The Effective Pastor: A Practical Guide to the Ministry [Paperback]

Robert C. C. Anderson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1998

What can I say to parents who have lost an infant' Where do I find the time to be a good pastor and a loving husband and father, too' These are just some of the tough questions most pastors ask at one time or another. And the answers don't come easy. Robert Anderson's practical guide to the pastoral ministry highlights the many aspects of a pastor's job. Here is a volume of excellent ideas, advice, and general rules for the contemporary pastor in his ever-changing ministry.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

ROBERT C. ANDERSON served for 15 years as professor of pastoral theology at Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon, and as senior pastor of Bethel Baptist Church in Portland, Oregon. He also served as adjunct professor of pastoral theology at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary at the Pacific Northwest Campus. Robert is the author of Circles of Influence: Expanding Your Leadership Capabilities in the Church and The Practical Pastor: A Practical Guide to the Ministry. Robert resides in Brush Prairie, Washington.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Moody Publishers; New Edition edition (October 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802463614
• ISBN-13: 978-0802463616
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #373,482 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Practical guide with drawbacks, April 20, 2006

By 

revwec "revwec" (Wynne, AR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Effective Pastor: A Practical Guide to the Ministry (Paperback)

Overview and Purpose
Anderson wrote this book to be "a manual that would help [pastors] formulate basic principles and guide him in specific situations." (xii) His goal is to equip pastors in order that they can meet the various expectations that will be placed upon him during his ministry. The book is divided into four parts, each part is dedicated to a different kind of expectation that will be on him. They are the pastoral role, his relationships, pastoral task, and administrative task.
In the first section Anderson discussing the Biblical qualifications of the pastor and his call from God, the importance of his personal life and a balanced study habit, the many different tool's a pastor can use ranging from books to computers, being ordained, and the role and expectations of a pastors wife. The second section deals with the pastors relationship with his family, with the people of his congregation as a leader, how to work with other leaders in the church, his need to visit and how to preform different kinds of visitations, and counseling. The next section talks about his biblically given responsibilities, how to plan and conduct a worship service, Sunday evening worship service, midweek activities, when to have special events and how to promote them, the importance of the Lord's Supper and baptism and how to preform the services, evangelism, and how to conduct wedding, funeral, and child dedication services. The final section deals with practical matters that are often never even thought about. In this section the author talks about public relations, responding to mail, developing a good music program, Christian education, moderating business meetings, creating fellowships that really matters, youth ministry, and even building programs.
Critical Evaluation
This book is helpful for understanding what a pastor should be and understanding how to deal with the many different obstacles he may face. The strongest point of the book is that it is practical. It tells pastors how to do little things that are often over looked but can cause a pastor a lot of credibility with people.
This book does have some drawbacks. Anderson makes the common assumption that worship is singing and elevates it above the other aspects of the worship service. He makes a statement about deaconesses which is not completely clear what he intends to convey. It is also strange that he promotes lent. He discourages pastors from doing spiritual things like devotions or evangelism and church activities. He also holds a low view on what can be used as the elements of the Lord's Supper. He thinks anything can be used pineapple juice, wine, coke, and etc. His discussion on the tools of the pastor is a good idea but way out of date.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I'm not sure where the author got his wife..., December 30, 2009

By 

Allen Pierson "Allen Pierson" (Buckhannon, WV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Effective Pastor: A Practical Guide to the Ministry (Paperback)

I bought this book as a textbook for college a three or four years ago. It's a decent book with relevant and helpful information. Relevant and helpful, that is, until you get to the chapter about the pastor's wife. It's quite an egotistical, chauvinistic chapter telling us how the pastor's wife should be clean, dressed up, and make-up done when he gets home for his benefit. The house should be spotless and the kids should be calm and well behaved.

Let me tell you, my wife is a fantastic wife and mother, but those are unrealistic and degrading expectations. If she's at home all day every day with my kids, she rarely has time to have the house spotless and her makeup and hair done up. This makes me say, "No, thanks!" to this book.

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A helpful tool for all aspects of the Pastor's ministry!!!, April 10, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Effective Pastor/a Practical Guide to the Ministry (Hardcover)

This author combines his years of experience along with his faith in God to produce a book that will definately be a helpful tool for the pastor's library.