Review: The Pastor’s Family: Shepherding Your Family Through the Challenges of Pastoral Ministry
The Pastor’s Family: Shepherding Your Family through the Challenges of Pastoral Ministry by Brian Croft
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I wasn’t sure how the tag team effort was going to work out in this book. However, it worked well. I appreciated reading both perspectives on the same subject. When it comes to books on the home, they vary on their helpfulness. The Bible does give sufficient instruction for us in our homes, but the market is crowded by a lot of extrapolation and thrice-removed opinions about the Bible actually requires of us. We have to sift the counsel we receive. Are we having burdens heaped upon us like an overloaded mule, or are we receiving counsel from someone with a healthy dose of what you call horse sense?
I think Croft is doing the latter in this book, which makes it a helpful book. He does deal with texts and calls out some of the neglect pastors can be guilty of, which is sinful. He rightly calls us to repentance in these. He also gives wise counsel that we should receive with discernment. For instance, he encourages a father to engage in one-on-one discipleship of his children. He may not be in chapter and verse territory, but he is giving good counsel.
I also appreciated how he dealt openly with the abysmal family legacies of some of the “heroes” of the faith that exalt so much. I was personally disappointed a few years ago reading about the marriage and home life of George Whitefield. Whitefield is one of the men Croft writes about. We need to be cautious is vaunting the men of the past. There are both good and bad examples in history. Can we really call a man “successful” in ministry who neglected his family all the while?
This is a great book for pastors and pastors’ wives.
Review: The Art of Prophesying with the Calling of the Ministry: A Needed Tool for All Pastors
The Art of Prophesying with The Calling of the Ministry: A Needed Tool for All Pastors by William Perkins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The original being published in the late 1500s was the first book on preaching written and published in the English language. By “prophesying,” the author refers to preaching as the expounding of Scripture and application of its truth to the congregation. It’s an old usage and does not in any way refer to modern day prophesying by various charismatics.
Perkins treats preaching from a pastoral perspective. There are some practical suggestions here and there, but very little space is given to aspects of delivery. He primarily deals with interpreting and expounding Scripture. So it’s quite a contrast from so many more modern books on preaching. Perkins throughout promotes a high view of the sufficiency and authority of Scripture, such that preaching including teaching, reproof, correction, and instruction, should all come from the meaning of the passage of Scripture. This high view of Scripture and the presupposition that all aspects of preaching should derive from the natural meaning of the text is what gives this treatment on preaching high value. Even his words on applications have the same assumption.
