Luther: ‘the souls of men and women were a charge which came upon him daily’

I recently came across this comment from Luther scholar, Gordon Rupp. It contains a valuable challenge to any who are involved in biblical study and pastoral ministry. “In the National Gallery there is a Flemish landscape. The artist, Patinir, had never seen real mountains, and he practiced with shards of rock which jut grotesquely from …

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Segler on the Care of Souls

Here is a strong comment from 1960 by widely published Baptist pastor Franklin Segler on the centrality of the care of souls in pastoral ministry. “The care of souls is central in the church’s ministry.  Therefore, pastoral care is a primary function of the pastoral office.  No part of the pastor’s ministry is of greater …

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Carl Trueman on Pastors Knowing Their People

Carl Trueman continues to sound the trumpet of real pastoral oversight.  His latest post is right on target and deserves a wide reading.  His points echo the key concerns of this blog. Here is one quote in hopes of enticing you to read the entire post, “Life Together- Or Not”: “First, I am immensely grateful …

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Gregory of Nazianzus on Pastoral Ministry

This week Matt Crawford, who is doing doctoral work in patristics, pointed me to Gregory of Nazianzus’ (c. 329-390) second theological oration which he preached after having initially fled from his ordination as bishop.  Reading this oration, its influence on Gregory the Great’s Pastoral Care was obvious. The writing is tedious at times and the …

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Scougal, on the Gravity of Pastoral Ministry

One of the items I have required in my pastoral ministry class from the beginning is a sermon by Henry Scougal entitled “On the Importance and Difficulty of the Ministerial Function” (found in The Works of Rev. H. Scougal, ed. By Don Kistler). This time around I required the sermon again but failed to supply …

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John Piper on the Cure of Souls in Despair

When the Darkness Will Not Lift: Doing What We Can While We Wait for God–and Joy , John Piper (Crossway, 2006), pb., 79 pp. I read this little book this weekend and was really helped by it. Piper deals well with the difficult issue of depression. This would be a helpful book to give to …

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