Pastoral Visitation: For the Care of Souls

by Tyler C Arnold, Harold L. Senkbeil (Editor)

Christ comes to, and through, his people

Many consider pastoral visitation antiquated and impractical. People seem busier than ever, and technology appears to trivialize personal contact. As a result, personal visits are often reserved only for the gravest of situations.

Tyler C. Arnold argues that pastoral visitation is essential to the pastoral role. In Scripture, God visits his people to show his personal interest and concern. This is seen most clearly in the incarnation. Christ's ministry is one of presence. But Jesus is not only an example of visitation ministry; he is the embodiment of it. And in visitation, pastors and laypeople continue Jesus's ministry by bringing Christ to the individual in their very place of need.

Established in strong theological foundations and sensitive to contemporary concerns, Pastoral Visitation exhorts pastors to return to this classic method of individual soul-care.

Genres: Theology

200 pages, Hardcover

Published January 25, 2023

Reviews

[Jared · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Visitors bring Jesus. Visitors make known the active power of God's love that desires to come into our midst and meet us where we are.

We dare not take for granted the blessed privilege it is to be a pastor who is called by God to visit his precious loved ones. Yes, visitation is hard, time-consuming work. Yes, it takes a lot of patience and planning. Yes, it takes experience to become good at it. You are his chosen instrument, God's foot soldier, made ready to do battle against sin, death, and the devil. He chose you.”

[Jonathan Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a helpful introduction and guide to a neglected, yet vital element of pastoral ministry. I found many theological and practical elements here to be encouraging. Although the chapter on the use of liturgy in visitation was interesting, it would probably be most helpful to a pastor who shares the author's Lutheran background. However, it was not overly prescriptive and he made lots of room for flexibility depending on the visit. He picked up on Harold Senkbeil's helpful motto of having one ear listening to the congregant and one ear listening to Scripture as you sit with people and counsel them, and overall his emphasis on listening throughout the book was spot on.

Would definitely recommend it to any pastor unfamiliar with the practice of visitation or someone feeling fearful about it. Tyler Arnold is honest about the challenges pastors will face, especially in our post-Covid world. But a pastoral visitation is grounded in Jesus coming to earth to visit us in the incarnation, so we can take heart. We visit in His name and power.

[Greg Mathis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good mix of theology and practice. Readers from less sacramental traditions will wade through certain particulars here. A helpful read.

[Timothy Koch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great little book that exhorts and directs and offers wisdom regarding pastoral visitation.
This book is forthright about visitation requiring efforts. There is a paragraph where he depicts the phone-tag and much rescheduling of a single visit—it rings so very true to my own experience! I fear that many pastors will just "give up" and throw their hands in the air and say, "Well, I tried." So, I loved the "you have to stick with this" emphasis.

I thought the last half of the book "the nuts and bolts" part of visitation was better than the first half. I suspect this is because I know Tyler, so I didn't need convincing that visitation is important or grounded in Christ our Lord as the revelation of Scripture.

If you're not sure what visitation looks like or how to start, this book will give you all those tips without losing sight of Christ and its holy nature.

[Michael Beatty · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Pastoral Visitation For the Care of Souls” is a terrific addition to the Lexham Ministry Guides. My seminary education did not include much by way of instruction on pastoral visitation nor did I see it in practice in the churches of which I was a member. I am indebted to Tyler Arnold for his work and for providing a framework to implement in my own practice. I highly recommend the volume, especially for those in pastoral ministry.

[Theologia14 · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far the best book in the series. You will likely encounter familiar advice and exhortation, but I also found lots of good ways to apply the Scriptures to the theology of pastoral visitation. The resources and advice at the end of the book really help make this resource shine. It would be a great idea for the author to expand this resource sometime in the future.

[Justin Gatlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A motivating and challenging book with a good theological reflection on the importance and place of visitation as a pastor. The practical section could have been extended with more general advice before jumping into a series of specific scenarios.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good and helpful book, offering many practical insights into pastoral visitation. As Arnold writes from within the Lutheran tradition, some of it required parsing. Some exegetical comments were puzzling.

[Eric Rhodes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great call to pastoral visitation. Starts with a reminder of God’s visiting his people. Tyler includes theological reviews, practical guidance and examples of specific situations.

[Dr. Jake Brock · Rating 5 out of 5]

An outstanding resource on pastoral visitation - insightful, practical, wise, and inspirational.