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Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Ordained Ministry

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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.

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.

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.

William Willimon introduces his book as his "loving, grateful, but not uncritical meditation upon the ministry of the ordained" after 30 years of pastoral ministry and nearly as many in academia preparing others for ministry. He lays out four theses: 1) Ministry is an act of God, 2) Ministry is and act of the church, 3) To be a pastor is to be tied in a unique way to the church, the believing community of Christ, and 4) Ministry is difficult. He writes the book as a manual, a kind of textbook for those preparing for ordained ministry, and as a remembrance and a recalling for experienced pastors hoping that for both groups it will be a ministry of encouragement.

Willimon's collection of essays regarding the vocational life of a minister has some beautiful reminders. I particularly loved Willimon's claim that vocational ministers are simply "the chief sinner in a ministry of sinners." If such an understanding does not knock one off a pedestal, nothing will! I felt the major benefit of the book was Willimon's discussion of what it means to be a pastor to God's people. Willimon does a concise job of explaining many of the various roles and activities expected of the clergy by any congregation. Further, he tends to show clearly some of the problems which clergy will encounter as they take up or refuse particular roles thrust upon them by the congregations which they will serve. Willimon's book ought to be required reading for any clergy who are feeling worn out, depressed, or otherwise spiritually assaulted. Willimon's emphasis that God calls all Christians to teach a world what is worth wanting rather than teaching a world how to get what it wants, his discussions that pastoral fatigue is a result of one's inability to enjoy the various and manifold intrusions of God into church lives, and his reminder that the role of the clergy is one of "attack" and "rearrangement" and not "relation to the average Joe" ought to serve as an instruction manual for one called to the vocational ministries in the post-Christian culture of the West.
I did find in the book, however, a presumption of the Gospel or an understood world view rather than a clearly defined summation of the teachings which the vocational minister is supposed to teach. This seems somewhat ironic given the author's emphasis on the fact that we no longer live in a Christian culture as well as the upheaval occurring in many mainline churches today. Having read other books by Willimon and having heard a few of his sermons, I have no doubt as to his theological assumptions. But I do wonder whether the teaching is plain for someone just picking up this book for the first time.

William H. Willimon's comprehensive and insightful, Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Ordained Ministry, should be read by all entering or currently working in ordained ministry. Willimon examines the multi-faceted roles of the ordained pastor-worship leader, care giver, interpreter of Scripture, servant, counselor, teacher, evangelist, and prophet-through the lenses of Scripture, Christian history, and post-modern American culture. Although Willimon's elucidation of pastoral ministry is verbose, and at times convoluted, seminarians will nevertheless benefit from gaining a deeper understanding of the nature of pastoral work. Both novel and seasoned pastors will also benefit from this book and find subsequent occasion to use it as a periodic reference to check the content, focus, and health of their ministry.

Willimon begins his book with a persuasive apology for the rationale of ordained ministry based on Hippolytus' ordination liturgy. Willimon's organizes each successive chapter around the aforementioned images of the pastor and disperses six interludes throughout these chapters, addressing issues highly pertinent to ministry such as "The Wonderful Thickness of the Text", "Sin in Christian Ministry", and "Failure in Christian Ministry".

Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Ordained Ministry is not light, leisurely reading. Indeed, if Willimon had condensed his content and reduced his illustrations, his book would have possessed more force and clarity. In addition, on a few occasions Willimon's book discouraged me because of the enormous burdens and responsibilities that fall upon ordained ministers. Yet, Willimon consistently interjects anecdotes and reassurances of God's grace and presence. In the end, it's better to be realistic about the harsh realities of pastoral ministry than naïve and starry-eyed.

Thus, because of Willimon's realistic and comprehensive treatment of ordained pastoral ministry-both in terms of a minister's role and in terms of how Scripture, church history, and post-modern America perceive the minister's role-I highly recommend this book.

I am nearing the end of my seminary education, and this book was assigned to one of our culmination courses. I didn't know what to expect but quickly came to appreciate what Willimon offered to someone like me, trying to sort out my calling to the pastorate and my vocational future. Throughout this substantial book, he offers encouragement about the joys of being a pastor, shares some challenges about the role, and consistently grounds his ideas in robust theological thought and frequent biblical foundations. He is clearly an intellectual and academic, so the entirety of the book is not merely "practical application." But despite his headiness, the book was very accessible, a much quicker read than I expected for a 330+ page book.

