Celtic Christian Communities: Live the Tradition

Rating:
Summary: Accurate, Insightful, and Practical!
Review: In all of his books, Ian Bradley carefully avoids the oft-made mistake of whitewashing the Celtic Christian tradition, or the mistake of minimizing its vital significance in Church history. This insightful analysis of the tradition seeks to make history relevant for the present by outlining essential elements of the Celtic model of ministry, elements that could successfully meet the needs of a world tired of the structural complexity of the modern church and hungry for authentic spiritual renewal. In each of six chapters, Bradley presents the distinctively Celtic approaches to various aspects of ministry: Monasticism, Blessing/Cursing, Penance/Pastoral Care, Worship, Communion, and Pilgrimage. Each chapter begins with the historical presentation of the ministry methods as they existed in Celtic Britain, and concludes with a reflection on the relevance of such methods in the contemporary Western Church. I highly recommend this book, not only for academics seeking to know more about the rich legacy of Celtic spirituality, but also for church leaders who are serious about engaging in the conception of creative new models for ministry.