Offering the most relevant, effective, and transformative approaches to ministry as it develops a feminist and womanist practical theology, this book brings together the best in feminist and womanist scholarship that deals with the work of ministry in a one-volume format.

Care companions in congregations support others at multiple levels. They walk with people during challenging life situations, including death and grief; become prayer partners in moments of need; and are present in everyday moments of life. Sometimes care relationships arise through informal networks such as Sunday school classes or fellowship groups. Other times people are recruited and trained to become part of the caring ministry of a church. Lay Pastoral Care: A Narrative Approach offers guidance for people across a spectrum of care. Using a model grounded in narrative and collaborative theories, Joretta L. Marshall and Christie Cozad Neuger describe key ideas and practices that inform lay care companioning. They also provide comprehensive curricular suggestions for training lay companions. Marshall and Neuger build on a commitment to mutual learning, deepening spiritual growth, and collaborative support for people who wish to become care companions. Congregational leaders and members alike will discover that the recommended practices enhance the relational and spiritual lives of participating individuals and the congregation as a whole.

Authors Neuger and Newton Poling explore the various crises afflicting men today. Changing role expectations, gender expectations, and diminishing economic opportunities force men to find new foundations for self-esteem and identity.

In this signal volume, Christie Neuger offers a new feminist paradigm for radical, effective, empowering counseling for women. She contends that pastors must take up the challenge of pastoral counseling, especially in light of the revolutionary pastoral implications of gender studies and feminist theology, as well as the continuing personal and social effects of sexism. Neuger's work promises to aid counselors "to help women resist and transform the negative effects of a woman-unfriendly culture" and so to reclaim their stories, their strength, and their lives.

Promote effective partnerships between men and women to end domestic violence! Men's Work in Preventing Violence Against Women examines the experiences of 12 practicing counselors who call on their religious training to form partnerships between men and women that promote an end to domestic violence. In both religious and secular settings, the bulk of the work done to end violence against women is done by women—survivors who have become activists and advocates who have been touched by the witness of survivors. Motivating and educating men to share the everyday work of domestic violence shelters, rape crisis counseling, and abuse prevention is essential. This book challenges traditional images of masculinity, exploring effective—and ineffective—methods of helping men face their own sexism and change their behavior toward the goal of ending domestic violence. Each contributor to Men's Work in Preventing Violence Against Women approached the concept of man/woman partnerships working to end domestic violence and sexual assault with the following questions in mind: In your experience and social world have you seen creative partnerships between men and women that made a difference? Have you seen men in counseling struggle to change their views on gender in order to become reliable allies in the fight to end violence against women? How can religion become a resource for men working to become allies with women? What strategies can men use to help end violence against women? Men's Work in Preventing Violence Against Women includes contributions from Paul Kivel, cofounder of the Oakland Men's Project and of Gvarim: Bay Area Jewish Men Against Violence; David Livingston, author of Healing Violent Men: A Model for Christian Communities; Al Miles, author of Domestic Violence: What Every Pastor Should Know; and Richard Wallace Jr., editor of the Journal of Ministry in Addiction & Recovery (Haworth). Each essay presents practical and theoretical ideas, guidelines for partnerships, and insightful information on sexual and domestic violence. Topics addressed include: Jewish male violence holding Christian men accountable for domestic violence shared experiences of batterers and the people who treat them premarital preparation the dynamics of power in pastoral care engaging Scripture with male abusers helping men become pro-feminist Men's Work in Preventing Violence Against Women is an essential resource for counselors, social workers, clergy, laypersons, and anyone else working to end domestic violence and sexual abuse against women.