The Venerable Julian Hubbard, Archdeacon of Oxford and Canon of Christ Church, Oxford since 2005, is to be the Archbishops’ Council’s new Director of Ministry. He succeeds the Ven Christopher Lowson, who will become Bishop of Lincoln in September 2011.
Julian Hubbard’s responsibilities will include acting as the principal adviser to the Archbishops’ Council, the House of Bishops and the Ministry Council on all ordained and licensed lay ministry issues. He will also help shape ministry for the needs of the Church in the 21st century, including by promoting more vocations – particularly of younger people to full-time ordained ministry – and by seeking to ensure that a mission focus is at the heart of the Church’s approach to ministry.
One of his biggest challenges will be to confront his superiors, liberal bishops who place obstacles in the way of evangelical ordinands being ordained. At a time when the Church of England is desperately short of clergy, it cannot afford this sort of foolishness.