The Revd Dr Keith Elford

Bio:

Keith combines organisational consultancy, research and teaching and parochial ministry.

He has been an organisational consultant for over 20 years, and for 12 of those was a partner in Telos Partners in Windsor. He has helped leaders of organisations across the sectors make the changes necessary for long-term, sustainable success, using models derived from systems thinking. He is passionate about helping the church to make use of insights and practices derived from an informed and theologically integrated approach to organisation theory.

Keith delights in working with and supporting church leaders who seek to engage positively with the challenges posed to the church by the world today. He is the author of Creating the Future of the Church: A Practical Guide to Addressing Whole System Change, published by SPCK in 2013. He completed his doctoral studies at Roehampton University in 2022. His thesis explores the relationship between organisation theory and theology in the context of an assessment of the ecclesiological and organisational rationales of the Church of England’s Renewal and Reform programme.

Keith was ordained in the Church of England in 1990 and is currently interim priest-in-charge of St John the Baptist, West Byfleet in Guildford Diocese. He aims to develop the leadership element in Sarum’s work so that it combines theoretical rigour with practical effectiveness.