The Fire Still Burns

The Fire Still Burns explores ministry themes in the United Reformed Church, offering personal reflections, historical analysis, and theological discussions. It encourages hope based on faith and experience, addressing challenges like resource decline and the COVID-19 pandemic. The book includes reflection questions, poetry, art discussions, and an extensive bibliography.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 248 pages
Publication date: 28 September 2022
Publisher: Troubador Publishing

The Fire Still Burns delves into a diverse range of themes related to ministry, particularly within the United Reformed Church, but with broader relevance across the Reformed tradition. Drawing from personal experiences, it presents seven distinct yet interconnected personal, historical, and theological reflections, accompanied by descriptions, analyses, and discussions aimed at providing an honest and realistic appraisal of the current situation while offering encouragement and hope based on faith and experience. Each reflection concludes with thought-provoking questions for individual reflection or group discussion, interspersed with occasional interludes of poetry and brief discussions of artistic pieces. Concluding thoughts precede the pandemic, and a postscript extends beyond it. Additionally, an extensive bibliography and list of online resources are provided. The reflections originated during sabbatical leave at Westminster College, Cambridge, a Resource Centre for Learning within the United Reformed Church, during the Michaelmas term from October to December 2019. These reflections have undergone extensive editing, development, and expansion to include detailed discussions on ministry during the COVID-19 pandemic. They are now presented, offering insights into where God's call is presently guiding the Christian Church as it navigates through times of challenge and opportunity.

The primary objectives of this work are as follows:
1. Reflect on over 35 years of personal experience in ministry within the United Reformed Church.
2. Broadly explore the Ministry of the Word and Sacraments within the United Reformed Church, referencing theologians, General Assembly Reports, and recent conversations.
3. Discuss responses to current challenges such as diminishing resources and numerical decline, as well as explore new opportunities and insights, including pioneering ministry and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Weight: 306g
Dimension: 129 x 197 x 31 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781803132488