A broad-brush view of the state of clergy health in contemporary American congregations and denominations, this ambitious, frustratingly uneven but ultimately upbeat book aims to answer the question: is ordained ministry in American Protestant and Catholic circles in a state of "crisis," or simply facing up to the challenge of living in "very interesting times"? A former reporter for the Washington Times,
Witham terms his work a "descriptive look at ministerial variety," and it certainly lives up to that billing. Using copious documentation from surveys, American church history, and interviews across denominational lines, he argues that in spite of such factors as the sex abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic church, the risk of clergy burnout, the older age of those entering ordained ministry, and the challenges of immigrant assimilation, ministers who have certain theological tendencies and personal temperaments will likely thrive. The author examines such topics as how clergy are portrayed in the media and controversial matters like the ordination of homosexuals, and discusses ministry in mainline Protestant denominations, among Southern Baptists, and within American minorities. Regrettably, Witham's solid work is sometimes undercut by tormented syntax that can obscure his astute observations. (July)
