Curious Cases

“What an amazing resource Curious Cases is. Whether you are a pastor seeking to exercise your theological insight through pastoral assessment or you are a lay person ‘curious’ about the kinds of situations that pastors could encounter, Mark Renner does an outstanding job collecting and creating deep, thought-inducing scenarios for consideration of Christian response. This is a resource to provoke discussion amongst fellow pastors or reflection on these situations on one’s own.”


—Chad Bolosan, pastor, Messiah Evangelical Lutheran Church





“Mark Renner describes engaging and challenging real-life case studies that pastors face in ministry. Though not all cases will connect to a given pastor’s own ministerial context or denominational setting, they nonetheless provide provocative topics to fuel fruitful personal reflection and helpful conversation. Case studies are excellent tools for growth in pastoral care and leadership. In this volume, Renner has provided many to fill one’s toolbox.”


—W. Mart Thompson, associate professor of practical theology, Concordia Seminary





“People’s lives are messy—and so is ministry. Pastor Renner’s collection of case studies, inspired by real-life events, will prompt reflection and conversation about pastoral practice in complicated situations.”


—Joy A. Schroeder, professor of church history, Trinity Lutheran Seminary at Capital University





“Theology can be kept nice and tidy if it is left wrapped in a box. But this collection of case studies challenges us to unleash its power and potential by letting it out of the box and putting it to work in the living context of pastoral ministry. Mark Renner has done ministers of all kinds a great service in providing this essential training material so we can all be better prepared for our own ‘what-ifs!’”


—Carl E. Pace, senior pastor, Zion United Church of Christ