To be sure, with such depth and exhaustive content, I didn't agree with everything that Willimon mentioned. I thought his discussion about potentially contentious issues like homosexuality and the ordination of women was rather dismissive, almost implying that those conversations have been unanimously resolved. With his background entrenched in the Protestant mainline, I found his periodic references to the evangelical church to be somewhat caricaturish and overly simplistic. And that mainline background informs his bias towards more "high church" models of corporate worship, which made some of his instructions and examples about how pastors should lead a congregation in worship to be rather disconnected from my experiences in the evangelical, "low church" world.

But with these points of disconnect notwithstanding, I really appreciated Willimon's book. I feel freshly excited about entering the world of vocational, ordained ministry (without feeling like Willimon has offered anything other than a full-fledged commitment to the "priesthood of all believers"). I am reminded of the challenges that surely lie ahead in pastoral ministry. And I suspect that I'll refer back to this book at various points, as a helpful reference book to both theoretical and practical ("theology and practice") aspects of the pastorate. I'm happy to recommend the book to pastors, novice and experienced, for a solid grounding in what we do what we do and how we might do it most effectively for God's glory.

Reading this book is like having a very long conversation with one of the premier pastor of pastors in the United States. Will Willimon has a Ph.D. in theology, was the Dean of the Chapel at Duke University for many years, and is now a Bishop in the United Methodist Church. He has written many books and has written regularly for both Christian Century and Christianity Today's Leadership Journal. He is worth listening to.

Seminary students might want to read the book cover to cover to get 336 pages of reflection and insight into pastoral ministry. They will invariably gain a greater grasp of the types of dilemmas pastors face and some ways of reflecting on those issues. Others will want to have this book on their shelf--to consult when the issue of ordination, pastoral care, and preaching comes up; they can then turn to the relevant chapter and enrich the discussion. While reflecting on contemporary issues in the church, Willimon does significant exegetical work in the New Testament as well as drawing upon Augustine, Luther, Calvin and Wesley.

As both Christopher S. Royer and S. A. Garno note in their reviews: the book is comprehensive in its reflections but is a bit difficult to read because it is so verbose and convoluted. Still, there are insights on every page--each person who reads it will grow in their understanding of pastoring.

I was introduced to William Willimon through his sermons. He is a genius preacher and a prolific writer, having published hundreds of sermons and dozens of books. The insights in Pastor are the fruit of a life long lived in God's service. It is not easy being a pastor amidst the cultural mega-shifts underway. Many of us find ourselves in the throws of a vocational identity crisis. What in the world are pastors to give themselves to? Are they primarily preachers, Chief Executive Officers, ones who empower the laity, counsellors in the clinical vane or spiritual directors in the Catholic tradition? Drawing from a deep well of theological and historical insight, as well as years of pastoral experience, Willimon tackles these and other questions arranged in thirteen well-crafted chapters covering the full spectrum of pastoral theology.
Pastor balances theory and practice, and is full of real-life examples from Willimon's own experience. One example is the way he comes against the individualist spirit of North American Christianity, and calls for pastors to see themselves as participants with all of God's people in transformative communities of faith and not merely as religious managers. I only wish that I had this resource twenty years ago.

Willimon's Pastor is a very thorough and comprehensive look at ordained ministry, from the calling itself to preaching, pastoral care, and leading worship. Finding a pastoral identity these days is difficult, and I found of particular interest his study of the various images held in our culture of what/who a pastor is (executive, therapist, preacher, etc.) and his suggestions for a new image, an image that, whatever it is, needs to be decidedly countercultural, classical, and able to critically asses needs around them.
I enjoyed Willimon's incorporation of the lives and teachings of a good number of the Christian giants on whose shoulders we stand (Augustine, Baxter, Luther,etc). In an age where pastors are trying to explore the newest technique and model to reach a people who are trying to inundate themselves in the novelties of this world, it seems to me that old ways are often the best ways, and Willimon is wise to point the reader to a more classical direction with a mind to apply it to today's world. However, as comprehensive and thorough as Pastor is, it perhaps might be a bit too thorough in that it is not concise, and Willimon says in 330 pages what would better serve pastors if he said it in 200.
In following Willimon's classical references, I would strongly recommend a pastor take some time to read Richard Baxter's The Reformed Pastor as a shining example of tried and true Gospel pastoring and ministry.