The emphasis on pastoral freedom is nearly spentand found wanting. Many caregivers today are seeking to balance such freedom with a sense of God's transcendence and communal order, which entail personal and ritual formation.

In Underwood's resulting spirituality, the soul of pastoral care is prayer. The substance is Scripture, studied in both liturgical and personal settings. The evangelical principle is reconciliation. Baptism lays the foundation for pastoral care by providing the paradigm for all transformations. Eucharist constitutes the eschatological horizon for pastoral care as ministry in the human encounter of God's presence.

This winsomely written book stands at the forefront of a broad movement among scholars and clergy in nonliturgical traditions that aims at retrieving explicitly religious resourcesthe means of grace. The result is a rare, truly ecumenical contribution to pastoral care, which deepens practice by providing a vision and a spirituality.