Pastors, including clergy, need to be able to provide the right kind of circumstances, teaching and care to enable people to face crisis and come through difficulties stronger as human beings and as Christians. They also need the quality of resilience to be involved in Christian ministry. This book draws on the experience and literature of the desert as well as on resilience studies and on contemporary theology, particularly that of Rowan Williams, and applies theological understanding to the pastoral task.

Acknowledgements vii
1 The need for resilience in pastoral ministry 1
2 Developing resilience: research and themes 14
3 The desert: landscape and metaphor for developing
resilience 36
4 Desert Christians embrace adversity for growth 57
5 Rowan Williams and resilient believing 82
6 From wounded healer to resilient pastor 100
7 A pastoral theology of resilience 120
Notes 133
Further reading 137
Index 141