I n the Christian church Disciples of Christ, a prominent part of the leadership of the local congregation consists of elders. These are lay people, for the most part. The first and major part of this book consists of studies prepared for the elders at First Christian Church in New Martinsville, West Virginia. There are also some other studies on the same model for other purposes and a few samples of materials I had earlier prepared to assist elders in their normal worship responsibilities.

I have served as a minister in the Christian church Disciples of Christ from the time I finished seminary in the spring of 1976. I retired in October 2007 and have continued in a modest role since then. Out of my ministry came an impulse to come to terms with the rich spiritual and theological, pastoral, and personal ferment that I encountered. The bases of that search lay in my reading and study, in my prayer, and in my pastoral practice.

My background includes a BA from the College of Wooster with a major in chemistry and an MS from Purdue University, working in the school of chemical engineering. I left Purdue as a PhD student, having completed everything except the dissertation, in January 2003. I received my DMin from Christian Theological Seminary in 1976 and was then ordained to Christian ministry by the Region of Indiana and First Christian Church in Lafayette, Indiana.

Over the years, I found that my writing in a variety of formats served me well in growing my understanding and capacity as a pastor, sharing the writings as I went along with friends and colleagues and parishioners. These I am collecting in major part in the series I am calling Directions of a Pastoral Lifetime. I hope that the value I have found in them may be more broadly shared.