I love it when another good foundational book comes out to stir our thinking about faithful and effective educational ministry in the church. Anointed Teaching: Partnership with the Holy Spirit, is a welcome new text about what it means to teach and preach the Bible with the Holy Spirit in ways that God can use to form His people in their inner spiritual lives and their outer expressions of faithful living. Pazmiño and Esqueda have offered us thoughtful reflection on what teaching with the Spirit should be like in light of themes they see flowing from our baptism as followers of Christ (“liberation”), our participation in receiving the Lord’s Supper (“celebration”), and the giving of the Spirit at Pentecost (“sustenance”). Like Pazmiño’s earlier works that explored the teaching ministry of the church in light of the Father’s teaching work in and for us (God Our Teacher: Theological Basics in Christian Education) and Jesus’ teaching ministry example (So What Makes Our Teaching Christian? Teaching in the Name, Spirit and Power of Jesus), this book on the ongoing teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit invites us to consider carefully what it means to partner with God in teaching that becomes transformative inside and out. I love being challenged by good friends and this text gives me much to consider as I strive to be faithful in my teaching ministries.
Dr. Kevin E. Lawson, Professor of Educational Studies at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University, and Editor of the Christian Education Journal
The Teaching Ministry of the Church: Second Edition
The second edition of The Teaching Ministry of the Church makes a major overhaul of its predecessor, increasing the content from eighteen to twenty-three chapters and contributors from six to thirteen. These writers assert the need for such an expanded update is due to our everchanging world. For example, the rise of Islamic fundamentalism, proliferation of religious sects, and secularization of our culture greatly increase the importance of ensuring the church produces fully developed, biblically informed followers of Jesus. To that end, The Teaching Ministry of the Church presents a full overview of Christian education in four major sections: Theological Foundations, Biblical Foundations, Preparation for Teaching, and Structuring the Teaching Ministry of the Church.