Defining a Pastor (Oden)

I'm currently reading Thomas C. Oden, Pastoral Theology (1983). Judging by the introduction this seems to be the book where he started to figure out his avowedly-unoriginal "ecumenical consensus" approach to theology which works so well in his big systematic theology, Classic Christianity. As a Baptist in a denomination that currently has virtually no theology of ordination (yes, you read that right) it is challenging to read a book from Oden's ecumenical perspective. However, as Oden notes any emphasis on a distinct ordination of ministers risks undermining the general ministry of the Church (p.26). As a Baptist the danger of an ordained priesthood is that it would seem to contradict the priesthood of all believers (1 Peter 2:9-10). Nonetheless, there is no doubting that even within Baptistic churches, focused on the ministry of the people, the office of pastor has a peculiarity to it which, perhaps because it is so under theologised/theorised often becomes an authoritarian and managerial role. In this, I love Oden's centering definition of the pastoral vocation, as well as his repeated warnings as to how it can be abused.  

All the varied activities of the pastor have a single center: life in Christ. Pastoral theology seeks to point to that center in credible contemporary language and to see every single function in relation to that center. The Center is Christ's own ministry for us and through us, embodied in distortable ways through our language, through the work of our hands, and quietly through our bodily presence. (p. 3)

"The pastor," concisely defined, is a member of the body of Christ who is called by God and the church and set apart by ordination representatively to proclaim the Word, to administer the sacraments, and to guide and nurture the Christian community toward full response to God's self disclosure. (p 50)

Wherever Christians speak of authority or dignity of ministry or headship of the shepherd, these are not properly understood as coercive modes of power, but persuasive, participative modes of benevolent, empathetic guidance. This is an extraordinarily complex, subtle, and highly nuanced conception of authority, but it is intimately familiar to those who love Christ and listen for his voice. The proper authority of ministry is not an external, manipulative, alien power that distances itself from those "under" it, but rather a legitimized and happily received influence that wishes only good for its recipient, a leadership that boldly guides but on on the basis of a deeply empathetic sense of what the flock yearns for and needs. The analogy of shepherd was not promiscuously or thoughtlessly chosen by Jesus as the centerpiece of ministry, but wells up from the heart of God's own ministry to the world. (p. 53)

Anytime ministerial leadership of authority is asserted as a bald, coercive power over the will of the recipient, it has already become alienated from the interpersonal analogies that show evidence of its deeper participation  in the body of Christ. (p. 54)

Jesus prayed: "As thou hast sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world" (John 17:18). A moving analogy her begins to unfold between incarnation and apostolicity, between God's engagement in the world in Christ and our engagement in the world as ambassadors for Christ. (p. 61)

Let me know what you think :-)

Pastors: Making it up as you go along

Last year I read through Eugene Peterson's book The Pastor in about two days. It was a really good read and I read it too fast. But as I went I took notes of places I would revisit. Which I intend to do over a series of blog posts this year. It is a very worthwhile book, especially for pastors, but probably for others as well. The only complaint is that Peterson is an extraordinarily talented individual and I think some of the more outrageous things he did very successfully are probably beyond the reach of many of us mere mortals. Sometimes you think, that is fine for your Eugene, but I am not Eugene Peterson and my congregation/body/family/brain would not let me get away with that!

The first quote that really struck me was this

The vocation of pastor has been replaced by the strategies of religious entrepreneurs with business plans. Any kind of continuity with pastors in times past is virtually non-existent. We are a generation that feels as if it is having to start out from scratch to figure out a way to represent and nurture this richly nuanced sand all-involving life of Christ in a country that "knew not Joseph." (p4)

Peterson struck the nail on the head for me. In modern pastoral life there is no blueprint, only a fairly desperate making it up as you go along. This is my observation of others and my own experience. He quotes William Faulkner's bon mot in describing the experience of writing a book as being equally applicable to being a pastor:

It's like building a chicken coop in a high wind. You grab any board or shingle flying by or loose on the ground and you nail it down fast. (p6)

This I think is one reason why this job feels so difficult. I have worked in construction, manufacturing, education, music and catering and never wondered in those jobs if I was doing the right thing. Sometimes I didn't do it right but there was never any doubt because there really is only one way to serve a salad, build a house or solder a circuit board. But as a pastor there are a million ways to spend your time and often it is deeply subjective. In any other context you have either a boss or a client to please and if they are happy then you have done it right. In the church you have a congregation full of people with differing ideas about what it means for your to be "their" pastor and all the while you know you are supposed to be working only for God but he is often not very vocal while these other voices are very insistent on being heard!

And this making things up as you go is hard for other leaders (lay leaders for want of a better expression) in the church to get their heads around. When I raise things that need to change the most common question is "what do other churches do" as if there is a right way to do it and we just need to copy it. But as Peterson writes "it is a most context specific way of life" (p5), what another church does no matter how successfully will not translate in the same way to another church with a different congregation, a different neighbourhood and a different pastor.


What do you think?

What Pastors Should Really Be Doing

Well a couple of interesting posts recently on the subject,

Pastors should spend less time in cafes drinking coffee from Carey Leadership Blog and

7 Things the Church Expects from the Seminary. Which should actually be titled 7 Things the church expects its pastors to be able to do. To which I say, good luck with that.

