Resources for Pastoral Ministry -- The Writings of Eugene H. Peterson
There are myriads of resources -- books, websites, conferences, seminars, educational programs -- designed to help pastors to become more effective leaders in their ministry contexts. However, selecting those resources which will enable you to be the kind of pastoral shepherd you were called to be requires some discernment. The majority of the literature on pastoral ministry focuses on leadership insights drawn from business, government, or military perspectives, and though insights can be gained for the ministry of shepherding, they more designed for the pastor to take on a "take-charge" role, rather than shepherding a community to live Christianly within their context.
This site will regularly feature different authors, organizations, and resources which are based on a different paradigm for pastoral ministry rather than ones that draw mainly from the business world.
One author I have found to be helpful at a foundational level is Eugene H. Peterson. His writings, particularly his four book series on the pastoral vocation, Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Ministry, Working the Angles, The Contemplative Pastor, and Under the Unpredictable Plant, provide a solid theological and pastoral understanding of the shepherding role of the pastor within a congregation.
He relates that the primary action of the pastoral shepherd within the congregation is not to "run the church" -- reminiscent of business models, but to so walk with a community of people in order to guide them to attend to God through prayer, Scripture reading and spiritual direction. Such pastoral action requires pastors to first and foremost to be amongst the community they have been called to serve, to come alongside them in every aspect of life. His insights, drawn from his years of experience and reflection within pastoral ministry are invaluable.
Though there is room for leadership, it is an understanding of leadership that is radically different from the way pastoral leadership is described in most of the literature. Where much of the literature on leadership relates the pastoral role in task-oriented terms, Peterson places the emphasis on pastoral leadership as being primarily people-oriented. This kind of pastoring, I believe, is more apt to engage a community of faith in discovering the presence and power of the Spirit of God in their midst. This kind of pastoring recognizes clearly that Jesus Christ is the head of the church, that he is building his church and that his ministry is not focused through one individual or a leadership team, but through the whole body. The pastoral role is one of helping people see and live in obedience to what God is doing in the midst of the community.
I have just scratched the surface on insights to be gained from Peterson's writings. So, in further posts I will reflect on insights that arise from his writing, but for the time being I recommend to you his writings as a beginning point for thinking differently about pastoral ministry so that you can begin to pastor differently.
This site will regularly feature different authors, organizations, and resources which are based on a different paradigm for pastoral ministry rather than ones that draw mainly from the business world.
One author I have found to be helpful at a foundational level is Eugene H. Peterson. His writings, particularly his four book series on the pastoral vocation, Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Ministry, Working the Angles, The Contemplative Pastor, and Under the Unpredictable Plant, provide a solid theological and pastoral understanding of the shepherding role of the pastor within a congregation.
He relates that the primary action of the pastoral shepherd within the congregation is not to "run the church" -- reminiscent of business models, but to so walk with a community of people in order to guide them to attend to God through prayer, Scripture reading and spiritual direction. Such pastoral action requires pastors to first and foremost to be amongst the community they have been called to serve, to come alongside them in every aspect of life. His insights, drawn from his years of experience and reflection within pastoral ministry are invaluable.
Though there is room for leadership, it is an understanding of leadership that is radically different from the way pastoral leadership is described in most of the literature. Where much of the literature on leadership relates the pastoral role in task-oriented terms, Peterson places the emphasis on pastoral leadership as being primarily people-oriented. This kind of pastoring, I believe, is more apt to engage a community of faith in discovering the presence and power of the Spirit of God in their midst. This kind of pastoring recognizes clearly that Jesus Christ is the head of the church, that he is building his church and that his ministry is not focused through one individual or a leadership team, but through the whole body. The pastoral role is one of helping people see and live in obedience to what God is doing in the midst of the community.
I have just scratched the surface on insights to be gained from Peterson's writings. So, in further posts I will reflect on insights that arise from his writing, but for the time being I recommend to you his writings as a beginning point for thinking differently about pastoral ministry so that you can begin to pastor differently.
posted by Roland G. Kuhl at 2:12 PM
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