Reconstructing Pastoral Theology: A Christological Foundation

by Andrew Purves

In Pastoral Care in the Classical Tradition , Andrew Purves argued that pastoral care and theology has long ignored Scripture and Christian doctrine, and pastoral practice has become secularized in both method and goal, the fiefdom of psychology and the social sciences. He builds further on this idea here, presenting a christological basis for ministry and pastoral theology.

Genres: Theology, Counselling

280 pages, Paperback

First published September 20, 2004

Reviews

[Parker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Purves' primary assertion, that pastoral theology and practice must turn away from the task-oriented, pseudo-psychological discipline that it has been made into and turn toward a participation in the ongoing ministry of Christ, is a welcome message. However, much of everything else he says is not nearly as helpful.

First, I find his theology terribly deficient in many places. Some examples include his assertion that Trinitarianism is a "doctrine of the church" rather than one derived from special revelation is very dangerous, indeed. At a later point in the book, he affirms Moltmann's suggestion that there was an actual division within the Godhead at the moment of Christ's death is concerning. Then there are also his apparent leanings toward monergistic universalism. Most clearly problematic (because he explains his thinking on this issue rather than making only bold statements) is his rejection of Penal Substitutionary Atonement, in favor of. . . nothing in particular. Certainly nothing that he could clearly demonstrate from the Scriptures -- instead he supported his points from the work of John Campbell McLeod. Moreover, the critiques he lays at the Westminster development of PSA demonstrated to me that he had little idea what he was writing about, given especially that he accused the Puritans of teaching doctrines that are flatly denied in their Confessions.

Second, his prose is simply not good. He is terribly repetitive, beating the reader over the head again and again with what was made perfectly clear the first time. Yet at the same time, there are many things that he actually doesn't develop very fully at all; he'll make a controversial statement, and then proceed to not back it up whatsoever. At other times (and this is a very frequent problem), he will make a statement which I thought I understood, but the more he goes on in developing an idea, the more confused I am about what he means, until finally I'm not sure what he is trying to say about anything!

Reading this book felt often like digging for jewels in a pile of excrement. Even those jewels that I did find, I wasn't sure if I could trust, because I knew where they came from. I would like very much to see this same book, with its message about our need for a thoroughly Christological theology of pastoral ministry, written by somebody else. Somebody who can write clearly, and who has a trustworthy theological background.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andrew Purves argues powerfully that pastoral work should be distinctly Christian and theological. In a world where much that is written about pastoral life is rooted in psychological and therapeutic models, Purves 'reconstructs' pastoral theology on the basis of the accomplished and ongoing activity of God. Drawing on such theological loci as union with Christ, the priesthood of Christ, eschatology, and the mission of God, Purves gives a distinctly Christian foundation for pastoral work that does not cast the pastor back on their own resources. Instead, they are called to participate in the gracious ministry of God. Pastoral work depends upon the activity of God for its efficacy, not the pastor's competence.
While this work was quite refreshing and theologically robust, the pace of the book was a bit slow at points, which is why I dropped by rating down to 4/5.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a “must” read for anyone interested in pastoral theology. This is not because I think that most readers will agree with all that is here. They won’t. But this is a “must” read because the author makes a sustained effort to lay a theological foundation for pastoral theology. This is rare and significant lacuna in the literature. Unfortunately, most works on pastoral theology, even those which are excellent like Thomas C. Oden, Pastoral Theology, tend to be “functional. They describe the work of the pastor without laying a theological foundation for it. Purves’ work is the exception because he grounds pastoral theology in biblical/systematic theology. For this author, pastoral theology must have a Christological foundation rooted in the mission of God and union with Christ. An adequate description of his work is beyond the scope of this review, so I will merely note some things I like and some I did not.

I appreciated :

1. The careful and thoughtful effort to ground pastoral theology in Christology.
2. The emphasis on the believer’s union with Christ and how foundational it is for pastoral theology. For me, his work in this respect is the most outstanding aspect of the book and an argument for its inclusion in any serious thought on pastoral theology.

Things I did not like included:
1. The influence of Barth and Brunner on his thought, especially when it comes to the nature of Scripture which he sees as a witness to revelation but apparently not revelation itself.
2. The emphasis on baptism as the point of entrance into union with Christ. I was not able to tell from my reading what he sees as the role of faith in the believer’s union with Christ.
3. His following of Moltmann in the section on eschatology. The clarity of the believer’s hope did not come through as clearly as it should.

Purves’ theology is unique and I suspect that almost every reader will find things with which he or she disagrees. But that fact should not offset how significant this work is to the construction of proper pastoral theology.

[Kathleen Krynski · Rating 2 out of 5]

I agree with the fundamental premise of this book, but I felt it was poorly written and just not very useful at all. Purves' project of wanting to reconstruct pastoral theology to be actual theology? Great. His extensive repetition (including a whole chapter - 5 - that is almost completely redundant!), his total elimination of human agency in troubling ways, and the overall lack of practical application? Not so great.

[Troy Nevitt · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't find this book to be all that helpful. There were certainly true things stated, but it looked like a man largely unimpressed by the state of pastoral theology who wanted to rewrite everything from the ground up, rather than reenforcing *why* pastors do what they do.

[Ashley Chesnut · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I think the book could be shorter, Purves does have some helpful discussions on what our union with Christ means and the implications that has for us as believers and for ministry.