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| Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Ordained Ministry | 
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (based on 13 reviews)
Sales Rank: 116848
Category: Book
Author: William H. Willimon
Publisher: Abingdon Press
Studio: Abingdon Press
Manufacturer: Abingdon Press
Label: Abingdon Press
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 386
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9
ISBN: 0687045320
Dewey Decimal Number: 253
EAN: 9780687045327
ASIN: 0687045320
Publication Date: January 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Why be a pastor? August 2, 2005
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
As I read "Pastor", I was constantly asking the question, "Why would anyone ever seek to be a pastor after reading this book?" My thoughts surrounding my answer seemed to fluctuate around whether a pastor can say "no" to his/her calling from God. Willimon rightly states that pastors are called by God to be leaders. And if we believe in an omnipotent God, His will will be done. So, I continued to read with an open mind the thoughts Willimon had to say.
On one hand, Willimon provides a thorough analysis of the qualities that pastors should exhibit, although at times he seems to be a bit long winded in his discussion. He, however, displays an overly high view of the way church is done as well as an extraordinarily high view of the role of the pastor in relation to the church. Throughout the book, he describes the pastor's duties as being burdensome. While in once case "being" Christ to an essentially self-centered world can be burdensome Willimon leaves little room for the pastor to also be a person, sinful along with the rest of humanity. One example, "The pastor bears the chief burden of lifting up that story to the church on a weekly basis, to `open the Scriptures'" (81) leaves little room for lay involvement in opening Scriptures. He also seems to advocate that worship and opening of Scriptures can only take place in the formal church setting and only on Sundays. He diminishes the success and functionality of small groups in being able to transform among its members as well as to the society around them citing the diversity between members creates an atmosphere of "live and let live" in order to avoid confrontation (233).
This disturbing point along with many others gives me reason to cautiously recommend this book. The reader should keep in mind that Willimon seems to speak to a very specific worldview which advocates the Christendom model in an age where many believe that Christendom is progressively becoming a "flat-lined" institution.
What is a "Pastor?" July 28, 2005
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
Throughout "Pastor," it is easy to tell that the author, William Willimon, has 25+ years as a church pastor with all the ups and downs that come with that particular calling. From beginning to end, this book is filled with encouragement for pastors, and lay leaders alike, as they struggle through the bad times and breeze through the good times.
One of the key aspects of this book is Willimon's emphasis on the fact that pastors are fallible human beings just as much as anyone else in this fallen world. Pastors cannot, and their people should not, expect them to do everything right or have the perfect answer to every question. This helps pastors remember that they are still just people. On the other hand, Willimon also reminds us that pastors are also people who are called out by God. According to Willimon there are two basic views of the pastor: "...the first view leads to a `high' theology of ordination in which the minister is `appointed by Christ to take Christ's place as host at the table.' The other view leads to a `low' theology of ministry where someone is merely `called out from among the people to help.' We need not choose between the two. ...The first stresses the gifted, grace-filled quality of ministry...the second asserts the functional, community-derived quality of Christian ministry" (39).
I found Willimon's discussion of "the needs of the people" extremely helpful. He argues that as pastors we try to meet all of the needs of our people all of the time. However, what we should be doing is trying to educate our people as to what are real needs in life and what are wants and desires. As the author points out, "...in this culture desire becomes elevated to the level of need...and because we tend to be a pit of bottomless desire, there is no end to our need." Willimon goes on to argue that this is why many clergy experience burn-out. Pastors, too often, are "expending their lives, running about in such busyness, attempting to service the needs of essentially selfish, self-centered consumers, without critique or limit of those needs" (95). Pastors have to be able to differentiate and discern the real needs from those desires which are elevated to the level of needs.
The single major problem I see in this work is its length. It felt that Pastor Willimon could have said in 200 or so pages what he said in 300+. The book seemed to drag on and the author could get somewhat rambly at times. However, if one has the time to devote to this book and the ability to see past the droning, there is a lot of great advice that could save a number of pastors from the fatigue that so many face.
It is only fitting that this review follows J.B. McVey's review... July 20, 2005
3 out of 6 found this review helpful
In Paul's pastoral letter to Titus, we read:
"For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it."
Paul exhorts Titus, who has been left on Crete to organize the church, to select leaders-overseers-for the church that are willing to not only teach the word of God and to shepherd the flock but to live lives that communicate the Gospel to those in the church and those outside the church. These words of Paul are the same exhortation we read on nearly every page of William H. Willimon's book, Pastor. Willimon clearly illuminates what it means and what it takes to be a pastor; clearly, his heart for the position and role of pastor pours from every page. Willimon spends extensive time guiding and directing future pastors and current pastors in their role as leaders of the flock...As God's Stewards; and, he does this with sound biblical exegesis and subsequent sound application to his points (although, please be sure to see the comments at the end of this review). Written in 2002, this is an apparent classic for pastors.
