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The Pastoral
Working the Angles: The Shape of Pastoral Integrity
American pastors, says Eugene Peterson, are abandoning their posts at an alarming rate. They are not leaving their churches and getting other jobs. Instead, they have become "a company of shopkeepers, and the shops they keep are churches." Pastors and the communities they serve have become preoccupied with image and standing, with administration, measurable success, sociological impact, and economic viability. In Working the Angles, Peterson calls the attention of his fellow pastors to three basic acts--which he sees as the three angles of a triangle--that are so critical to the pastoral ministry that they determine the shape of everything else. The acts--prayer, reading Scripture, and giving spiritual direction--are acts of attention to God in three different oneself, the community of faith, and another person. Only by being attentive to these three critical acts, says Peterson, can pastors fulfill their prime responsibility of keeping the religious community attentive to God. Written out of the author's own experience as pastor of a "single pastor church," this well-written, provocative book will be stimulating reading for lay Christians and pastors alike.
204 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 30, 1987
184 people are currently reading
1113 people want to read
About the author
Eugene H. Peterson
432 books1,014 followersEugene H. Peterson was a pastor, scholar, author, and poet. For many years he was James M. Houston Professor of Spiritual Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. He also served as founding pastor of Christ Our King Presbyterian Church in Bel Air, Maryland. He had written over thirty books, including Gold Medallion Book Award winner The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language a contemporary translation of the Bible. After retiring from full-time teaching, Eugene and his wife Jan lived in the Big Sky Country of rural Montana. He died in October 2018.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 187 reviews
November 11, 2025
So insightful and challenging!! I think this is my favorite book on ministry, especially the section on spiritual direction (the last three chapters, stick it out!!)
“Every meeting with another person is a privilege. In pastoral conversation I have chances that many never get as easily or as frequently — chances to spy out suppressed glory, ignored blessing, forgotten grace. I had better not miss them” 😭
“Every meeting with another person is a privilege. In pastoral conversation I have chances that many never get as easily or as frequently — chances to spy out suppressed glory, ignored blessing, forgotten grace. I had better not miss them” 😭
May 24, 2009
Eugene H. Peterson looms giant on the landscape of modern American Christianity. He is a Presbyterian pastor, but also the author of several well-known books and the man behind The Message (a hugely popular paraphrase of the Bible). Peterson is the man every evangelical author wishes to be: successful, deep, respected (and probably wealthy). I’ve come across Peterson’s work in bits and pieces, always awed at even the elegance of his subtitles, but never delving into a full-length work before this, Working the Angles. It had all the trappings of a good book: an interesting topic, brief in length, written by a famous author, even touting praises from two other famous authors on the back cover. Plus, it was a book on the spiritual tasks of pastoring; I was ready to spend the next 131 pages amen-ing what I was sure Peterson would say: that pastors must firstly be spiritual if ever they hope to be spiritual leaders.
I wasn’t altogether wrong. Nor was I completely right. Peterson does emphasize the fundamental spiritual acts of pastoring: prayer, reading Scripture, and giving spiritual direction. He likens these to the three requisite angles of a triangle. While circumstances, personality, and history may differ and give triangles different sizes and proportions, without the angles there is no triangle. Similarly, he argues, without prayer and Scripture reading and spiritual direction there is no true pastoral ministry and all the effort and all the thought fizzles down into mere shopkeeping. All of this I expected. There were two ways, however, that Peterson surprised me; one, in an act of commission, and the other in an act of omission.
First, Peterson does more than exhort me as the reader by rephrasing the books I’ve already read or by re-arranging the convictions I already have. With a winning eloquence, he not only re-packages ancient ideas into stunning and fresh works of art, he comes very close to developing a theology of prayer and a philosophy of Scripture reading. Peterson is not content to say that the Psalms are a good place to begin praying Scripture, but he guides our blind hands across the contours of the Psalter, pointing out its unique textures and curves. And Peterson gives Scripture reading, one of the most basic acts of the Christian life, an astounding theological and philosophical treatment, wading through the basic concepts of word and thought and book, playing in the deeper waters of the oral-aural history of the Word of God, and diving into the notion of contemplative exegesis.
