Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Ordained Ministry [Paperback]

William H. Willimon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2002

Ordained ministry, says Willimon, is a gift of God to the church--but that doesn't mean that it is easy. Always a difficult vocation, changes in society and the church in recent years have made the ordained life all the more complex and challenging. Is the pastor primarily a preacher, a professional caregiver, an administrator? Given the call of all Christians to be ministers to the world, what is the distinctive ministry of the ordained? When does one's ministry take on the character of prophet, and when does it become that of priest? What are the special ethical obligations and disciplines of the ordained? In this book, Willimon explores these and other central questions about the vocation of ordained ministry.

He begins with a discussion of who pastors are, asking about the theological underpinnings of ordained ministry, and then moves on to what pastors do, looking at the distinctive roles the pastor must fulfill. The book also draws on great teachers of the Christian tradition to demonstrate that, while much about Christian ministry has changed, its core concerns--preaching the word, the care of souls, the sacramental life of congregations--remains the same.

Ordained ministry is a vocation to which we are called, not a profession that we choose. To answer that call is to open oneself to heartache and sometimes hardship; yet, given the one who calls, it is to make oneself available to deep and profound joy as well.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

A comprehensive guide to the joys and challenges of pastoral ministry by one of today's foremost preachers. "For anyone who is working out 'with fear and trembling' what it means to be in ministry, this book is a gift. Will Willimon's book is solid theology with a profound understanding of Scripture for this ministerial calling." --Tony Campolo, Eastern College "Pastors are a battered breed these days. Images and impressions range from cheap to glittering to dogged. Will Willimon will have none of it; he counters with an enormous infusion of dignity, but it is dignity without a trace of pomposity. By articulating our baptismal, biblical, and theological foundations, he trumps a demeaning culture and a trivializing church, and restores honor to our vocations." --Eugene H. Peterson, Professor Emeritus of Spiritual Theology, Regent College. "There is great confusion these days about the role and function of a Protestant pastor. Writing out of his deep knowledge of Scripture and church history, and out of his long experience in the pastorate, Willimon furnishes some clear and compelling answers. I would recommend that every pastor and seminarian read, study, and reflect on this book." Elizabeth Achtemeier, Union Theological Seminary in Virginia "Pastor is the crowning achievement of Willimon's years of experience and research. It covers everything, from one's calling to ministry to every facet of personal and pastoral work with thoroughness and evangelical passion. Anyone who follows this theologically grounded, deeply practical guide will experience a rebirth of their calling and evolution of their ministry." Robert Webber, Northern Seminary

Product Details

• Paperback: 392 pages
• Publisher: Abingdon Press (January 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0687045320
• ISBN-13: 978-0687045327
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #66,519 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

William H. Willimon is Presiding Bishop of the North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church, Birmingham, AL area, and Visiting Research Professor, Duke Divinity School, Durham, NC. Prior to his current position he served for twenty years as Professor of Christian Ministry and Dean of Duke University Chapel. He is the author of fifty books, and over a million copies of his books have been sold. His articles have appeared in many publications including The Christian Ministry, Quarterly Review, Liturgy, Worship, and Christianity Today. His Pulpit Resource is used each week by over eight thousand pastors in the U.S.A., Canada, and Australia. He was selected in a Baylor University survey as one of the "Twelve Most Effective Preachers in the English-Speaking World."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Hard-Hitting Look at Pastoral Ministry, January 29, 2005

By 

Claudia Nalven - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Ordained Ministry (Paperback)

If you are considering the ordained ministry, "Pastor" will either reinforce your call or knock you to your senses. Willimon examines both the theology and praxis of the pastoral role. He examines the traditional images of pastor and draws a clear and challenging picture of the ordained minister in the context of the counter-cultural mission of the church.

Co-author of "Resident Aliens," Willimon bases his understanding of the pastor on the assumption that the church's role is to proclaim a radical new reality. He calls us to expand our view of evangelism and conversion beyond the altar call to that of "the destruction and reconstruction of worlds." (p. 231) Specifically, he means, the destruction of a world formed by secular or pagan thought to one created by the proclamation of scripture. The purpose, he says, is to form a prophetic community that dares to speak the truth in love - both to one another and to society.

