Customer Reviews

Becoming a Minister (Classical Pastoral Care Series)

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Thomas Oden's Classical Pastoral Care series is a pastoral resource of the first order. I highly recommend it for all pastors as an essential foundation for the nature and scope of pastoral ministry, rooted in the wisdom of the Church of all ages and places. I'm using the first two volumes in a seminary course I'm teaching on The Cure of Souls (and would use the others if we had time). One of the values of the series is that it can be read sequentially or in small chunks depending on the particular need of the busy pastor. Perhaps most importantly, Oden has made the classical texts on pastoral ministry easily accessible to the modern pastor.

In each of the 4 volumes of the series, Oden discusses major areas of pastoral care in terms of what Christian pastors, priests, bishops, and theologians have said about pastoral care from the 1st century to around 1700. Because Oden is drawing from what has been the ecumenical consensus from all traditions - early church, Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Churches, Protestants, etc. - the wisdom found in each volume is, indeed, classical. Interspersed with the classical texts Oden provides his own commentary and introduction to the material.

Oden is right in his Introduction when he says that "pastoral care has often been practiced in our time with narrow unhistorical, or even anti-historical assumptions and prejudices." He's also correct when he reminds us that "the whole apparatus of commentary and scholarship has shown a bias in the direction of philosophical, exegetical, and doctrinal questions to the neglect of the practical care of souls." In order to correct these deficiencies, Oden presents an exemplary group of classic texts and writers to help shape the nature of pastoral ministry today.

In Volume One of the series, "Becoming a Minister," Oden arranges his material into the following 7 chapters:

1. The Pastoral Calling
2. The Shepherding Metaphor
3. Authority for Pastoral Care
4. The General Ministry of the Whole Church and the Sacred Ministry
5. Ordination
6. Women in Ministry
7. Preparation for Care of Souls

I found the first 2 chapters especially good, since they give the pastor or potential pastor a vision for the seriousness and glory of the pastoral ministry. Every pastor would benefit from reading this volume and the deep and ancient wisdom embodied in it. It will help the pastor understand more clearly the noble nature of his calling as well as how to better prepare for this calling.

Because this series is so valuable, I find it unfortunate and inexplicable that it is, apparently, out of print.

Oden has an interesting goal, which is to explore *classical* Christian pastoral care. This means that Oden does not use any sources prior to 1700. To many professors of pastoral care, this might seem worthy of a pamphlet, but a four book series, surely not? Truth be known, pastoral care is not a modern phenomenon, despite what most pastoral care manuals might suggest. In fact, if one probes the writings of great Christians from the Bible until the 1700s, great wisdom and insight are available for pastors and priests seeking to better understand and practice their ministerial office.

This volume (One of Four) focuses on becoming a minister, including the individual and community's call, classical pastoral metaphors, and ordination. He discusses different understandings of ecclesial offices, including bishop, presbyter, and deacon. He also outlines the traditional means of preparing for soul care, including moral development, and the balance of academics and practical training. Throughout the book Oden generally embraces doctrines, practices, and metaphors for pastoral care that are based on classical ecumenical agreement, that is, on doctrines and practices that the worldwide Church has embraced. For instance, if Roman Catholics have a particular practice that is unknown to Anglicans and Orthodox, it is likely Oden might explain it, but he will fall back on the more ecumenical view. This makes his book useful for most mainline Christians in the catholic tradition. However, Oden does accept women's ordination, making generally good arguments in its favor.

This book is useful because it is littered with classical Christian wisdom. There is more text quoted from classical Christian writers than Oden himself has written. The major figures, including John Chrysostom, Augustine, Gregory the Great, Luther, and others are liberally represented. Even smaller figures are quoted, showing the depth of Oden's knowledge in this field. Sometimes, the book has so much information built into each chapter it can be trying reading. However, that potential weakness aside, as modernism is dying, and its ideas are seen in a far worse light, Oden's book is a breath of fresh air. Believe it or not, Pastoral Care is far more than just the thought of 19th and 20th century secular thinkers expressed with church terminology. Oden shows that the classical catholic tradition has much value for pastors and future pastors, and I wish this were a standard textbook in today's seminaries.