3.8 Renewal.

One of the major problems in understanding how Readers operate in practice is the lack of the type of study that Vaughan (1985) undertook in relation NSM which sought to develop the theology by observing the practice and allowing the ministers concerned "to reflect and articulate for themselves how they understood their ministry and what seemed to them to be its special nature and function".

This lack of understanding of Reader ministry was recognised by the CRC in 1987. It decided to produce a discussion paper on the role of Readers called Readers And The Ministry Of The Church (ACCM 21) and to review the Readers' regulations because of the uncertainty about the function of Readers in the light of profound changes in the church which included the development of Non-Stipendary Ministry (NSM), the growth of Reader ministry and the overall extension of lay ministry including the growth in less formal lay ministries some of which involved participation in the liturgy.

The report that emerged which was based on 1989 statistics highlighted the importance of Readers. This was demonstrated by the existence of 7,522 licensed Readers and by the number of Reader admissions exceeding the number of first time ordinations. The diversity of Reader experiences ranged from uncertainty and anxiety to satisfying fulfilment.