The Practice of Ministry

"I urge everyone entering ministry to read this book as a mentoring guide. Rev. Pinkham Oak offers a model of Reflective practice that she has clearly made her own. Sagacious, learned, and insightful, she not only provides outstanding advice, but provides multiple avenues for accessing and processing assistance as ministers move through their ministry. This should be required reading for all in their initial years of ministry."- Greg Sterling, Dean of Yale Divinity School and The Reverend Henry L. Slack Dean and Lillian Claus Professor of New TestamentA veteran priest, mentor and coach provides vital tools for ministers and church leaders to help them navigate the sometimes challenging life of being clergy. Seminary education is designed to equip would-be clergy with all the necessary skills that will help them navigate their life in ministry. But seminary can’t anticipate everything clerical life throws at them. This book by a veteran priest and clerical coach will help clergy at every stage of their career navigate the complexity, drama and spiritual challenges they will face daily.  Drawing on her extensive experience working with clergy leadership training, mentoring, and coaching, Carol Pinkham Oak proposes a practical, accessible, and highly useful book for building learning communities of clergy peers who reflect together on their experiences in ministry. She characterizes the fruit of this reflective practice in ministry using three overarching themes: Connection, Clarity, and Momentum. A seasoned sailor as well as clergy, Oak uses analogies from sailing to underline her teaching. She writes: “Just like the skill of the sailor can expand each day when the wind, waves, tides and sun are different, creating different dynamics through which to navigate, so the skill of the leader can be expanded each day when navigating the dynamics of human activity.”