Pastoral Ministry according to Paul: A Biblical Vision

by James W. Thompson

What is the ultimate purpose of pastoral ministry? What emphases and priorities should take precedence? In the day-to-day emphasis on various pastoral roles and pragmatic concerns, what can sometimes get lost is the theological foundation for understanding pastoral ministry.James Thompson is a New Testament scholar with a concern for relating biblical studies to practical ministry. Here he does a careful study of several of Paul's epistles in order to see what Paul's vision and purpose were for his own ministry. He finds that Paul's aim was an ethical transformation of the communities (not just individuals) with which he worked, so that they would live lives worthy of the gospel until Christ's return. Using this as a framework, Thompson offers suggestions for practical application to contemporary ministry.

Genres: Theology, New Testament

176 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 2006

About the author

Dr. James Thompson is the Associate Dean of the Graduate School of Theology at Abilene Christian University, Abilene, Texas. In addition, he is also a Professor of New Testament and an Editor for the Restoration Quarterly. After earning his B.A. and M.A. at ACU, he went on to earn his Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University. He has also earned a B.D. from the Union Theological Seminary in New York. Dr. Thompson has been at ACU since 1992 and has served as chair of the Graduate Department of Bible and Ministry since 1997. Prior to his coming to ACU, he served as professor and President of the Austin Graduate School of Theology in Austin, Texas. He is the author of several books, including Our Life Together, The Mark of a Christian, Strategy for Survival, The Church in Exile, Equipped for Change and commentaries on 2 Corinthians and Hebrews. He was a translator of the Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament. His research interests include the relationship between biblical interpretation and preaching.

Reviews

[Robert D. Cornwall · Rating 4 out of 5]

ames Thompson's Pastoral Ministry according to Paul is full of insight on the contemporary practice of ministry. He defines pastoral ministry in terms of community formation, with a goal of the presentation before God at the end of days of a blameless church. It is a vision of Paul's theology that moves beyond justification to transformation.

For we who are pastors, Paul offers an alternative vision:

Paul's clear articulation of his pastoral ambition provides focus to the contemporary minister who struggles with a variety of expectations. His focus on community transformation is a welcome alternative to our own focus on meeting the individual needs of members of the congregation. Moreover, his call for a communal and countercultural ethic provides a missing dimension in the contemporary understanding of ministry. For Paul, all of the functions and skills of the minister fit within a pastoral theology of transformation. (p. 29).

Such a vision of ministry isn't geared to making things easier, but it gives clearer focus. We who have served congregations know the difficulty of trying to keep up with the fleeting desires of congregants, desires that pull us too and fro. When we "don't measure up" it's time to go. Thompson's Pauline vision puts the focus on calling the community forward so it becomes more Christlike.

As I read Thompson in light of the critiques of Christianity given by Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, and others, I thought I found within its pages an answer to the ethical challenges to the Christian message. Christianity hasn't been found wanting because it was tried and failed, but because it has never been tried.

[Matthew Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent examination of specific Pauline texts. Surprisingly, much is said about the goal of ethnic diversity in local church expressions. Application is woven throughout in somewhat general forms but must be further contextualized for local churches.

[Van Robarts · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good book. Thompson describes Paul's pastoral theology in terms of bringing his churches to unity and to be blameless at the coming of Christ. He is trying to consider Paul's pastoral theology in light of the new perspective on Paul. He does this by first describing Paul's theology and then tracing out that description in Paul's letters.

Several things stand out that Thompson says. First, what Paul was trying to do was unprecedented in his context. Paul was trying to unite people from all sorts of ethnic and social groups into unified communities. Second, Paul's ethical teaching is the primary goal of his letters. He argues from his theological foundation to the ethical norms that he gives. His analysis of the letters is helpful, but the two points just mentioned are the most important for the over all work.

I have read at the same time his other two related works on ethics and Paul's ecclesiology. While each work has its distinctive discussions, there is a lot of overlap. Each is worthy of a careful reading.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good. Thompson gets quite exegetical but pulls it all together to give practical help.