CHRISTIAN MINISTRY—MODELS OF MINISTRY AND TRAINING

Written by Jesudason Baskar Jeyeraj Reviewed By David Miller

J. B. Jeyeraj teaches at the Agriculture, Craft, Trades and Studies (ACTS) Academy of Higher Education in Bangalore. This college combines vocational training with academic study, with the vision to equip Christian lay people for service, either within a church or in the workplace. His book, an introduction to Christian ministry, reflects his many years of training Indian Christians. The first section gives an overview of Biblical material on the nature of Christian ministry, followed by a short description of the context in which ministry is done in India. The longest section is a detailed look at different models of ministry, surveying relevant Old and New Testament material. The final section contains five case studies of approaches to training people for ministry.

The author’s overall thesis is that ministry is always done in a particular context, and therefore training for ministry must prepare people to minister effectively within that context. In India this means poverty, caste and religious plurality. As he surveys the Biblical material he constantly makes applications to contemporary issues. Liberation is a recurring theme, but at the same time he acknowledges the need for evangelism, conversion and personal transformation. It is his understanding of the Biblical teaching on the Kingdom of God which underpins his desire for social transformation rather than an explicitly political theology. He is, however, adamant that Christians cannot take a neutral position with regard to politics. Ignoring injustice means siding with the oppressors. His five case studies are fascinating. As one who is involved in training and preparing people for ministry and mission I found them to be one of the most stimulating sections of the book. It caused me to reflect on whether there are ways in which Western-based institutions can interact more effectively with the context around them, to ensure more appropriate training. And of course, those working in, or preparing workers for, the Indian context or anywhere in Southeast Asia, with its twin challenges of poverty and a religiously plural society will find this book contains helpful insights. These include the dangers of non-Western theological and training institutions adopting Western curricula and patterns of training, the challenge to achieve a fair balance in the use of resources between rich and poor churches, and his challenging suggestions for ways of co-operating with those of other faiths to achieve social transformation.

In many ways, however, the book is also frustrating and so my recommendation of it is rather muted. Jeyeraj tries to do too much in attempting to give a Biblical and theological treatment of ministry as well as a comprehensive coverage of Indian society. This means that a lot of issues are treated in a rather shallow manner. There is also some repetition of certain themes, but not in a way which adds new insights to what has already been said. A more in-depth treatment of fewer key issues would have been better. It is also a little difficult to read, and some judicious editing would have helped. Some evangelical readers may take issue with his apparently uncritical acceptance of the triple authorship of Isaiah and a late date for Daniel. However, it would be wrong to dismiss his insights just because he appears more liberal in some of his approaches to Scripture, when he actually takes more seriously the Biblical emphases on poverty and justice than many western evangelicals.

Overall, this book will be helpful within its Indian context. The real challenge it gives to Western readers is to take seriously the nature of the context in which ministry will be done, and to reflect that context in training programmes.


David Miller

International Christian College, Glasgow