{"id":30,"date":"2005-11-02T17:26:00","date_gmt":"2005-11-02T21:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rayvanneste.com\/?p=30"},"modified":"2013-07-03T15:13:48","modified_gmt":"2013-07-03T19:13:48","slug":"newton-poetry-and-the-pastorate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/rayvanneste.com\/?p=30","title":{"rendered":"Newton, Poetry and the Pastorate"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Poetry is very valuable for pastoral ministry. At one level, it is valuable for pastoral ministry because it is valuable for life in general! Yet, our culture has largely lost poetry. We can see this in a common inability to deal with symbols and appreciate the symbolic. Our flat understanding of language results in misunderstandings and poor exegesis. It also often hinders us in the effort to communicate deep truths. Have you ever noticed how many of the great preachers and theologians of the past wrote great poetry (including hymns)?<\/p>\n

Here is a poem from John Newton about pastoral ministry. It is the source of his famous statement that pastoral ministry is “A sorrow full of joy”. This poem and many other good poems from pastors and theologians of the past can be found in Worthy Is The Lamb: Puritan Poetry in Honor of the Savior <\/em>(Soli Deo Gloria Publications, 2004).<\/p>\n

Travailing in Birth for Souls
\nby John Newton<\/p>\n

What contradictions meet
\nIn ministers employ!
\nIt is a bitter sweet,
\nA sorrow full of joy;
\nNo other post affords a place
\nFor equal honor or disgrace!<\/p>\n

Who can describe the pain
\nWhich faithful preachers feel,
\nConstrained to speak in vain,
\nTo hearts as hard as steel?
\nOr who can tell the pleasures felt,
\nWhen stubborn hearts begin to melt?<\/p>\n

The Savior’s dying love,
\nThe soul’s amazing worth,
\nTheir utmost efforts move,
\nAnd draw their bowels forth;
\nThey pray, and strive, their rest departs,
\nTill Christ be formed in sinners’ hearts.<\/p>\n

If some small hope appear,
\nThey still are not content;
\nBut, with a jealous fear,
\nThey watch for the event.
\nToo oft they find their hopes deceived,
\nThen how their inmost souls are grieved!<\/p>\n

But when their pains succeed,
\nAnd from the tender blade,
\nThe ripening ears proceed,
\nTheir toils are overpaid.
\nNo harvest-joy can equal theirs,
\nTo find the fruit of all their cares.<\/p>\n

On what has now been sown,
\nThy blessings, Lord, bestow;
\nThe power is Thine alone,
\nTo make it spring and grow.
\nDo Thou the gracious harvest raise,
\nAnd Thou alone shalt have the praise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Poetry is very valuable for pastoral ministry. At one level, it is valuable for pastoral ministry because it is valuable for life in general! Yet, our culture has largely lost poetry. We can see this in a common inability to deal with symbols and appreciate the symbolic. Our flat understanding of language results in misunderstandings …<\/p>\n

Continue reading ‘Newton, Poetry and the Pastorate’ »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/rayvanneste.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/rayvanneste.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/rayvanneste.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rayvanneste.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rayvanneste.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/rayvanneste.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3985,"href":"http:\/\/rayvanneste.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30\/revisions\/3985"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/rayvanneste.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rayvanneste.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rayvanneste.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}