Reforming Pastoral Ministry

Edited by John H. Armstrong
A Review by Sam Hughey

We live in a world that is at enmity with God and His people.  We battle against spiritual wickedness and not against flesh and blood.  The secularization of Christianity is the last battle Satan can impose upon the children of God.  Surprisingly, from the pulpit to the pew, this secularization is an ever imposing threat to the theological and doctrinal purity of the pulpit which finds its way into the minds of those in the pew.

One of the most needed pastoral resources that can equip pastors to evaluate their need for Reformation in the pulpit begins with the need for Reformation with the pastor.  "Reforming Pastoral Ministry" is without a doubt the single most critical resource any pastor can have in his library, home and pulpit.

As Erwin W. Lutzer notes in his forward, "As pastors, we've all attended conferences to find the 'key' to a successful ministry.  We are interested learning the latest data regarding church growth, the latest theories on church management, and the best way to organize our small groups.  While it can be argued that all of these have their place, the reality is that many ministers are being drawn away from the biblical center, substituting the peripheral for that which is most important.  What is lacking is a profound commitment to a holy living, a passionate desire for the spiritual health and salvation of the congregation, and in short a radically biblical approach to the whole of church work."

The greatest danger, says Lutzer is that "we may not even be aware of the secularization of the evangelical church."  How then, you may ask, can we not be aware and should we become aware what must we do? "Reforming Pastoral Ministry" is replete with both questions and answers that can greatly aid any pastor (or prospective pastor) in avoiding the temptations Satan has devised to all but control the pastor, the pulpit and the pew.

The battle cry of the Protestant Reformation was "Sola Scriptura" which means Scripture Alone.  The single greatest threat to the secularization of the pastor is when Holy Scripture is replaced with a man-made version of the Bible and interpreted in such a manner so as to barely resemble what is supposed to be interpreted as Holy Scripture.  John H. Armstrong reminds the pastor to always begin with Sola Scriptura and to be "Semper Reformanda" ("always reforming").  The pastorate is not an idle occupation, it is the highest calling from the Lord for the work of His ministry.  If our Lord has not commanded it, either implicitly or explicitly, we must not allow it.

Some of the areas in which John Armstrong explains the need for Reforming Pastoral Ministry" are:

~ A loss of confessional integrity.  We lost our bearings in terms of the very truths the Reformation set forth with such power and clarity - e.g., a massively God-centered perspective that plainly asserts the primacy of grace in the salvation of humanity through Jesus Christ alone with the glory of God's divine sovereignty at the center of he entire theological framework.

~ Psycological captivity of the Christian ministry seems to have dominated the field of pastoral ministry.

~ The word of God no longer holds a serious grip upon the life and practice of modern ministers.

~ As a result of losing the Word of God, modern ministers have also lost a vital perspective on the role and place of the ministry.  John states, "Our present perspective on pastoral ministry is more directly shaped by George Barna's statistical insights (which are helpful if used for what they really are - i.e., religious data) and the church growth experts than by Holy Scripture."

~ Evangelical ministers have generally stopped asking for the power of the Holy Spirit upon their own lives and ministries.

"Pastors are weak human instruments who must be filled with divine authority.  There is no other way to accomplish the true work of pastoral ministry", states John.  The only way home, as John states, is to "believe, teach, and practice nothing more and nothing less than what the Holy Scripture requires of us."

In "Reforming Pastoral Ministry", 280 pages are filled with the way home that brings pastoral ministry back to the very foundation of preaching the Bible.  The way home is detailed in these chapters:

1.      John H. Armstrong:  Semper Reformanda (The Pastoral Role in Modern Reformation)

2.      Mark Coppenger: Deliver Us From Professionalization (Recovering Pastoral Ministry)

3.      Joel R. Beeke: The Utter Necessity Of A Godly Life (The Foundation of Pastoral Ministry)

4.      R. Kent Hughes: Restoring Biblical Exposition To Its Rightful Place (Miniserial Ethos and Pathos)

5.      Thomas N. Smith: Keeping The Main Thing The Main Thing (Preaching Christ as the Focus of All Reformation)

6.      Wilbur C. Ellsworth: From Faith To Faith (What makes Preaching So Vital for Reformation?)

7.      Jerry Marcellino: Leading The Church In God-Centered Worship (The Pastoral Role)

8.      Jim Elliff: The Cure Of Souls (The Pastor Serving the Flock)

9.      Arturo Azurdia: Reforming The Church Through Prayer (The Pastoral Contribution)

10.  David W. Hegg: All Things In Common (The Pastoral Role in Building Real Fellowship)

11.  T.M. Moore: Pastoral Ministry and the Place of the Sacraments

12.  Joseph Flatt, Jr.: How Shall I Respond To Sin In The Church? (A Plea to Restore the Third Mark of the Church) 

13.  Mark E. Dever: Pastoral Success In Evangelistic Ministry (The Receding Horizon)

14.  Phil A. Newton: The Pastor And Church Growth (How to Deal with the Modern Problem of Pragmatism)

Pastors, your congregation needs more than a resolving of emotional concerns or attracting the seeker.  Bring back the Christ whose life, death and resurrection affect every aspect of our existence.  We need the King of Glory - and preaching centered solely on Christ that recaptures the wonder of His holiness.
 

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