Willimon confronts the difficulties of pastoral ministry. It is not for the faint-hearted. The Good News, he says, is both attractive and repulsive. He describes the pastor's duty to preach boldly despite human ambivalence regarding their desire to be free of "the sin that clings so closely." (Hebrews 12:1)

I found this job description of shaping a robust community that builds up each other in truth and speaks prophetically to the world to be exciting and challenging. It is a ministry of the Word and Sacrament in its fullest sense - in that we are forming people by the Word to be sacramental signs and symbols to the world in which we live.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What is a "Pastor?", July 28, 2005

By 

S. A. Garno (Ambridge, PA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Ordained Ministry (Paperback)

Throughout "Pastor," it is easy to tell that the author, William Willimon, has 25+ years as a church pastor with all the ups and downs that come with that particular calling. From beginning to end, this book is filled with encouragement for pastors, and lay leaders alike, as they struggle through the bad times and breeze through the good times.

One of the key aspects of this book is Willimon's emphasis on the fact that pastors are fallible human beings just as much as anyone else in this fallen world. Pastors cannot, and their people should not, expect them to do everything right or have the perfect answer to every question. This helps pastors remember that they are still just people. On the other hand, Willimon also reminds us that pastors are also people who are called out by God. According to Willimon there are two basic views of the pastor: "...the first view leads to a `high' theology of ordination in which the minister is `appointed by Christ to take Christ's place as host at the table.' The other view leads to a `low' theology of ministry where someone is merely `called out from among the people to help.' We need not choose between the two. ...The first stresses the gifted, grace-filled quality of ministry...the second asserts the functional, community-derived quality of Christian ministry" (39).

I found Willimon's discussion of "the needs of the people" extremely helpful. He argues that as pastors we try to meet all of the needs of our people all of the time. However, what we should be doing is trying to educate our people as to what are real needs in life and what are wants and desires. As the author points out, "...in this culture desire becomes elevated to the level of need...and because we tend to be a pit of bottomless desire, there is no end to our need." Willimon goes on to argue that this is why many clergy experience burn-out. Pastors, too often, are "expending their lives, running about in such busyness, attempting to service the needs of essentially selfish, self-centered consumers, without critique or limit of those needs" (95). Pastors have to be able to differentiate and discern the real needs from those desires which are elevated to the level of needs.

The single major problem I see in this work is its length. It felt that Pastor Willimon could have said in 200 or so pages what he said in 300+. The book seemed to drag on and the author could get somewhat rambly at times. However, if one has the time to devote to this book and the ability to see past the droning, there is a lot of great advice that could save a number of pastors from the fatigue that so many face.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Why be a pastor?, August 1, 2005

By 

W. A. Bracken (Ambridge, PA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Ordained Ministry (Paperback)

As I read "Pastor", I was constantly asking the question, "Why would anyone ever seek to be a pastor after reading this book?" My thoughts surrounding my answer seemed to fluctuate around whether a pastor can say "no" to his/her calling from God. Willimon rightly states that pastors are called by God to be leaders. And if we believe in an omnipotent God, His will will be done. So, I continued to read with an open mind the thoughts Willimon had to say.

On one hand, Willimon provides a thorough analysis of the qualities that pastors should exhibit, although at times he seems to be a bit long winded in his discussion. He, however, displays an overly high view of the way church is done as well as an extraordinarily high view of the role of the pastor in relation to the church. Throughout the book, he describes the pastor's duties as being burdensome. While in once case "being" Christ to an essentially self-centered world can be burdensome Willimon leaves little room for the pastor to also be a person, sinful along with the rest of humanity. One example, "The pastor bears the chief burden of lifting up that story to the church on a weekly basis, to `open the Scriptures'" (81) leaves little room for lay involvement in opening Scriptures. He also seems to advocate that worship and opening of Scriptures can only take place in the formal church setting and only on Sundays. He diminishes the success and functionality of small groups in being able to transform among its members as well as to the society around them citing the diversity between members creates an atmosphere of "live and let live" in order to avoid confrontation (233).

This disturbing point along with many others gives me reason to cautiously recommend this book. The reader should keep in mind that Willimon seems to speak to a very specific worldview which advocates the Christendom model in an age where many believe that Christendom is progressively becoming a "flat-lined" institution.