Duke Divinity School Dean Elaine A. Heath and Professor William H. Willimon have each written essays for a new book edited by three alumni on the art of mentoring pastors to form leaders in Christian ministry.
The book, Mentoring for Ministry: The Grace of Growing Pastors, was published in May by Cascade Books (Wipf and Stock Publishers), and edited by alumni Craig T. Kocher, Jason Byassee, and James C. Howell.
Kocher is university chaplain and Jessie Ball duPont Chair of the Chaplaincy at the University of Richmond and former associate dean of Duke University Chapel; Byassee, the Butler Chair in Homiletics and Biblical Hermeneutics at the Vancouver School of Theology, is a fellow in Theology and Leadership at Duke Divinity School; and Howell is the senior pastor of Myers Park United Methodist Church in Charlotte, N.C., and the author of numerous books on faith and ministry.
The book of 11 essays explore the practice and grace of the art of mentoring, which is described as a grace to be received, a gift to be given, and a skill that can be learned and practiced — similar to all great arts.
In the essays, numerous ministerial leaders share their experience of mentoring and being mentored, their failures and successes, insights, and wisdom. Heath’s essay is titled “Three Practices” and Willimon’s is titled “The Gifts of Mentors in Ministry.” Kocher, Byassee, and Howell also have each written an essay in the book, in addition to one written by Jeremy Troxler, former director of the Thriving Rural Communities initiative at Duke Divinity and current pastor of Spruce Pine United Methodist Church in North Carolina.