Oversight of Souls

Shepherd Press Catalogue Here is another good resource we enjoy for finding children’s books. Shepherd Press (publisher of Ted Tripp’s Shepherding a Child’s Heart material) includes in its catalogue books they publish as well as other books they would recommend. I have previously recommended their commentary series for children. The St. George and the Dragon […]

Jesse Mercer could be described as the leading Baptist in Georgia in the first half of the 19th century. He served as pastor, editor of the state paper, and denominational statesman championing the formation of schools and a mission board. Anthony Chute has written a fine overview of Mercer’s work in A Piety Above the […]

Saint George and the Dragon, retold by Margaret Hodges Illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman (Little, Brown and Company; 1984) Hb. 32 pp., $16.95, ISBN 0316367893 This is a nicely done adaptation from Edmund Spenser’s Faerie Queen, beautifully illustrated. It is well deserving of its Caldecott Medal. The great illustrations captivate young and old, and the […]

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), […]

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 […]

Mark Bustrum, author of the want ad in the previous post, has posted a useful reflection on Barry Maxwell’s posts on pastoral ministry which I recommended previously. Profitable thoughts.

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, […]