I recently had posted on my personal website a document entitled, “On Receiving a New Pastor.” It is essentially my notes for an address I have given to churches who are awaiting the arrival of a new pastor. There is not enough thinking about what a pastor is to do and as a result there …
In response to my posting of a particularly bad resume cover letter, Ryan asked how one should properly write a resume as a pastor. This is a fine question and touches on the broader topic of how we find, recruit and promote pastors today- a broader question which would be good to speak to in …
King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table, Roger Lancelyn Green (1953; Puffin Books, 1994) pb., 330 pp. I really enjoyed the King Arthur stories as a boy and looked forward to reading them to my boys. There are various renditions of course (and I have gathered a number of them over the years), …
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Today in my pastoral ministry course we discussed Gregory the Great’s Pastoral Care, written in AD 590. I first encountered this book after reading Eugene Peterson’s The Contemplative Pastor in which he referred to his views on pastoral ministry being shaped by Gregory among others. I did not know what book by Gregory he was …
Since I recently posted a biblical want ad for a pastor, here is an excerpt from a cover letter sent by a pastor to the search committee of a church. This letter came to a church I was assisting in their search for a pastor. I was astounded by the arrogance and copied by hand …
After discussing Paul’s farewell to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20 ( a passage rich in instruction for pastoral ministry), one of my students produced this want ad:WANTED: Pastor/Shepherd Job Description: Teach and Preach Search Committee Member: Holy Spirit WARNING: Do not apply if afraid of: suffering, tears, persecution, hatred, misunderstanding, hard work, low pay, …
Theras and His Town, Caroline Dale Snedeker (1924; reprint, American Home-School Publishing, 2002), pb. 237 pp. We read this book last school year as we studied Greece and Rome. The idea of the book is to tell a story which provides a contrast between life in Athens and life in Sparta. The story works well …
One of our most useful resources for recommending good books is actually the free catalogue available from Veritas Press. Veritas lists books recommended for use in classical education. We find it useful in our work of classical home education, but I have often recommended as a good resource for parents in various settings. Many of …
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One idea that needs to be reclaimed in pastoral ministry is the benefit of being rooted in one location for a long time. As we resist the ideas of “climbing the ladder” and embrace truly biblical values for pastoral ministry, surely this becomes a goal for us- to continue with a specific people shepherding them …