Though Eugene Peterson wrote this outstanding article over two decades ago, today's pastors ought to dust it off, give it another read, and put it into practice.
WOW! This is definitely a must read for all pastors. Any leader in the church would greatly benefit from its wisdom.
Running a church has become more important than care of souls. Pastors who want to reclaim the saving of souls as the 1st and foremost responsibility cannot get a quick fix at job retraining or retreats.
True pastors are interested in who people are and who they are becoming in Christ. Their language is words the heart speaks. Secularized minds label people.
THREE CHEERS (more than that) for Eugene Peterson.
I wonder if this belonged to one of the apostles? Simon the Zealot strikes me as the kind of guy who would wear an earring. I recall the time, when I was graduating from seminary, I received an invitation to start a new congregation in a college town. In the letter, they outlined the vision, the demographics of the community, and their expectations for the pastor. The letter ended with a p.s. -- "and of course, your wife will not be permitted to wear earrings." They forgot say anything about ME wearing earrings. For a while, I was tempted to go ahead, take the position, and get my ear pierced.
I was ordained July 10, 1987, when General Superintendent, Dr. Earle Wilson, laid hands on me, shook my hand, and declared, "Take Thou Authority to Preach the Word!" I was thinking about that recently, and began to wonder how far back I could go with the succession of my ordination. So, I did a little research. I was ordained by Earle Wilson Earle Wilson was ordained by Pilgrim Holiness General Superintendent, William Neff William Neff was ordained by the Pilgrim founder, Seth Rees Seth Rees was ordained by Nazarene founder, Phineas Bresee Phineas Bresee was ordained by Methodist Bishop, Levi Scott Levi Scott was ordained by Elijah Hedding. Elijah Hedding was ordained by Francis Asbury Francis Asbury was ordained by a renegade Anglican priest named John Wesley John Wesley was ordained by Anglican Bishop (of Oxford) John Potter. From Potter -- there's a trail all the way back to St. Peter!! You can see the chart here. (Potter is at the bottom of the page #90. Now, how abo...
A pastor friend e-mailed me with this question yesterday: I am working with a well-intentioned man who is considering becoming a part of our congregation. After exploring Wesleyan Doctrine, he is hung up on one thing- that we allow women in ministry. He believes that 1Timothy 2:8-15 is a clear Biblical prohibition against females in ministry. I have always understood Paul's teaching on women in public worship environements in Corinthians and Timothy to be context driven and not a broad theological statement. This has been a learning experience for me because I learned that I was unprepared to defend our Wesleyan position, I had just accepted it. Any Biblical direction, orginal language clues, or historical perspective you could offer would be most welcomed. He is not bigoted about women, he feels they are equal in the eyes of the Lord but have been assigned different duties/roles in the kingdom. How would you respond to his question?
WOW! This is definitely a must read for all pastors. Any leader in the church would greatly benefit from its wisdom.
ReplyDeleteRunning a church has become more important than care of souls. Pastors who want to reclaim the saving of souls as the 1st and foremost responsibility cannot get a quick fix at job retraining or retreats.
True pastors are interested in who people are and who they are becoming in Christ. Their language is words the heart speaks. Secularized minds label people.
THREE CHEERS (more than that) for Eugene Peterson.