Team ministry : an examination of the Prestbytery of Edinburgh's Craigmillar experiment 1970-1977

Abstract

Recent changes in church and society have challenged the traditional ministry pattern of one-minister-one-parish. An arrangement which is being offered with increasing frequency as a possible alternative is team ministry, in which more than one minister - or ministers and (usually) full-time lay people - share in ministry to a congregation or group of congregations. Taking as starting-point a team ministry established in Craigmillar, Edinburgh, by the Presbytery of Edinburgh in 1970, the thesis explores the possibilities and problems inherent in this pattern of ministry. After an analysis of the situation which has brought about an increase in team work in Scotland and England, as well as in the Uniting Church in Australia, a detailed description is offered of the team based principally on two Church of Scotland congregations in Craigmillar, a housing estate to the south-east of Edinburgh. A comparison is then made with other corporate ministries in Scotland in existence at about the same time - in Greenock, Livingston, Drumchapel, Paisley and in the Gorbals area of Glasgow. The discussion about team ministry is then widened by an account of proposals made by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland's "Committee of Forty" (1971-78) of which the author was a member, and by a survey of reports, consultations and published literature relevant to the topic. In the light of this, team ministry is now explored under five headings - the potentially stronger role of the team in equipping and leading the congregation as well as attendant problems; advantages of team ministry in bringing the congregation and the wider community more effectively face to face; matters relating to the health of the team, including the questions of accountability and leadership; and forms of education which will better prepare ministers and others to work together in a team.