Pastoral Theology: The Pastor in the Various Duties of His Office

by Thomas Murphy

Whether newly ordained or nearly retired, every pastor will benefit from the wise counsel of this book. Based in part on his experience as a pastor for over twenty-five years, and in part from his notes from Archibald Alexander’s Princeton Seminary class on pastoral ministry, Thomas Murphy sets forth the duties of the pastor in expansive and practical detail. Though written twelve years after the end of the US Civil War, this work remains relevant. The chapters on the pastor in his closet and the pastor in his study are alone worth the price of the book.

564 pages, Hardcover

Published March 1, 2025

Reviews

[Zack]

A great deal of good material, and also some interesting but dated counsel on Sabbath Schools. Heavy block-quoting would have been well served by footnote references of some kind in this new edition. The index is helpful. Will return to this.

[Ben Robin]

A comprehensive guide to pastoral theology and ministry. For aspiring or beginning pastors, consider the first 5 chapters particularly carefully!

Admittedly, his Southern Presbyterian approach differs a bit from mine, especially on questions of church polity, but I found Murphy’s an edifying and useful work nonetheless.

[Evan]

It's not that this book is not a good book, but that as the chapters progress, they become less and less relevant for the modern minister, except for the two chapters toward the end about session and presbytery. Murphy has a way of writing that makes you feel like everything is of utmost importance to a pastor, and nothing should be omitted. Which I find especially unhelpful in chapters on the lesser duties of the pastor, like his 74(!) page chapter on Sunday School. And that chapter felt really irrelevant, because Sunday Schools in his era were significantly different from what they are today.

For this book to be an effective help for pastors today, I would trim the book to half its length and keep the important chapters. That would also make the important duties seem important, instead of the getting to the last chapter and being completely overwhelmed at everything that must happen.

[Joshua Chatman]

This is probably the best book on pastoral ministry I’ve read. It’s definitely my favorite. It’s biblical and comprehensive. I felt like Murphy mentored me. It blessed me tremendously! I highly recommend it.

[Connor Curtis]

This was a great book that I read for my pastoral ministry class! It was originally published in 1877 by an American Presbyterian minister. In the book, Murphy gives advice on how pastors should approach their devotional life, their preparation, their pulpit duties, shepherding and mercy work, administrative work, membership duties, Sunday schools, current events, session work, and interdenominational work. He is very honest and gives excellent, scriptural advice. 150 years between the writing of this book and now means that contexts and specific practices have changed. Examples include house visits, Sunday schools from sabbath schools, and letter writing. However many of the principles are still extremely applicable. The language in this book is clear and succinct and I will definitely revisit it when I become a full time pastor! Would highly recommend!

[Zach Byrd]

The first few chapters are golden, addressing the heart and soul of the pastor. He adds a weightless to the office that is often missing today. Furthermore, his counsel regarding the pastor’s study and pulpit ministry are timeless in many ways.

That said, some of the final chapters are either dated or impractical for a smaller church. His discussion on relationships with other denominations felt rushed. As a pastor who deals with other congregations on a daily basis, I was hoping for the same concreteness as evidenced in other chapters.

Take your time in the beginning, keep a good pace in the middle, and speed through the end.

[Will Stanard]

Skimmed a lot of sections (this thing is CHUNKY) and read over a long period of time.

This is such a helpful resource. Murphy will be someone you can revisit over a lifetime of pastoral ministry.

Some of his advice is antiquated or unrealistic, like doing up to “only” fifteen pastoral visits a week lol. But every pastor or ministry candidate will benefit from the wide breadth of topics Murphy covers and the meticulous detail he gives to each of them.

[Colton Brewer]

This feels like what many men ascribe to Baxter's Reformed Pastor; a masterful pastoral manual for new ministers. It's filled with great wisdom. While some bits may feel dated (e.g. Sabbath schools as he describes aren't operated quite the same way now), it is rather timely in considering the work of office of a minister.

[Michael Moon]

Thomas Murphy’s Pastoral Theology reads like the counsel of an older shepherd urging younger ministers to walk closely with Christ and labor faithfully for souls. Murphy’s burden throughout is not ministerial fame or outward success, but spiritual usefulness born from holiness, prayer, discipline, and love for the flock.

Some of the most memorable lines are: “What is needed in the ministry now is complete consecration of heart and head and hands to Christ,” and, “That true sanctity which becomes the gospel minister will keep him near to God, the source of all real strength and success.”

He stresses pastoral visitation, earnest preaching, private devotion, and careful diligence in the work of ministry. He does often make grand sweeping general statements that I think can have a bit more nuance. Also, I would’ve liked to have seen references to the Bible and other works clearly noted within the book because he often times quote scripture or other authors without giving references (maybe that’s reflective of my own ignorance more than his need to provide references).

Still, this book is deeply warm, convicting, and devotional. It reminded me that a pastor’s greatest usefulness does not come from talent or personality, but from abiding in Christ, sincere love for His people, and a compassion for those who do not know Christ.

[E]

This is a classic from the past (late 19th century presbyterianism). I heard Ligon Duncan recommend it at a conference a few years ago, and there were few quality copies available. But Greenville Seminary now owns the Log Cabin imprint and has produced a handsome volume (I'm interested to see what other classics of presbyterianism they unearth!).

Murphy discusses just about anything you could think of that a pastor would have to tackle in his regular ministry. His advice on pastoral visitation is especially helpful--do visits in bunches, and keep them short! He has quite a system that would translate pretty well today, although parishioners tend to be more spread out than they were in his era, so some of his calculations would have to change.

The surprising topic that he went on and on and on about was Sunday School (or "Sabbath School"). This takes up a quarter of the book. But you have to realize that Sunday School was a relatively new innovation in his era, and perhaps not performed all that well. But Murphy has plenty of wisdom and advice about how a pastor should oversee and participate in that vital ministry (at a level of engagement higher than nearly any pastor's today).

Excellent work for any pastor--and thanks for the recommendation, Lig.

[Matt Crawford]

Pastoral theology is something that is somewhat overlooked. Pastors are professionals we expect them to do and be masters of their craft. Murphy says why this is needed more than ever. The job has evolved. While listening to his professor Archibald Alexander, he took detailed notes and this book is the result of those notes. It is because according to Murphy, the job has expanded. It is not merely working half a day a week. You must love the work that you were called too. Because it is only out of the overflow of your own that you can help anyone else. And not help comes by way of the tool belt. The Pastor must be a jack of all trades. Murphy offers tips for how to manage this hefty work. And what the work entails. How the pastor is first to settle his own and then help settle the people’s anxieties of this drug world that we live that his job is supposed to be planting seeds to have a lasting effect.

[David Clouse]

The first 2/3 of this book was fantastic and five stars. Murphy could sometimes be repetitive and the latter half was a bit outdated in some ways but still carried some practical application. It was almost exactly what I was looking for but fell short in a few areas of specifics or details on pastoral ministry that maybe he just took for granted would be known. Regardless, the first few chapters are excellent!

[Craig]

I read this with my co-pastor during our "staff meetings." We found that it engendered a lot of great conversations. While there were some bits that didn't seem quite applicable to our context -- perhaps because they were archaic or because the author is Presbyterian -- there was much that we found to be extremely helpful.