I am today beginning a new major series of posts on a subject that is of immense importance to the Church and one which occupies a great deal of my own time, energy and thoughts. It is a topic that is commonly called Pastoral Theology. My plan is that each Friday I will post an article related to this topic, starting with this introductory one.

Note: Over the years as I have read, studied and taught about this subject I have, of course, read widely and drawn from a huge number of sources. If, as a result, I have in my own work unintentionally failed to appropriately attribute to someone else something that is not original to me I apologise and will be glad to put the record straight.

Introduction to Pastoral Theology

Pastoral Theology is the study and application of the scriptural framework that will shape the servant of God in his pastoral ministry.

It is Theology, in that it is, in my own definition of theology, a disciplined and organised study of the Christian faith, focussing on God’s revelation, the historic response of the Christian Church and its significance for Christian living.  Or, as John Frame puts it, “…the application of the Word of God by persons to all areas of life.”

It is Pastoral in that it focusses on those aspects of theology concerned with the practical application of the scriptural teaching in the context of regular church ministry, such as homiletics, pastoral care and counselling.  Perhaps more than in other areas of theology, it is helpful to draw on the wisdom and experience of pastoral practitioners down through the years, and we will certainly do much of that in this course.

By Pastoral, in the context of Pastoral Theology, we are referring to the ministry of those men who God has raised up to be Elders / Overseers / Shepherd-Teachers to serve the body of Christ.

“Ministry and life are inseparably intertwined with theology. The pastoral worker cannot escape either the need for a theology of pastoral work (ministry) or the implications of theology in all that he does. If the pastor finds that he fails in his everyday dealings with men and women, he should recognize that the source of his problems may not be lack of experience, strategy or skills; in more instances than he may wish to admit, his failures may stem from shoddy or erroneous biblical understanding or theological thinking.” (Adams, 1974, p. 2)

“That department of study whose object is to assist the Christian minister in applying the truths of the gospel to the hearts and lives of men is called Pastoral Theology. It is “theology” because it has chiefly to do with the things of God and his word. It is “pastoral” because it treats of these divine things in that aspect of them which pertains to the pastor.

“The special province of this study is not systematic theology, or the exegesis of Scripture, or ecclesiastical history, or the sacraments, or homiletics, or even the theory of the pastoral office as an institution of divine appointment. It takes for granted that all these branches of ministerial training have already been cultivated, and endeavors to teach how they may be best brought to bear upon the all-important work of gathering men into the fold of Christ and nourishing them there by the food provided by the great Shepherd…..Its aim is not to make ministers thorough scholars, or even to guide them in the pursuit of ordinary literature and science; but, regarding them as men already well educated, it would aid them in the sacred art of bringing souls to Christ and training them for the glory of God.

“From what sources are the rules to come by which the Christian minister is to be guided in his great life-work? Manifestly, the word of God must be the chief and authoritative teacher of the rules that are to guide the Christian minister. In it are specified the great duties which must ever devolve upon him.” (Murphy, 2019)

While the Bible clearly teaches a plurality of elders in a local congregation, and much of what we cover in this study will be applicable to all in that role, the primary focus is on those men that God calls to give their whole life and time to the work of shepherding and teaching; those who Paul describes as “…those who labour in preaching and teaching.” (1 Timothy 5:17)

Most elders are not called into this ‘full-time’ role and responsibility, and while all elders share in the oversight of a local church, the Minister or Pastor we have in view is an elder among elders and, because of his calling, gifting, training and experience, is usually rightly seen as primus inter pares – first among equals.

God’s Providence Prepares a Man for Pastoral Ministry

Through the operation of his providence, God shapes and prepares us for the calling he has on our lives, bringing into our lives people and experiences that influence us significantly.

The example of John Paton:

“How much my father’s prayers at this time impressed me I can never explain, nor could any stranger understand.  When, on his knees and all of us kneeling around him in Family Worship, he poured out his whole soul with tears for the conversion of the Heathen World to the service of Jesus, and for every personal and domestic need, we all felt as if in the presence of the living Saviour, and learned to know and love Him as our Divine Friend. As we rose from our knees, I used to look at the light on my father’s face, and wish I were like him in spirit, hoping that, in answer to his prayers, I might be privileged and prepared to carry the blessed Gospel to some portion of the Heathen World.” (Paton, 2007, p. 21)

The example of Jim Packer:

