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Fuller John & Vaughan Patrick (eds): Working for the Kingdom - The Story of Ministers in Secular Employment (London SPCK 1986)
This important book by two principals of Church of England theological courses provides a comprehensive English-Anglican view of two of the five kinds of non-stipendiary ministry identified by the (C of E) General Synod of February 1985:
    "
  1. a parish-focused ministry ... exercised by a person in secular employment;
  2. a parish-focused ministry exercised by a person who is not in or who has retired from secular employment;
  3. a work-focused ministry exercised in the context of a person's secular employment.
    4. Such a ministry includes at least two distinct categories: (a) a 'pastoral' ministry with colleagues; (b)a 'prophetic' ministry exercised within the context of the particular employment sometimes known as 'ministry to structures'
  4. a 'sector' ministry in which a person may be exercising a specialist ministry involving particular skills or training which may have been previously acquired
  5. a 'local non-stipendiary ministry' which in some dioceses is known as 'local ordained ministry'. " [Quote p xv from Fuller & Vaughan's account of the Synod]
The book specifically addresses categories 1 and 3 and leaves the others alone.

The central portion of the book is "Stories by Ministers in Secular Employment." It summarises the experiences and perceptions of 32 MSE's 26 of them priests 5 deacons and one a deaconess. Virtually all of these people were

"professional people often at middle-management level" [Quote p10].

The stories are consolidated into five threads: An interview protocol is provided which was used by the authors in their research and could be a pattern for an enquiry into how work-focused PSE's perceive their ministry in the world of work.
The insights revealed in these stories provide useful indications and cross-checks for a theology of PSE.
A range of individual contributors reflect of the stories providing commentary on: Patrick Vaugan provides a helpful perspective on MSE in the context of church history. Going into the detail he establishes that there is ample evidence of MSE at all stages of the Church's development from the very beginnings. There is exhaustive discussion of "The Pauline Precedent" [pp 121-133] evidence from patristic literature canons and elsewhere. The point at issue is always the same:

"the monks used work as a means of separating themselves from the world whereas the Cynics Paul and his associates and the rabbis all made work the location where mental and spiritual endeavours encountered the material world in fruitful exchange." [Quote p154]

These ancient sources are followed by a review of the provisions for secular occupations among the clergy in post-Reformation England.

"Pre-Reformation clergy were ordained to an 'office' as often as not unconnected with parochial duties. Late medieval clergy were engaged in all kinds of 'clerical' activity including the highest offices of State. Reformed concepts of the clergy however emphasised the pastoral function of the minister to a particular community ..." [Quote p 166]

This is the basis of the Anglican perception of Parish and Vicar. Quoting the Hodge Report [Convocation of Canterbury report no. 638] Vauhan concludes that

"evidence ... shows that whenever there is a divergence of perception of ministry the parochial structures usually win !" [p181]

The Bishop of Salisbury in his forward bears testimony to

"the truth slowly dawning upon the Church that most of our theologising is doen in the wrong direction. We will start with the Church as we know it and work out to the world instead of asking what the gospel tells us about the world and God's purposes in it and for it and moving from that to an understanding of the Church's work and worship." [Quote p. ix]

"As members of the Church that part of God's creation where the reality of the divine love is recognised celebrated and proclaimed [MSEs] seek to articulate this awareness wherever they are and to bring a gospel critique to bear upon the world's affairs. Typically ministers of the Kingdom expect to find God active in these affairs judging redeeming reconciling -- every bit as much as they know him to be active within the Christian community which has called them to be ordained ministers." [Quote p 206]

"The evidence of MSEs suggests that by and large they see ALL those with whom they work as actual or certainly potential members of the Kingdom. ... many parish priests now seem to be operating in practice if not in theory on a far more 'exclusivist' or 'congregational' model of the Church seeing membership in terms of those with an explicit commitment. Could it be that one feature of future MSE stories might be a recall to the Church at large to return to its more inclusive heritage ?" [Quote p 208]

As a background to the above we may venture to delineate the features of the Vicar-model ministry - (Not so long ago this list would have included 'male' as a further item. 'Prophetic' is another that could have been included though I would incorporate it under 'Pastoral'.) To preserve a recognisable priesthood consideration could be given to changing just one of the descriptive characteristics and seeing what kind of ministry emerges.

The modern Church has been considering - since at least the 1980's - which characteristics of the Vicar model can be modified while retaining a recognisable pattern of priestly ministry. The Vicar model has two centuries of honourable history but Anglican laypeople are saying that it is time to move on to other types of ministry. They are voting for change voting with their feet and with their pocketbooks.

For a PSE the opinion of people in the secular world about priesthood is significant. We could consider some 'brand awareness' research on behalf of the Anglican Priesthood.

THEOLOGICAL REFLECTIONS ON THE MINISTRY OF MSEs: Contributors to Fuller & Vaughan