Throughout my professional life, issues of pastoral ministry and leadership have been for me a special focus of theological reflection. I have been privileged with opportunities to serve in diverse settings, which have afforded opportunity to consider fundamental issues and questions—what I have come to consider the heart of the matter in pas-toral ministry—from several points of view. I am grateful for manifold, rich experiences I enjoyed as a congregational pastor, as a prison chaplain, and as field education director and teacher involved in the ministerial formation of seminary students for many years. Those experiences have nurtured my Christian faith and shaped my ministerial vocation. It was in the light of such praxis that I envisioned the project culminating in this book. I mean praxis in the sense of practice that we reflect on, experience that in turn validates our thought. In fact, during my years of teaching at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary I held that practical experience in ministry and formal thought need each other in education for ministry. Without careful reflection, the church loses its vision, its focus. Without experiences of life in the church, formal theological thought loses its context, its locus. My philosophy of field education centers on an action-reflection model of learning and growth. At Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary we seek to provide ministry students with opportunities for integrating formal and practical education, for refining their ministerial skills, for learning to reflect theologically on ministry, and for developing pastoral identity. It is my hope and my prayer that this book will generate further reflection, dialogue, and collaboration for the sake of faithful and fruitful pastoral ministry in our increasingly global society and postmodern culture. I am grateful to the AMBS teaching faculty for their participation in this project and for the excellent essays they have contributed this collection. Special thanks go to President Nelson Kraybill, Dean Loren Johns, and my colleague Daniel Schipani, for their encourage-ment and support. A grant from the Fund for Peoplehood Education of Mennonite Education Agency made possible two substantial, structured faculty conversations around the project. Active participa-tion and a wonderful, collegial spirit characterized these gatherings. A committee including Keith Harder, Heidi Regier Kreider, Jane Thorley Roeschley, and Anne Stuckey provided valuable counsel along the way. I also owe a debt of gratitude to the congregations where I have been a member, as well as to the institutions and programs to which I have related in various capacities. I think particularly of several hundred students who allowed me to have a part in their ministerial formation. I am thankful for so many pastoral leaders and theologians who touched my life and stimulated my theological vision in significant ways. Thanks especially to John A. Esau, who served as Director of Ministerial Leadership Services for the General Conference Mennonite Church, for his tireless attention to vital issues of pastoral ministry and authority. My thanks also go to those who provided assistance during the final phase of this project, especially at Institute of Mennonite Studies. I received invaluable help from IMS director Mary Schertz and from Barbara Nelson Gingerich, who prepared the manuscript for publication. Michael A. King was graciously accommodating as publisher at Cascadia Publishing House. Last, but certainly not least, I thank Beverley, my wife, Godīs gift of companionship in life and ministry. Heart of the Matter orders:
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