Books in the SCM Research series

How are cathedrals and churches understood? Are they shop windows, through which to gaze at the riches on offer within the Christian life? Are they flagships of the Spirit? Are they both sacred spaces and community utilities?'Shop-window, flagship, common ground' views the rich ministry and innovative mission of cathedrals through the novel lens of metaphor; and it offers comparative insights on cathedrals and cathedral-like churches.Located in the emerging international field of cathedral studies, the book explores the usage and inferences of a range of metaphors, including 'shop-windows of the Church of England', 'flagships of the Spirit', 'beacons of the Christian faith', 'magnets', and 'sacred space, common ground'.This volume also shows how such metaphors can stimulate different types of research about the function of cathedral and church buildings.With a Foreword by Professor Grace Davie, the book suggests that cathedrals and cathedral-like churches may play a role within 'vicarious religion' theory. It will provide a thought-provoking critique for practitioners and a valuable contribution for scholars of cathedral studies, congregational studies and ecclesiology.

This ground-breaking study provides a unique contribution to the field of Anglican Studies: a detailed historical examination of the development of metropolitical authority and provincial polity within international Anglicanism.

All too often Church leaders may want to work cooperatively with others, and yet find themselves frustrated. Clergy, Culture and Ministry considers the difficulties and challenges faced by any incumbent wishing to interpret and understand what is going on in their congregation and parish, and why it might be happening.Engaging with the work of Wesley Carr, Ian Tomlinson brings theory and practice into conversation by responding to each of Carr's 'propositions' with a 'critical incident' from the author's own parish experience.

The Trinity: A Philosophical Investigation considers the competing accounts of the Trinity doctrine, whether orthodox or heterodox, and aims to respond to objections and explicate their motivations and entailments.

There is a clear lack in the Church of England of a coherent and thought through treatment of evil and the devil within the texts which the Church of England traditionally identifies as the repositories of doctrine. Focusing on initiation, healing and deliverance liturgies within the church, Fight Valiantly seeks to rectify that deficit, considering the Church of England's liturgical practice in the parishes, and highlighting the present danger of worshippers receiving an inconsistent and potentially incoherent account of the relationship with evil.

Development Beyond the Secular aims to provide a new resource for those interested in the study of religions and development (primarily postgraduate and academic), and for those development practitioners wishing to contextualize their discipline within a religious frame.

Aiming to engage in a process which breaks free from traditional academic norms, Undoing Theology explores three life stories: an intersex-identifying Catholic, a former 'ex-gay' minister and a Christian who engages in bondage and fetishist practices.

Much of the conversation and concern of churches and of Christian individuals is centred around Christian discernment or knowing God's leading in decision-making. The language we use around these moments is fluid, and often feels inadequate - ask someone how they 'know' what God might be saying in a given situation and they may well reach for the phrase 'I just know'. In "How do you know it's God?", Lynn McChlery draws on ethnographic research amongst those in different kinds of 'discernment' processes, along with theological, spiritural and psychological insights to try and understand this phenomenon of 'insight' - or 'just knowing'.Challenging the perception that such intuition needs to be marginalised and removed from discernment conversations, McChlery suggests that instead intuition can and should be intentionally matured both individually and in communities; and that it can be verified, articulated and recorded in forms appropriate to its own mode of insight. It is a vital new contribution to the scholarship for all practical theologians researching ecclesiology, vocation, group dynamics in churches, and communal decision-making processes of any kind.

Engaging with the Bible in a small group context has the potential to be transformative, but the picture is not without some complications. Key factors in determining whether a small group can be transformed through scripture include the use (or abuse) of 'experts', the opportunity for challenge in the group, and how study materials are used."Do Small Groups Work?" not only presents extensive research into these questions, with the potential to transform practice, but also offers a unique window into how practical theological research can productively encounter scripture.