{"id":6013,"date":"2009-10-16T06:35:27","date_gmt":"2009-10-16T06:35:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/jesuscreed\/2009\/10\/pastors-teaching-pastors.html"},"modified":"2009-10-16T06:35:27","modified_gmt":"2009-10-16T06:35:27","slug":"pastors-teaching-pastors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/jesuscreed\/2009\/10\/pastors-teaching-pastors.html","title":{"rendered":"Pastors Teaching Pastors"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"EugPet.jpg\"<\/span>Free book offer at bottom of this post!<\/b><\/p>\n


<\/b><\/p>\n
Pastors need to hear from fellow pastors. There’s a place for pastors listening to biblical experts — when they study the Bible. There’s a place for pastors listening to theologians — when they need to study theology. But there’s a place where only a pastor can speak to another pastor. I’ve been there, and I have to sit back and listen and sometimes I can’t even enter into the conversation because it’s out of my (pastoral) depth. I know what the words mean, but they don’t resonate with my experience.<\/p>\n
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Hence, I recommend two recent books on pastoral work. The first is by Mel Lawrenz, pastor at Elmbrook outside Milwaukee, and his new book addresses bringing the whole church into a whole ministry: Whole Church: Leading from Fragmentation to Engagement (J-B Leadership Network Series)<\/a>\"\"
\n<\/strong><\/em>. His vision is for a “whole” church — with God, God’s people, the community, and the world. This book is for pastors and by a pastor who has been there: with fragmentation and the concrete steps involved in healing and bringing back to wholeness. I really liked part two:<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
It addressed closing the gap with God through worship and teaching;<\/div>\n
closing the gap with people through real fellowship;<\/div>\n
closing the gap with the community through more than a thousand points of light;<\/div>\n
closing the gap for the whole world by engaging the world.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
One of the illuminating features of this book for me was about the dynamics and how Mel emphasized fostering a culture of change and shifting. His last section was on choosing wise leaders, and I don’t know that I’ve read anything quite like this.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Now here’s the point: pastor, you can trust Mel; he’s been there; he’s experienced it after all these years at Elmbrook; he’s been there and he’s been through it and he’s lived to guide others through that experience.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The second book is a full education in pastoral formation: The Power to Comprehend with All the Saints: The Formation and Practice of a Pastor-Theologian<\/a>\"\"
\n<\/strong><\/em>. The books has short chapters by pastors about theological and pastoral topics — all shaped by an institute at Princeton — the Pastor-Theologian Program. Again, the studies are by pastors, astute pastors, and they cover topics pastors want to hear from pastors about.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I mention a few: the Bible, children, college, seminary, doubt, reading, struggles, significant events, the call, preaching, teaching, psychology, administration, sacraments, evangelism, prayer, and death. All by pastors.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
This book is a course in pastoral theology and the theology of pastoring in the dimension of formation. I will send this book — free — to the pastor who writes the best one paragraph essay on spiritual formation and the pastor.<\/b> <\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
And I will ask my pastor friends — Jim Martin and John Frye — to be the judges.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Free book offer at bottom of this post! Pastors need to hear from fellow pastors. There’s a place for pastors listening to biblical experts — when they study the Bible. There’s a place for pastors listening to theologians — when they need to study theology. But there’s a place where only a pastor can speak…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":70,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pastoring-and-leading","category-pastoring-and-preaching"],"yoast_head":"\nPastors Teaching Pastors - Jesus Creed<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/jesuscreed\/2009\/10\/pastors-teaching-pastors.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pastors Teaching Pastors - Jesus Creed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Free book offer at bottom of this post! Pastors need to hear from fellow pastors. There’s a place for pastors listening to biblical experts — when they study the Bible. There’s a place for pastors listening to theologians — when they need to study theology. But there’s a place where only a pastor can speak…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/jesuscreed\/2009\/10\/pastors-teaching-pastors.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Jesus Creed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-10-16T06:35:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/jesuscreed\/files\/import\/imgs\/EugPet.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Scot McKnight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Pastors Teaching Pastors - Jesus Creed","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/jesuscreed\/2009\/10\/pastors-teaching-pastors.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Pastors Teaching Pastors - Jesus Creed","og_description":"Free book offer at bottom of this post! 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