Responding to the need for a comprehensive and up-to-date reference work for pastoral ministry, Leadership journal and Baker Book House have teamed up to develop a set of three handbooks of practical theology designed to become the standard reference work for pastoral staff and students well into the next century. These handbooks offer insight, background, and ideas for the practice of ministry, covering the full range of pastoral service in today's church and world.

This first volume, with nearly two hundred main and sidebar articles by a hundred writers, speaks specifically about Word and worship. Subsequent volumes include Outreach & Care (Volume 2) and Leadership & Administration (Volume 3).

The Leadership Handbooks of Practical Theology are compiled with a love for ministry and a desire that among the myriad demands of modern church life these volumes may become trusted and valuable friends, readily available to pull from the bookshelf and consult frequently.