“It was 19 September 1933. A new school year had begun in England. A seven-year-old boy had just started to attend the National School in the English cathedral city of Gloucester. He was shy and uncertain of himself in his new surroundings. He was already being bullied. Another boy chased him out of the school grounds on to the busy London Road outside. A passing bread van could not avoid hitting him. He was thrown to the ground with a major head injury. The young boy was taken to the Gloucester Royal Infirmary and rushed into an operating theatre. He was discovered to have a depressed compound fracture of the frontal bone on the right-hand side of his forehead, with injury to the frontal lobe of the brain. It was potentially very serious. The resident surgeon at the hospital immediately performed an operation known as ‘refining and elevation’. This can be thought of as extracting fragments of bone from inside the skull, and repairing the damage as much as possible. As it happened, the surgeon in question had just returned from Vienna after an extended period during which he had specialized in this type of surgery. The boy was left with a small hole in his right forehead, about two centimetres in diameter. The injury would remain clearly visible for the rest of his life. Looking back, this near-fatal accident can be seen to have had a major impact on the life of James I. Packer. As we shall see, it is directly linked to his love of reading and his remarkable ability to write.

“From then until he went to university, Packer had to wear a protective aluminium plate over his injury, making it impossible for him to join in normal schoolboy games. This reinforced his natural tendency to be a loner. He tended to be on the outside of things at school. He was subjected to bullying. He never joined the schoolboy gangs which were a routine part of school life. He was known to be clever, and would be asked to help others out with their homework. He would find solace in solitary things, particularly reading.

“Since then, Packer has freely admitted that he is ‘something of a bookworm’. There can be little doubt that one of his many strengths has been the way in which he has read the spiritual classics of earlier generations, particularly of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, realized their relevance for today, and campaigned vigorously for their continued use.

“It is not unreasonable to suggest that Packer’s enforced period of convalescence may have contributed significantly to this aspect of his future ministry.

“By Friday evening, the week’s work was usually not complete. Reluctant to make his colleagues work additional hours, Packer’s father was in the habit of returning to his office on Saturday, sometimes in the afternoon, and finishing off the work by himself. Packer, who did not have school on Saturday afternoons, would often accompany his father to work. There were two typewriters in the office. Packer’s father would use one for his work, and allow his son to play around with the other.

“Packer — now aged eight — found using a typewriter immensely satisfying, and soon taught himself how to type. He would painstakingly type out poems — such as Longfellow’s ‘Hiawatha’, Southey’s ‘The Inchcape Rock’ and other items.

“Usually around the age of eleven, at the point when a schoolboy would enter senior school, parents would mark their son’s ‘coming of age’ by giving him a bicycle as a birthday present. Packer dropped heavy hints that he expected to receive a cycle, like all his friends. However, his parents knew that they could not yet allow their son to have a bicycle. If he were to have any kind of accident, the earlier injury could lead to something much more serious, and potentially fatal. But what could they give their son instead? On the morning of his eleventh birthday, in 1937, Packer wandered down from his bedroom to see what present awaited him. The family had a tradition of placing birthday presents in the dining room of the house. He expected to find a bicycle. Instead, he found an old Oliver typewriter, which seemed to him to weigh half a ton. Although it was old, it was nevertheless in excellent condition. It was not what Packer had asked for; nevertheless, it proved to be what he needed. Surprise gave way to delight, as he realized what he could do with this unexpected gift. It was not more than a minute before he had put paper into the machine, and started to type. It proved to be his best present and the most treasured possession of his boyhood.” (McGrath, 1997, pp. 1-7)

“Imagine! God from all eternity picturing you and me, with our particular upbringing and background, all our varied experience of life and work, our unique strengths; and, punctual to the second, he has us where he wants to use us.” (White, 1988, p. 14)

Note: Jeremiah 1:5; Galatians 1:15

As we begin to plunge into the deep and wide waters of pastoral theology, I want to begin with three foundational principles we need to consider – Character, Competency and Calling and it is to the first of those we will turn next time.

Sources:

Adams, J. E. (1974). Shepherding God’s Flock: A Handbook on Pastoral Ministry, Counseling, and Leadership. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Frame, J. M. (2013). Systematic Theology (P&R Publishing)

McGrath, A. (1997). J. I. Packer: A biography (Grand Rapids: Baker. Grand Rapids: Baker.

Murphy, T. (2019). Pastoral Theology. Wentworth Press.

Paton, J. (2007). John Paton, Missionary to the New Hebrides. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust.

White, P. (1988). The Effective Pastor (Ross-shire, UK, Christian Focus, 1998),. Tain: Christian Focus.