Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Ordained Ministry (Paperback)

by William H. Willimon (Author) "Take a Christian, a follower of Jesus by virtue of baptism..." (more)
Key Phrases: pastoral vocation, congregational context, too many pastors, Jesus Christ, New Testament, Practice of Ordained Ministry (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
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.

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: 386 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: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #21,472 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 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 (REAL NAME)

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.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Job Description for Pastors, February 1, 2006

By	Christopher S. Royer - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

4 of 5 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 (REAL NAME)

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.