Ministerial Ethics ─ Moral Formation for Church Leaders

Ministerial Ethics provides both new and experienced pastors with tools for sharpening their personal and professional decision-making skills. The authors seek to explain the unique moral role of the minister and the ethical responsibilities of the vocation and to provide "a clear statement of the ethical obligations contemporary clergy should assume in their personal and professional lives." Trull and Carter deal with such areas as family life, confidentiality, truth-telling, political involvement, working with committees, and relating to other church staff members. First published in 1993, this edition has been thoroughly updated throughout and contains expanded sections on theological foundations, the role of character, confidentiality, and the timely topic of clergy sexual abuse. Appendices describing various denominational ministerial codes of ethics are included.

Joe E. Trull (Th.D., Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) is editor of Christian Ethics Today and formerly served as professor of Christian ethics at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. James E. Carter (Ph.D., Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary), a veteran pastor with over thirty years of experience, is the former director of the Division of Church-Minister Relations in the Louisiana Baptist Convention.