Author: R. Kent Hughes Publisher: Crossway ISBN: 143354590X Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 451
Book Description
Pastors are tasked with the incredibly demanding job of caring for the spiritual, emotional, and, at times‚ physical needs of their people. While seminary is helpful preparation for many of the challenges pastors face, there’s far more to pastoral ministry than what can be covered in the classroom. Designed as a reference guide for nearly every situation a pastor will face, this comprehensive book by seasoned pastors Kent Hughes and Doug O’Donnell is packed full of biblical wisdom and practical guidance related to the reality of pastoral ministry in the trenches. From officiating weddings to conducting funerals to visiting the sick, this book will equip pastors and church leaders with the knowledge they need to effectively minister to their flocks, both within the walls of the church and beyond.
Author: Scott M. Manetsch Publisher: Oxford University Press ISBN: 0190224479 Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 445
Book Description
In Calvin's Company of Pastors, Scott Manetsch examines the pastoral theology and practical ministry activities of Geneva's reformed ministers from the time of Calvin's arrival in Geneva until the beginning of the seventeenth century. During these seven decades, more than 130 men were enrolled in Geneva's Venerable Company of Pastors (as it was called), including notable reformed leaders such as Pierre Viret, Theodore Beza, Simon Goulart, Lambert Daneau, and Jean Diodati. Aside from these better-known epigones, Geneva's pastors from this period remain hidden from view, cloaked in Calvin's long shadow, even though they played a strategic role in preserving and reshaping Calvin's pastoral legacy. Making extensive use of archival materials, published sermons, catechisms, prayer books, personal correspondence, and theological writings, Manetsch offers an engaging and vivid portrait of pastoral life in sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century Geneva, exploring the manner in which Geneva's ministers conceived of their pastoral office and performed their daily responsibilities of preaching, public worship, moral discipline, catechesis, administering the sacraments, and pastoral care. Manetsch demonstrates that Calvin and his colleagues were much more than ivory tower theologians or "quasi-agents of the state," concerned primarily with dispensing theological information to their congregations or enforcing magisterial authority. Rather, they saw themselves as spiritual shepherds of Christ's Church, and this self-understanding shaped to a significant degree their daily work as pastors and preachers.
Author: Joel R. Beeke Publisher: Reformation Heritage Books ISBN: 1601782217 Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 318
Book Description
The Scriptures advise us to learn from examples of faithful ministers (Heb. 13:7). The Puritans were a group of such ministers whose teaching and living can be particularly encouraging to troubled and discouraged pastors today. They were steadfast in adhering to Scripture as the Word of God, in confessing the great truths of the Reformed faith, and in applying sound doctrine to the problems of life in an age and culture nearly as challenging as our own. In Encouragement for Today's Pastors, Joel R. Beeke and Terry D. Slachter examine the writings of these pastors of a bygone era consider how they can help struggling pastors today. Here pastors will find a helping hand, reminding them of the importance of cultivating personal piety, resting in God's sovereignty recovering clarity in their calling, discovering means of support God provided, recognizing the dignity of their office, and taking comfort in grace and glory to come. Table of Contents: Part One: Piety 1. Zeal for the Ministry of the Word 2. ‘In Sweet Communion, Lord, with Thee’ 3. Encouraged by God’s Promises Part Two: Sovereignty 4. God Gives the Increase 5. Submission to God’s Will Part Three: Clarity 6. Taking Heed to Doctrine 7. Practicing What Is Preached 8. The Calling of the Shepherd Part Four: Creativity and Community 9. History and Science 10. The Communion of Saints 11. A Cloud of Witness Part Five: Dignity 12. ‘One among a Thousand’ 13. Doing the Work of Angels 14. The Urgency and Importance of Preaching the Word Part Six: Eternity 15. The Reward of Grace 16. The Glories of Heaven
Author: Austin Fischer Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers ISBN: 1625641516 Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 130
Book Description
Does it really matter? Does it matter if we have free will? Does it matter if Calvinism is true? And does what you think about it matter? No and yes. No, it doesn't matter because God is who he is and does what he does regardless of what we think of him, just as the solar system keeps spinning around the sun even if we're convinced it spins around the earth. Our opinions about God will not change God, but they can change us. And so yes, it does matter because the conversations about free will and Calvinism confront us with perhaps the only question that really matters: who is God? This is a book about that question--a book about the Bible, black holes, love, sovereignty, hell, Romans 9, Jonathan Edwards, John Piper, C. S. Lewis, Karl Barth, and a little girl in a red coat. You've heard arguments, but here's a story--Austin Fischer's story, and his journey in and out of Calvinism on a trip to the center of the universe.
