I heard Ajith Fernando speak at Cape Town 2010 – the Third Lausanne Congress on the theme of suffering and was captivated by his blend of biblical exposition and life application.  Following that I picked up The Call to Joy and Pain: Embracing Suffering in Your Ministry.

Ajith Fernando knows about suffering.  He has seen horrendous suffering during his ministry as national director of Youth for Christ in Sri Lanka.  Since the 1980s that island nation has been torn and ravished by civil war and political corruption.  Over 60,000 Sri Lankans have died in sectarian violence, and another 20,000, mostly rebel Tamils, “disappeared” after their arrest.  Just when a tentative peace between warring factions was taking shape, the Indian Ocean Tsunami stuck, leaving more than 31,100 dead, 4,100 missing, and 519,000 homeless.

Despite the suffering all around him, Ajith Fernando has found a transcending joy, a joy that transforms pain and suffering into a closer walk with Jesus Christ.  This book is greatly needed, especially in the UK, where much of Christianity has become shallow, self-centered, and materialistic.  Fernando contends that Christians are not only not exempt from suffering and pain, but they are called to suffer for the Lord’s sake and for the good of others.  Yet through that sanctified suffering – even because of it – the Christian finds true, lasting joy.

Though specifically written for those in the ministry, the book’s truth, which draws heavily upon Scripture, applies to every Christian. The book’s thirty short but rich chapters take us to a higher plateau in our Christian life, and to greater service for the Master.

What is distinctively Christian about the pastoral care the Churches offer, and what is the place of care and counselling within the broader context of the work of the Church?  Integrity of Pastoral Care (New Library of Pastoral Care) by David Lyall presents a study of pastoral care as the central pastoral ministry of the church, relating it to other functions of Christian ministry.

While pastoral care can draw upon the insights of the secular therapies, it is not an inferior form of pastoral counselling  Pastoral care has its own integrity rooted in the life and worship of that community of faith shaped by the story of Jesus Christ.  The theological importance of pastoral care is explored, and other pastoral activities, which have parallels in secular therapies, redefined within this context. This book offers an important manifesto for parish ministry, and the need to hold in balance the practical and the theological. Drawing upon a wide range of case material, David Lyall sets out a theology and practice of pastoral care, affirming the importance of Christian narrative amid the realities of postmodern society.  This book is central within the “New Library of Pastoral Care”, striving as it does to balance the practical and the theological.

Really looking forward to Youthwork the Conference down in Eastbourne this weekend! Instead of a reception, we’re hosting a meal in a local Italian restaurant on Saturday evening at 5:30pm to give Sophia members and friends a chance to chat and network. There’s still time to join us – email Jenny Bakerjenbaker@btopenworld.com and she’ll send you the details.

Eugene Peterson, a pastor (though now retired after serving as a professor at Regent College, Vancover), wrote this book about the pastorate and for pastors. The Contemplative Pastor: Returning to the Art of Spiritual Director is one of his best books. He begins by insisting on some “redefinitions,” which reflect the Christian tradition rather than cultural conventions. Here he says the right title for him is “Pastor,” a noun rich in meaning, which includes being “unbusy, subversive, apocalyptic” (p. 24).

First, pastors should be unbusy. My favourite quote of the book is:

“Hilary of Tours diagnosed our pastoral busyness as irreligiosa solicitudo pro Deo, a blasphemous anxiety to do God’s work for him”

We stay busy because we want to be thought important, But if pastors must study and pray in order to preach, they must devote large chunks of time to study and prayer, staying still long enough to hear the Word they need to proclaim. Here he compares pastors with the harpooners portrayed in Moby Dick: “‘To insure the greatest efficiency in the dart, the harpooners of this world must start to their feet out of idleness, and not out of toil’”.

The pastor is a Minster of the Word and sacraments. This he must be and remain and not get caught up in the business of “running a church.”  I found this section the most helpful and challenging.

Surprisingly, the book only speaks about the Sunday work of the pastor incidentally.  Peterson writes more about the rest of the pastor’s life, character and work. In fact, the next eight chapters (100 pages) speak of the pastor’s work between the Sundays.  Here he writes about how important it is for the pastor to know his congregation, to talk and pray with them.  He resolved never to serve a church so large that he could not remember everyone’s names (when he wrote this book, he served a Presbyterian Church of 300 members).  He writes about how important it is for a minister to be able to do “small talk” with parishioners.  He realises that both congregation and pastor will, at times, be tempted to have the minister preach and speak of things the congregation likes to hear and have him drift away from the biblical themes of sin, grace in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, renewal and hope.  In “Lashed to the Mast” he strongly underlines how important it is to remain faithful to one’s ordination vows rather than fall under the spell of siren voices.

One will not learn important things about preaching or a model of church growth from this book; rather, the reader will be blessed as he listens to the thoughts and reflections of an experienced pastor.

We all have different gifts. Some are suited to this kind of work, others are best used in other ways. We must resist the idea that some jobs are better or more ‘spiritual’ than others. But we should all be asking ourselves the question: ‘What is it that I could do, as the person I am and with the gifts that God has given me, that would bring the most glory to God through the spread of the gospel?’ For some that will mean staying where they are; for others it will mean a significant change of direction.

In other words, it is a book that encourages questions, and offering many great insights into what might come next and what life might look like.  The contents page gives a good overview of what the book is trying to do:

Section 1: What is gospel ministry?
1. What is Gospel Ministry? (Vaughan Roberts)
2. The Character of Gospel Ministry (David Jackman)
3. The Priority of Gospel Ministry (Richard Coekin)

Section 2: Varieties of gospel ministry
4. The pastor-teacher (Andy Gemmill)
5. The realities of being an evangelist (Roger Carswell)
6. Church planters for the harvest field (Tim Chester)
7. Gospel ministry overseas (Andy Lines)
8. Cross-cultural ministry in the UK (Andrew Raynes)
9. Women’s Ministry (Carrie Sandom)
10. Youth and children’s ministry (Roger Fawcett)
11. Building the urban church (Ken Moulder)
12. Student ministry (Nathan Buttery)

Section 3: Getting from A to B
13. Guidance (Christopher Ash)
14. Apprenticeships (Ian Garrett)
15. Theological Education (David Peterson)
16. Where do I go from here? (Peter Comont)

Appendices
I. The other Lord’s Prayer (Christopher Green)
II. 9:38
III. Routes to full-time ministry

It is a helpful book giving an overview to ministry in the UK from a conservative evangelical perspective.  One of the books strengths is the number of real-life stories spread throughout.

However, if you read it straight through (which might not be its design) it gets pretty repetitive.  This might be weak editing, or just not how the book’s meant to be read.  It also comes across as having an Anglican focus, particularly in the last section where the only explanation of a route into full-time ministry is the Anglican model rather than the Baptist, Methodist, URC or independent church model.

If you have a student who is thinking about ministry this is a helpful book for them to start with.