Lots of things I'd like to respond to in them but today I don't have the energy. Instead I'll give you 4 things pastors (and anyone else) should base their ministry on based on Mark 1:9-13 the start of Jesus' ministry.

9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” 12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, 13 and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.

So

1. We should minister out of the love and acceptance of our Father in Heaven - not our own needs and agendas. (v11)
2. We should be following the leading of the Spirit - not the latest techniques from the USA. (v12)
3. We should understand our vocation is constantly at risk of being derailed by the temptations of Satan - and so our enemy is the devil not the people who annoy us and inside us as much as outside. (v13a)
4. We should embrace the unpredictability and uncertainty of the company of wild animals and angels - not seek to control our lives so that God's work is limited to only what we can imagine and control. (v13b)

Let me know what you think, :-)

Held-Evans on Pastor Omnicompetence

I thought this was worth a ponder (from here)

Evangelicals expect too much of their pastors.

In addition to demanding they serve as nearly flawless leaders and teachers, many of us demand that our pastors serve as professional counselors and advisors, experts on everything from politics to science to sex to health to money to marriage to relationships.

As a result, some pastors simply crumble beneath the weight of the pressure, “faking it” for years and then burning out. Others develop a heightened sense of self-importance and arrogance, as they slap the word “biblical” in front of each of their opinions, claiming to speak on behalf of God on every given topic.  Still others live complete lies, lecturing the congregation on the importance money management on Sunday while struggling to overcome secret credit card debt on Monday.  Others project their insecurities and obsessions onto their followers and demand that everyone look just like them. Very few manage to remain humble, honest, and brave in the face of our unrealistic expectations.

Let me know what you think :-)

Quote of the Day: Peterson on Pastors

"Impatience is the besetting sin of pastors . . . sometimes you've got to read 300 pages before something happens"

From the following video interview of Eugene Peterson, well worth a watch for a number of reasons.



Thanks to Matt who shared this video with a different quote of the day.  Definately worth sharing.

Also a choice moment, when the interviewer asks how he could have turned down a chance to hang out with Bono in order to keep working on The Message Eugene replies, "Dean, it was Isaiah!"

brick-a-brack 06/01/11

 Cartoon from ASBO Jesus

• Doug Chaplin (UK) complains about American imports (namely creationism)
• Staurt points out a UK report on converts to Islam
• While Jason Hood talks about loving our Muslim neighbours (HT Bird)
• Michael Horton discusses Jesus and Paul
• Marc Cortez calls for more pastor theologians
• Jonathan Fitzgerald calls for more appreciation for the critics of Christianity
• Jeremy starts a new series on using videos in teaching about the Bible

Should Pastors Know Biblical Languages?

A bit of debate on this subject has been caused by John Byron posing the question.  He is answered in the strong affirmative by both Jim and Scott.  Although Jim goes a bit overboard, and seems to think that everyone is capable of the sort of output he is (they're not, Jim is, in this sense at least, exceptional) he does have a point that most pastors are not as overworked as they claim to be, it is more a case of what things they give priority to in their time, if they don't see the ponit of biblical languages then they won't make time for them. 

Scott makes an even more valid point, that pastors with no language training often then try and use what little Greek or Hebrew knowledge they have to add a little magic authority to their sermons.  At this stage they are playing with smoke and mirrors, relying on the ignorance of their congregation to get away with what a first year language student could spot a mile off as dishonest and incompetent. 

I don't think we can expect every pastor to be proficient in biblical languages, I do think if everyone did at least an introductory course in Greek and in Hebrew they would at least be aware of how little they do know and of how different and alien the biblical languages are.  If you have never tried to translate something yourself, you will struggle to comprehend the complexity of the translation process in producing English translations and you will not handle them accordingly.  It is a crying shame that more and more seminaries do not have compulsory language courses, the church will rue this trend in decades to come.

To make a positive reccomendation, I wonder if there is a growing need for some sort of provision for pastors to either start or continue their language study as professional development?  We send pastors away to do leadership and counseling courses, why not biblical exegesis and language courses? 

look what the cat dragged in

• John Byron wonders about a paradigm shift in peer review for scholarship
• Jason Goroncy tells a tragic tale about pastoral ministry
• Elizabeth McNamer digs up biblical women (HT Jim West)
• Edinburgh University has a blog on Christian Origins with some very respectable contributors
• James McGrath gives us all some tips on evaluating sources
• Tom Wright pontificates on the humanity of Jesus
• Jim West helps us to be more accurate about Jesus' speed and timing in Revelation
• Marc Cortez is giving away a big book on Romans
• Maggie Dawn shares a video on the 21st century enlightenment
• Someone is cleaning up the streets of Britain (HT Jim West)

Turkish bath for the soul

The most chilling and disturbing thing today:

God have mercy on America and its legacy of hatred.  (HT RB)

The most heart warming thing today (even though it is from the future)
A retiring Pastors final meditation (HT JH)
God bless America for producing saints like that.

And the net result is . . . an increase in both hope and trepidation for the human race.