Author: William J. Black Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers ISBN: 1597527688 Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 339
Book Description
This work examines Richard Baxter's understanding and practice of pastoral ministry from the perspective of his own stated concern for reformation and in the broader context of Edwardian, Elizabethan, and early Stuart pastoral ideals and practice. It investigates Baxter's major treatise on pastoral ministry, 'Gildas Salvianus, the Reformed Pastor' (1656), and explores the background of each aspect of his pastoral strategy. Far from being novel, Baxter's practice of pastoral ministry certainly reflects aspects of his puritan predecessors' practice, if not their rhetoric. Black argues, however, that the primary contours of Baxter's ministry look back, not to the puritan pastoral ideals and strategies dominant after the Elizabethan Settlement, but to the Edwardian reformation emphases of the exiled Strasbourg reformer Martin Bucer. The book concludes by considering the impact of Baxter's pastoral legacy, both on the lives of individual pastors and on the subsequent discussion of puritan ministry.
Author: Richard Ross Publisher: Lifeway Church Resources ISBN: 9781430051992 Category : Church work with students Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
"Some of the most needed reformation involve systemic change that will ripple through the entire congregation. ... Only the senior pastor can take the lead with a full reformation in youth ministry."--Back cover.
Author: Derek J. Prime Publisher: Moody Publishers ISBN: 0802490735 Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 304
Book Description
The ministry of pastors is not simply a job; it’s a vocation and a lifestyle. A pastor’s responsibilities are unique, demanding that he not only nurture his own spiritual life but also the lives of those in his care. What a challenge this can be! Derek Prime and Alistair Begg provide practical advice for both the spiritual and practical aspects of pastoral ministry. They delve deep into topics such as prayer, devotional habits, preaching, studying, and specific ministry duties. The result is an essential tool for those in pastoral ministry.
Author: Bruce Tolley Publisher: Stanford University Press ISBN: 9780804716819 Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 228
Book Description
In recent decades, research on the impact of the Reformation on popular religious life in Germany has sparked a controversy challenging the traditional assumption that Protestantism had a deep and lasting effect on all levels of sixteenth-century life. This study uses previously neglected archival sources, the records of the Wurttemberg church visitations over a forty-year period, to investigate various areas of church life touched on by the debate. The author examines the social and cultural nature of the pastorate as a professional group, areas of conflict and agreement between representatives of the official church and the parishioners, the nature of the church visitations, and the standards and expectations of the visitors concerning lay religious life and discipline. Church visitations were conducted to inform higher ecclesiastical authorities about the conditions of religious life in individual parishes. The visitors interviewed and reported on members of the community from all walks of life: pastor, mayor, schoolmaster, folk-healer, shepherd, and, in some cases, village drunk. The visitations were used to discipline the clergy and laity through exhortations, warnings, fines, and, in rare cases, imprisonment. The author shows that the system of penalties, sanctions, and persuasions had only mixed success in inhibiting un-Christian behavior. When the church's interest in discipline coincided with the interest of village groups in restraining profligacy or laxity, the church had greater success. The Wurttemberg records reveal that parishioners showed only moderate zeal in attending the principal Sunday morning service and that weekday and Sunday afternoon services were poorly attended. For communion, many of the laity seem to have felt that an annual participation at Easter services fulfilled their religious obligation. Young people and single adults appeared most often negligent in their attendance at church, sometimes because of the demands of seasonal agriculture, but more often because of general indifference to the church or active resistance to the church's efforts to discipline such festive pastimes as dancing and berry picking. In the process of investigating the relationship between parishioners and the state church, the author presents information on the clergy's social and geographic origins, education and culture, and economic conditions. He analyzes the attitudes and behavior surrounding popular religious practices and evaluates the church's attempts to reform and regulate family life and social mores.
Author: J. William Black Publisher: Paternoster Publishing ISBN: 9781842271902 Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 308
Book Description
This work examines Richard Baxter's understanding and practice of pastoral ministry from the perspective of his own stated concern for 'reformation' and in the broader context of Edwardian, Elizabethan and early Stuart pastoral ideals and practice. It investigates Baxter's major treatise on pastoral ministry and explores the background of each aspect of his pastoral strategy. Examines Richard Baxter’s practice of pastoral ministry in the broader historical context of Edwardian, Elizabethan and early Stuart pastoral ideals and practices. Far from being novel, Baxter's practice of pastoral ministry certainly reflects aspects of his puritan predecessor's practice, if not their rhetoric. The book concludes by considering the impact of Baxter's pastoral legacy, both on the lives of individual pastors and on the subsequent discussion of 'puritan' ministry
Author: R. Kent Hughes
Author: Scott M. Manetsch
Author: Joel R. Beeke
Author: Austin Fischer
Author: William J. Black
Author: Richard Ross
Author: Derek J. Prime
Author: Bruce Tolley
Author: J. William Black
Author: Richard Baxter