Baptist to lead Churches Together in England  

The Revd Dr Paul Goodliff has been appointed as the new General Secretary of Churches Together in England

Paul is presently co-minister of Abingdon Baptist Church, having served previously as General Superintendent of the Baptist Union’s Central Area, and then as the Baptist Union’s Head of Ministry. He is well known as a lecturer and is the author of books on pastoral care, the theology and psychology of shame, and most recently, a study of ministerial formation and virtue ethics, Shaped for Service (2017).

Widely experienced ecumenically, Paul has been a member of the WCC-Pentecostal Joint Consultative Group since 2000.

Paul will take up his appointment in September, following the retirement of the present General Secretary, the Revd Dr David Cornick.

The Convenor of CTE’s Board of Trustees, the Revd Ruth Bottoms, said, 'I am delighted that we have been able to appoint someone who has a breadth of ecumenical experience. Paul is an able communicator and has a passion for enabling the churches to engage together as they seek to bear witness to Christ in our nation. I look forward to working alongside him.' 

David added, ‘It is very good news indeed that the leadership of CTE will be in such capable hands as the churches of England build on their excellent relationships and reflect on ways in which they can collaborate in mission together.’
 
Speaking of his appointment, Paul said, ‘At a time of renewed commitment to the ecumenical process, with a more missional focus to the work as Churches Together in England, I am looking forward immensely to participating in this new chapter of the ecumenical life in England.

'It is a privilege to be able to offer some leadership to this process, as together CTE serves the churches of this land. I hope to prayerfully encourage the whole church of Jesus Christ to ‘move in the Spirit as we are called to transformative discipleship’, to echo the theme of the very recent WCC Commission for World Mission and Evangelism Conference held in Arusha, Tanzania, and which I attended as a delegate.’
 
He continued, ‘As the ecumenical movement in England embraces the mission of God to make Christ known in word and deed, I am certain we discover more of what that transformative discipleship means together than when we do so alone, always trusting in the gracious enabling of the Holy Spirit.'