One of the Episcopal Church’s best-known teachers and theologians, Richard A. Norris, over the course of his life gave much thought to the character of the church and its leaders — bishops, priests, deacons, and laity; the “all believers†of the title. Norris created elegant, relaxed essays about the church for many different groups of people, from convention goers to seminarians to lay people discerning their baptismal ministry. As a scholar, he also contributed an impressive breadth of academic books and articles, a small representative sample of which can be found in the bibliography at the conclusion of this new compilation.
Revisiting the major themes of Norris, this new book examines the diverse forms of church leadership, whether it is the elected office or, as it is for most of us, leading by example (what Norris called “holy livingâ€). This book also explores essential questions of church leadership, including 'What is the church for?', 'How do the current roles and models of the church’s leaders end up defining (for better or worse) what the church is?', and 'What is the relationship between power and authority in the church?'