This is the tale of an epiphany in a long life and ministry. Writing in the 1970s of his early ordained ministry twenty years earlier, William Vanstone finds himself appointed to build a church in prosperous post-war England – and wondering whether the Church still matters where there are no apparent human needs to be met. Crossing the road he is struck so forcefully by the certainly that the Church does indeed matter that he works for years to analyse exactly why that is so. Love’s Endeavour, Love’s Expense is the fruit of that labour. We are whisked from 1950s suburban utopia to the very nature and action of God himself, and the dynamic of love between creator and creation. Patiently, carefully, Vanstone leads us along the path illuminated for him through years of prayer and contemplation, revealing the creative love of God as something of infinite cost and infinite risk. It is the response of all creation that determines the outcome of God’s risk, and specifically the response of those who recognise his love-in-creation that defines the Church. The Church may or may not do certain things or behave in certain ways (“Enforced conformity adds nothing to the being of the Church”), but its true importance is as an embodiment of human response to the endless endeavour and limitless expense of God in his creation. The Church is the expression of human response to God through which we find health and sustenance, and through which we are inspired to engage with that all-giving love through our work for the world around us. This is a book at once of meticulous detail and immense scale by a pastor and poet whose legacy is of academic rigour and human warmth. Small wonder his books are among the crown jewels of DLT’s list.

This is the tale of an epiphany in a long life and ministry. Writing in the 1970s of his early ordained ministry twenty years earlier, William Vanstone finds himself appointed to build a church in prosperous post-war England – and wondering whether the Church still matters where there are no apparent human needs to be met. Crossing the road he is struck so forcefully by the certainly that the Church does indeed matter that he works for years to analyse exactly why that is so. Love’s Endeavour, Love’s Expense is the fruit of that labour. We are whisked from 1950s suburban utopia to the very nature and action of God himself, and the dynamic of love between creator and creation. Patiently, carefully, Vanstone leads us along the path illuminated for him through years of prayer and contemplation, revealing the creative love of God as something of infinite cost and infinite risk. It is the response of all creation that determines the outcome of God’s risk, and specifically the response of those who recognise his love-in-creation that defines the Church. The Church may or may not do certain things or behave in certain ways (“Enforced conformity adds nothing to the being of the Church”), but its true importance is as an embodiment of human response to the endless endeavour and limitless expense of God in his creation. The Church is the expression of human response to God through which we find health and sustenance, and through which we are inspired to engage with that all-giving love through our work for the world around us. This is a book at once of meticulous detail and immense scale by a pastor and poet whose legacy is of academic rigour and human warmth. Small wonder his books are among the crown jewels of DLT’s list.

This is the tale of an epiphany in a long life and ministry. Writing in the 1970s of his early ordained ministry twenty years earlier, William Vanstone finds himself appointed to build a church in prosperous post-war England – and wondering whether the Church still matters where there are no apparent human needs to be met. Crossing the road he is struck so forcefully by the certainly that the Church does indeed matter that he works for years to analyse exactly why that is so. Love’s Endeavour, Love’s Expense is the fruit of that labour. We are whisked from 1950s suburban utopia to the very nature and action of God himself, and the dynamic of love between creator and creation. Patiently, carefully, Vanstone leads us along the path illuminated for him through years of prayer and contemplation, revealing the creative love of God as something of infinite cost and infinite risk. It is the response of all creation that determines the outcome of God’s risk, and specifically the response of those who recognise his love-in-creation that defines the Church. The Church may or may not do certain things or behave in certain ways (“Enforced conformity adds nothing to the being of the Church”), but its true importance is as an embodiment of human response to the endless endeavour and limitless expense of God in his creation. The Church is the expression of human response to God through which we find health and sustenance, and through which we are inspired to engage with that all-giving love through our work for the world around us. This is a book at once of meticulous detail and immense scale by a pastor and poet whose legacy is of academic rigour and human warmth. Small wonder his books are among the crown jewels of DLT’s list.