Ministry: Leadership in the Community of Jesus Christ by Edward Schillebeeckx, and: Minister? Pastor? Prophet?: Grassroots Leadership in the Churches by Lucas Grollenberg, Edward Schillebeeckx

Abstract

140 BOOK REVIEWS Ministry: Leadership in the Community of Jesus Christ. By EDWARD ScIIILLEBEECKX. Translated by John Bowden. New York: Crossroad , 1981. Pp. 165. $12.95. Minister? Pastor? Prophet?: Grass-roots Leadership in the Churches. By LucAS GROLLENBERG, EDwARD ScHILLEBEECKX, et. al. Translated by John Bowden. New York: Crossroad, 1981. Pp. 102. $8.95. In introducing the book Minister? Pastor? Prophet? Lucas Grollenberg states that the essays presented reflect " the particular situation of the Roman Catholic church in Holland, but [they discuss] a problem which concerns the whole of the Roman Catholic church " (p. 1) . Therefore he is pleased to offer these essays for the reflection of English-speaking readers , and also to make Roman authorities more aware of the need to reconsider ministry on the basis of what is actually happening in "grassroots " communities. He summarizes the questions raised by asking why only celibate men may be ordained, why men and also women from local communities may not be ordained, especially. those who already exercise leadership responsibilities, and why each local community does not have "the right to an ordained minister" (p. 1). These questions also preoccupy Edward Schillebeeckx in his work Ministry. In fact, this work is an expansion of his essay contained in Minister? Pastor? Prophet? which also appears in a somewhat different version in Right of the Community to a Priest, Concilium, Vol. 133 (New York: Seabury, 1980). The four papers which comprise the collection Minister? Pastor? Prophet? were first published in Tijdschrift voor Theologie (no. 3, 1979), having been presented at a conference on ministry held at Nijmegen earlier that year. This background information is important to bear in mind, especially because it is not so clearly stated in the Schillebeeckx volume and many statements found there are made clearer by recalling the origin of the work. However, this particular religious and cultural context does not so dominate or determine the argumentation offered that the books offer little insight for the wider church. In fact, the situation of other local churches is kept in mind throughout. This is seen most clearly in the first essay in the Minister? Pastor? Prophet? volume by Jan Kerkhofs, containing a statistical review of the shortage of priests throughout the world. This essay also contains some reflections on the situation of those who wish to continue to function as married priests or as women priests. The first part of this article (also found in Concilium, no. 133 in an abridged form) is more helpful than the second, which contains some oversimplifications and unexplained judgments. The author concludes by stating that any ministry in the future must require ministers to bear personalized responsibility for the ministry, that ministers serve as members of a pastoral BOOK REVIEWS 141 team, and that the " criterion is always that of functioning within and from a community in the light of the gospel " (p. 20). The second essay by Anton Houtepen reflects on present-day problems in ministry from a theological perspective. Many of the author's observations are insightful, making this essay worth serious consideration. Houtepen argues forcefully that the tradition of the church on ministry shows that service to the paradosis is the specific feature of the pluriform "ministry " in the church. As such, there should be a reintegration or reemphasis given to the unity of catechesis, liturgy, and diakonia as essential aspects of the one ministry. Too much differentiation causes splintering of those elements which together comprise service to the handing-on of the gospel. " Gospel-community and life-style, worship and service form one event of paradosis in the New Testament...." (p. 24). "Ministerial service is there to provide appropriate help in the direction of God's kingdom. This includes message and life-style, preaching, worship, and help in all kinds of distress " (p. 3~) . In offering insights from other disciplines on " religious leadership " J. J. A. Vollenbergh maintains that a new paradigm, that of the selfgoverning group, offers real possibilities for developing the ministries of helper, prophet, and witness in the church. He calls for an "integrated leadership," and a collegial approach to ministry. In commenting on the virtues of "restrained leadership" the author remarks parenthetically: " It is therefore somewhat paradoxical...