However, one may ask, How does this book benefit a layperson/layleader? Pastor, though highly geared toward pastors, is completely applicable to any layperson/lay leader. As an example, on page 205, Willimon writes,
There are many in our society who are in pain, but not because of some psychological malady or because of something bad that happened to them when they were five. They are hurting because they are wandering like lost sheep in a desert. They are confused. It is not that they are sick; rather, they are ignorant. They simply have not taken the trouble, or not had the opportunity, to think through the faith. They confront the complexity of life with bits and pieces of insight.
Willimon's words are essential and they are convicting. To imagine the number of people in our society-and those within other societies-that are in pain simply because of their lack of knowledge of the Gospel or their incorrect assumptions of the bible is astounding. As the members of the Body of Christ, we are exhorted-over and over again in Scripture-to not only be disciples but to disciple others. Acts 1:8 calls us, Christians, to be Christ's witnesses so that the message of Christ, the Gospel of His person, life and death, would/will reach all the ends of the earth. Essentially we are all called to ease the pain of those who are sequestered in their ignorance. Thus, it is not just the role of the overseer-though this is a characteristic of their calling (ref. Acts 6:1-7)-to teach and inform; it is also our role as members of the body to teach and inform others of that which we have learned from our pastors.
I would highly recommend this book to pastors and laypeople/lay leaders alike. Though I do recommend this book to many people, I would also exhort the reader to maintain a sound biblical stance about the issues that are currently facing our church. Though Willimon offers incredible insight into the role of the Pastor, he does dangerously tip into the realm of progressive revelation of Scripture (i.e. our culture and society demand a different reading of the Old and New Testament). Citing Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13, he writes about the orthodox understanding of those who practice homosexual behavior, "...the Hebrew toevah (abomination) is used to refer to acts that make one ritually unclean-such as eating pork, or engaging in sexual intercourse during menstruation. How ought this apply to two consenting Christian adults today? Any simple correlation, without regard to differences of time and culture, would be an abuse, rather than an honoring of Scripture" (124).
What the world and clergy ought to want! January 31, 2005
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Willimon's collection of essays regarding the vocational life of a minister has some beautiful reminders. I particularly loved Willimon's claim that vocational ministers are simply "the chief sinner in a ministry of sinners." If such an understanding does not knock one off a pedestal, nothing will! I felt the major benefit of the book was Willimon's discussion of what it means to be a pastor to God's people. Willimon does a concise job of explaining many of the various roles and activities expected of the clergy by any congregation. Further, he tends to show clearly some of the problems which clergy will encounter as they take up or refuse particular roles thrust upon them by the congregations which they will serve. Willimon's book ought to be required reading for any clergy who are feeling worn out, depressed, or otherwise spiritually assaulted. Willimon's emphasis that God calls all Christians to teach a world what is worth wanting rather than teaching a world how to get what it wants, his discussions that pastoral fatigue is a result of one's inability to enjoy the various and manifold intrusions of God into church lives, and his reminder that the role of the clergy is one of "attack" and "rearrangement" and not "relation to the average Joe" ought to serve as an instruction manual for one called to the vocational ministries in the post-Christian culture of the West.
I did find in the book, however, a presumption of the Gospel or an understood world view rather than a clearly defined summation of the teachings which the vocational minister is supposed to teach. This seems somewhat ironic given the author's emphasis on the fact that we no longer live in a Christian culture as well as the upheaval occurring in many mainline churches today. Having read other books by Willimon and having heard a few of his sermons, I have no doubt as to his theological assumptions. But I do wonder whether the teaching is plain for someone just picking up this book for the first time.
Finding an Identity January 31, 2005
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Willimon's Pastor is a very thorough and comprehensive look at ordained ministry, from the calling itself to preaching, pastoral care, and leading worship. Finding a pastoral identity these days is difficult, and I found of particular interest his study of the various images held in our culture of what/who a pastor is (executive, therapist, preacher, etc.) and his suggestions for a new image, an image that, whatever it is, needs to be decidedly countercultural, classical, and able to critically asses needs around them.
I enjoyed Willimon's incorporation of the lives and teachings of a good number of the Christian giants on whose shoulders we stand (Augustine, Baxter, Luther,etc). In an age where pastors are trying to explore the newest technique and model to reach a people who are trying to inundate themselves in the novelties of this world, it seems to me that old ways are often the best ways, and Willimon is wise to point the reader to a more classical direction with a mind to apply it to today's world. However, as comprehensive and thorough as Pastor is, it perhaps might be a bit too thorough in that it is not concise, and Willimon says in 330 pages what would better serve pastors if he said it in 200.
In following Willimon's classical references, I would strongly recommend a pastor take some time to read Richard Baxter's The Reformed Pastor as a shining example of tried and true Gospel pastoring and ministry.
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