On Being a Pastor: A Book Review by Nathan Shaver
There are a wealth of resources devoted to philosophy, theology, and the psychology of Pastoral Ministry. On Being a Pastor offers a biblically sound and field-tested guide for the work of shepherding. Derek Prime and Alistair Begg set out to give the reader a review of the ministry of pastors and teachers in the Church, offering examples and testimonies to serve as a guide, not a perfect model. They strive to be practical without being overly pragmatic.
On Being a Pastor serves as a literary apprenticeship with two pastors who align theologically and philosophically. They share five basic convictions about Pastoral Ministry: 1) Pastors are one of Christ’s gifts to his Church. 2) The pastor serves as an elder within the church. 3) The idea of pastor as elder needs to be developed and encouraged in the local church. 4) The pastor is a leader among leaders. 5) The pastor is part of the body of Christ; therefore his function and place in the body must be communicated and supported.
Where Prime and Begg differ most is in their personality make-up. Prime, the senior and now retired pastor, is a methodical, well-ordered, type-A personality who excels in systems and structure. While Begg offers the counter by being a more fluid, relaxed, and structured but not driven by systems personality. This demonstrates that the pastoral calling and work is no respecter of personality types, but the calling and work of ministry demands much of a person.
The two keywords, “calling and work,” in the subtitle serve as a good outline for the book. First, calling is defined and explained in the first three chapters of the book. It is to be celebrated that the authors begin here due to the confusion and misunderstanding of many on what it means to be called and the dangers of having a volunteer mentality.
Prime and Begg define calling as “the unmistakable conviction an individual possesses that God want him to do a specific task” (18); namely that of being a pastor and teacher. They outline a path for those who share the conviction to move from inner calling toward fulfilling the call to being a pastor. I find their suggestions helpful and biblical, and I was delighted to see their emphasis on the importance of clarifying and working out the call in the context of the local church in partnership with theological schools. This is an issue too little addressed and they face it with conviction and clarity.
Calling is more clearly explained as a commitment to godly life and character and biblical goals and priorities. The authors do a great job of showing the necessary qualifications of the pastor/teacher without expounding the 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. They do uphold these as primary texts and descriptions of eldership, but godly life and character are expounded from 1 Timothy 4:12, showing the importance of godly speech, life, love, faith and purity. This was a different approach that I found refreshing. Many authors stick to the traditional texts while never supplementing with practical instruction. Prime and Begg excel in practically demonstrating the necessity of godly life and character. As we look to Christ as our example we are to remember that pastoral ministry is the leading of God’s people by example.
The goals and priorities of pastoral ministry are defined as “feeding the flock; proclaiming the whole counsel of God; present everyone perfect in Christ; prepare God’s people for works of service; equip God’s people to be fishers of men and women; keep watch over yourself and the flock until the task is complete.” Biblically defined and practically applied these are the marching orders of pastoral calling. I took great comfort knowing that our goals and priorities are established for us rather than spinning our wheels trying to define new goals. It is important to know and understand the established goal and priorities of ministry, and necessary to make personal application. Chapters two and three, alone, justify buying the book.
Practical words about ministry tasks are helpful when they are properly established on the foundation of calling. Prime and Begg turn from the nature and responsibilities of calling to focus on the details of working out our calling. They offer eight areas of priority and I have divided them into two major divisions. The two divisions of work are the private and the public work of ministry. The first three priorities: prayer, devotional life, and study fall under the first division. The public priorities are preaching, pastoral care, public worship, leadership and delegation.
The private work of prayer, devotion and study are central to the work of the pastor because they fuel the public work of the ministry. Prime and Begg emphasize the importance of devotion to these works for the maturation of the pastor and his flock. If the pastor is lacking in these areas of priority his public ministry will suffer and his example in the private realm will prove unhelpful to his flock.
I was greatly helped by the chapter on study. This is an area too little described and often assumed. The first area of ministry that can be sacrificed on the altar of urgency is the importance of study. Prime and Begg identify the struggle but offer great help in establishing the place and time of study, protecting the necessity of study, and some key helps in bearing fruit in the study. It takes focus and passion for the pastor to guard and keep his need for study a priority. Illustrating from the life of Ezra, the authors point us to consider devotion to study that leads to teaching the word to our parishioners.
Our private work leads us into our public work. One caution here that I gleaned from the book was to never let our public work distract us from the private work. But let our private work propel us into the public administrations.
The first public priority is preaching and I wanted to highlight this chapter. The praying, devoted, and studied pastor will be ready to proclaim the gospel because of his commitment to study and prayer. There is an emphasis on preparation but the real gold is the description and goal of different types of preaching, namely evangelistic and educational. Evangelistic preaching is the proclamation or announcing of the good news for the conversion of souls and the edification of the church. Educational preaching is the instruction and application of the good news, primarily to children. They also offer practical help in delivery and personality. I was most helped in considering and assuring that preaching is a healthy feeding of both Old and New Testament with a focus on evangelism and education.
Each chapter serves us well when we consider the details and priorities of the work of ministry. What I found to be of great help within these chapters was the reflections of each author on the subject at hand. Derek Prime gives us practical strategies for organizing our duties and executing them with excellence. Alistair Begg gives us a view of ministry done in a larger church with multiple staff and pastors. His reflections show us the different contours of ministry done on a larger scale, while Prime shows the necessity of organization and discipline when working in a smaller church with little to no staff. Both demand a lot from the minister and their dialogue shows us that no matter the size and make-up of the congregation the minister must be called and have a clear understanding of priorities of his private and public work.
The final two chapters of the book demand a great deal of personal reflection and prayer. Whether one is seasoned or just getting started in the calling and work of pastoral ministry there is a great need for outlining the priority of ministering at home and our need for rest, as well as identifying and acknowledging the perils and privileges of ministry. You could also consider this section to be a detailed description of the blessing of faithful ministry and the cursing’s of neglectful ministry. Pastoral ministry that neglects home and heart will experience the perils of ministry. The demands and expectations must be considered before entering the work, and kept in mind while continuing in the work. There is great danger in neglecting home and heart, but the body of Christ is at risk when men are appointed who do not understand their calling and work. Everyone loses when men are appointed who have not been diligent to learn these things.
I found this book to be a great help. There is great encouragement to be found within its pages but also great warning. Only experience can reveal the true nature of the call and work given to ministers of the gospel. Derek Prime and Alistair Begg share generously from their faithful experience. The testimony of both writers served to keep the book balanced and interesting. Their different personalities assist all types of readers, but I found myself learning more from Prime, because I am most like Begg.
One point the book failed to develop but I believe needs to be addressed is the importance of male leadership. The authors assume male leadership by their use of the pronouns “him, he, and his”. If this book were to be written today there would need to be a word, not a chapter, but a word concerning male leadership and biblical masculinity.
I was greatly edified by this book but also exhorted to be diligent in my identifying and developing my blind spots. This book is recommended for men preparing for ministry as a primer, men a year or two in ministry as a check-up or review, and men seasoned in ministry to be reminded of our calling and work, as well as to use as a tool to walk with young men considering and navigating the call and work of ministry. Alistair points out that Derek discipled him and you can see the value of leadership development as you read their individual comments. I recommend this book for its practical instruction without losing theological depth. On Being a Pastor was a blessing.