Oversight of Souls

The Dragon and the Raven, by G. A. Henty (London: Blackie & Son, 1885; reprint, Preston/Speed Publications, 1995) Hb., 238 pp. This is the first Henty novel I have read to my boys. If you are not familiar with Mr. Henty and his novels I would recommend you check out these sites for more information […]

Barry Maxwell has written a great post on pastoral ministry, especially from the perspective of analyzing on Monday what you just did on Sunday. He entitled it “Another Monday Reflection” and it is essentially a meditation on Rom 15:15-16. While you are at it check out his honest Monday lament, “Another Manic Monday.” (Once you […]

Here is one more Baxter quote as we go into the weekend. may we bear it in mind and by grace be found faithful. “If it is not your object to teach, what are you doing in the pulpit?” (17)

Favorite Norse Myths, retold by Mary Pope Osborne Illustrated by Troy Howell, pb. 87 pp. We really enjoyed this book! I read all of it and so far have only read some of it to my boys. It is a good source when studying the Viking era (as we have been). Some Christian parents are […]

One thing Baxter does so well in The Reformed Pastor is to lay out the gravity of the task. Some of the student quotes in the previous post alluded to this. While I would also want to say the task is also a source of deep joy, this truth of the gravity of the task […]

This is No Fairy Tale, by Dale Tolmasoff (Crossway Books, 2005), hb. 32 pp. This book seeks to explain to children the story of Jesus by contrasting it with the typical elements of fairy tales. This works well especially for families (like ours) which talk about fairy tales and adventure stories. This can be very […]

The students in my pastoral ministry course have now read and responded to Baxter’s, The Reformed Pastor. I thought it might be helpful to pass on some of their thoughts and evaluations. Perhaps their thoughts will encourage and challenge you, and even urge you to read (or re-read) this book carefully yourself. “I was utterly […]

The Fantastic Journey of Pieter Bruegel, by Anders C. Shafer (Dutton Children’s Books, NY: 2002), 40pp. I stumbled across this book one evening in a bookstore and was really interested in the story of this painter. I did not previously know about Pieter Bruegel, but searching through some sources I discovered that he is generally […]

I have mentioned previously that I think Hebrews 13:17 is a key text for understanding how pastoral ministry holds together. It is crucial that we ask what task pulls together all the various tasks of the pastor and acts as the controlling force of the others. Failure to think in this way has led to […]

I have had a deeply moving time this morning simply in re-reading the 8 pages of quotes I have gathered from Richard Baxter’s, The Reformed Pastor, in preparation for the discussion today in my Pastoral Ministry class. I cannot recommend this book too highly. Baxter is simply at his best in working out the practical […]