The Church and her ministry, no less than other institutions and professions, has been undergoing a serious searching of heart and self-examination in recent years, in the growing conviction that the ""unexamined life is not worth living."" This book on the nature and purpose of the church, the ministry and the theological school constitutes the first part of the report of the Study of Theological Education in the U.S. and Canada, under the leadership of the American Association of Theological Schools. Fully aware of the general confusion in Protestantism as revealed especially by widespread study of curriculum and teaching of the seminaries of the various Protestant Churches, -- the result both of the weight of tradition and of the rapidly changing pressures of the world of men,- the book seeks to re-define the Church and its purpose, to describe an emerging new conception of the ministry, and also to point out signs of new vitality in to schools to meet the situation. The book does not seek to make a popular appeal, but those who are concerned with the effectiveness of the church in the modern world will find it challenging and stimulating, -- and more than a little disturbing. The chief author is the well-known Professor of Christian Ethics at Yale Divinity School.