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The Potter's Rib: Mentoring for Pastoral Formation
Just as a potter uses a "rib" to exert pressure and give shape to clay vessels spinning on a wheel, so God has used the practice of mentoring to shape leaders from the times of ancient Israel to the modern church. This book provides a theological and historical foundation for the practice, inviting the modern supervisor and seminarian to step into the church's rich heritage of mentors and mentees by offering selected vignettes of these relationships in the lives of such influential leaders as Gregory the Great, St. Augustine, John Newton and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. By tracing out the spiritual formation of some of the most influential leaders in church history, Brian Williams shows how certain patterns of mentoring relationships have been pivotal for the people of God in ages past. He then combines the wisdom of the classical discipline of spiritual direction with the tradespractice of apprenticeship to offer us a practical model for mentoring today. The book concludes with a number of tools, forms, and practical suggestions to help shape and guide this demanding but rewarding practice. The Potter's Rib will challenge experienced pastors and seminary students alike to take seriously the role of mentoring in becoming the pastors they are called to be. Brian A. Williams, a graduate of Regent College, is involved in local ministry in Vancouver, British Columbia.
- GenresLeadership
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 20, 2005
20 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 23, 2020
The Potter's Rib is a unique book - it is a book describing the process of mentoring in a pastoral context, using some "famous" characters in Christendom - Gregory of Nazianzus, Augustine, Catherine, Newton, Bonhoeffer, and Barth.
From there, Williams plots a path of what a mentoring relationship means, both theoretically and practically, and what it looks like for both the mentor and mentee.
I appreciate the fact that Williams also spends considerable time just on the office of pastor - the calling, the spiritual formation, and the habits that are wrapped up in being a pastor. And these are critical - if you are going to enter into a relationship built on the premise of discipling one to become a more rounded and mature shepherd of God's people, you better know what you are getting yourself into.
The Potter's Rib is solidly written. It does get a bit wordy at times, but I appreciate the balance Williams strikes between theory and practice. There is a ton of actionable items here, and after finishing the book, the attentive reader should never be wondering, "where do I go from here?"
Williams utilizes the mechanism of asking questions at multiple times throughout the book. This is extremely effective, because it forces you to stop and think. You can't just gloss over the passages. Well, you can, of course, but you know that in doing so you are missing the real application of what you have just read.
The book isn't witty. It isn't full of amazing stories and anecdotes. But it more than makes up for this in practical advice and a strong emphasis on the spiritual formation that results.
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I noticed Amazon and Goodreads have a slightly different meanings to their 5-point scale. I thought it was odd to have a different rating for the same book on two different sites, so I came up with my own scale below. For the record, it is fairly close to Amazon's scale, but allows me to be consistent between the two sites.
5 - Fantastic. Life-altering. Maybe only 30 in a lifetime.
4 - Very good.
3 - Worth your time.
2 - Not very good.
1 - Atrocious
From there, Williams plots a path of what a mentoring relationship means, both theoretically and practically, and what it looks like for both the mentor and mentee.
I appreciate the fact that Williams also spends considerable time just on the office of pastor - the calling, the spiritual formation, and the habits that are wrapped up in being a pastor. And these are critical - if you are going to enter into a relationship built on the premise of discipling one to become a more rounded and mature shepherd of God's people, you better know what you are getting yourself into.
The Potter's Rib is solidly written. It does get a bit wordy at times, but I appreciate the balance Williams strikes between theory and practice. There is a ton of actionable items here, and after finishing the book, the attentive reader should never be wondering, "where do I go from here?"
Williams utilizes the mechanism of asking questions at multiple times throughout the book. This is extremely effective, because it forces you to stop and think. You can't just gloss over the passages. Well, you can, of course, but you know that in doing so you are missing the real application of what you have just read.
The book isn't witty. It isn't full of amazing stories and anecdotes. But it more than makes up for this in practical advice and a strong emphasis on the spiritual formation that results.
---------------
I noticed Amazon and Goodreads have a slightly different meanings to their 5-point scale. I thought it was odd to have a different rating for the same book on two different sites, so I came up with my own scale below. For the record, it is fairly close to Amazon's scale, but allows me to be consistent between the two sites.
5 - Fantastic. Life-altering. Maybe only 30 in a lifetime.
4 - Very good.
3 - Worth your time.
2 - Not very good.
1 - Atrocious
November 26, 2012
Very helpful. One of the most comprehensive books on pastoral mentoring. May be a bit wordy at times, but the concepts are both classical and contemporary.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews