement with present church debates and ecumenical discussions on ordination and ecclesiastical authority.
Brief description:
Neal D. Presa is Executive Presbyter of the Presbytery of San Jose. Additionally, he is Affiliate Associate Professor of Preaching at Fuller Theological Seminary, and a Fellow of The Center for Pastor Theologians. He served pastorates in New Jersey and California for two decades, as well as a senior seminary administrator and faculty member at New Brunswick Theological Seminary, and visiting/adjunct/research fellow faculty roles at theological schools in the United States, Philippines, and South Africa. He is a past Moderator of the 220th General Assembly (2012) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and past chair of the board of trustees of the Presbyterian Foundation. A national and global ecumenist, he is a member of both the Central Committee and Executive Committee of the World Council of Churches, where he leads the Finance Policy Committee.
Review Quotes: "Here I Am, Lord, Send Me offers analysis and answers drawn from liturgical theology, ritual studies, and narrative theory tested by grassroots congregational life. Presa offers a vital vision of unity with difference, shaped by tradition and hope. He traces the holy/human relationship of ordination that carries the three marks of Scripture, sacrament, and ethics, and highlights the significance of the Reformation contribution to the holy catholic church of Jesus Christ."
--Heather Elkins, Professor of Preaching, Worship, and the Arts, Drew University