"For the hatching of our hearts": friendship, pastoral care, and the formation for ministry

The author explores the notion of friendship by drawing on personal and ministry experience, as well as on philosophical and biblical insights, in order to suggest a dynamic practice of pastoral care and a process of ministry formation which transcends the professional paradigm and the peership principle. He suggests that the power to bless, the ability to extend grace, and the potential for change are dynamics of friendship which are effective both in pastoral care and in ministry formation.