Second, Peterson leaves out something very important from his work. If you were to come to my house and step into my study and peruse my bookcase, you would see shelf after shelf filled with technique and methodology: how to understand prophecy, how to visit parishioners, how to preach so people will listen, how to parse a Hebrew verb, how to give Bible studies. The more years I add to my theological training, the more how-to books congest my shelves, each one apparently indispensable for good pastoral ministry. Peterson’s book, however, is distinctly different. There is much on what and why, but very little on how.
With a lively vocabulary and richly visual style, Peterson diagnoses—beautifully, vividly—the illnesses of the modern pastor: over-inflated with the sense of indispensability, squeezed by expectations, sapped by long habits in the wrong direction, deluded by methodology, seduced into management, unfaithful to the calling. Shopkeepers, not pastors. In reading it, I am amen-ing, just as I predicted. “Terrible, Doc; that’s just terrible.” But as the chapters develop, my amens fall silent, not for some difference of opinion, but because I hear him diagnosing my condition. I do want to rediscover the Scriptures, I do feel handicapped by my exegesis, the words have become flat and lifeless and I do desire to hear in them the voice of God! And so I hope that Peterson will go back on his word; I hope that, contrary to what he wrote in the book’s introduction, he will write some “formal instruction in the areas of prayer, Scripture, and spiritual direction” (12). The situation seems dire—surely this astute diagnostician may have also a pharmaceutical degree?
My wish is not to be fulfilled. The book ends, having offered me only a few anecdotes and parables for prescriptions. Still, though, I find it hard to fault Peterson for this. Perhaps there is here a lesson I’ve been needing to learn, a lesson about longing and true spiritual formation. Perhaps it is the design of God that I first be pricked and pained with yearnings and then in this dissatisfaction not to be fed new solutions and methodologies, but to venture into His presence for fulfillment, to go to Him as the Great Physician. If Working the Angles taught me anything, it is this: I must be attentive to God, not to be a successful pastor, but to be a satisfied one. And in the pages of Peterson’s book, God calls to me, and I must respond to Him, first as His child and then as His under-shepherd. If I expect my ministry to have shape, I must let Him shape it, working the angles into the dimensions of my everyday living.
I wasn’t altogether wrong. Nor was I completely right. Peterson does emphasize the fundamental spiritual acts of pastoring: prayer, reading Scripture, and giving spiritual direction. He likens these to the three requisite angles of a triangle. While circumstances, personality, and history may differ and give triangles different sizes and proportions, without the angles there is no triangle. Similarly, he argues, without prayer and Scripture reading and spiritual direction there is no true pastoral ministry and all the effort and all the thought fizzles down into mere shopkeeping. All of this I expected. There were two ways, however, that Peterson surprised me; one, in an act of commission, and the other in an act of omission.
First, Peterson does more than exhort me as the reader by rephrasing the books I’ve already read or by re-arranging the convictions I already have. With a winning eloquence, he not only re-packages ancient ideas into stunning and fresh works of art, he comes very close to developing a theology of prayer and a philosophy of Scripture reading. Peterson is not content to say that the Psalms are a good place to begin praying Scripture, but he guides our blind hands across the contours of the Psalter, pointing out its unique textures and curves. And Peterson gives Scripture reading, one of the most basic acts of the Christian life, an astounding theological and philosophical treatment, wading through the basic concepts of word and thought and book, playing in the deeper waters of the oral-aural history of the Word of God, and diving into the notion of contemplative exegesis.
Second, Peterson leaves out something very important from his work. If you were to come to my house and step into my study and peruse my bookcase, you would see shelf after shelf filled with technique and methodology: how to understand prophecy, how to visit parishioners, how to preach so people will listen, how to parse a Hebrew verb, how to give Bible studies. The more years I add to my theological training, the more how-to books congest my shelves, each one apparently indispensable for good pastoral ministry. Peterson’s book, however, is distinctly different. There is much on what and why, but very little on how.
With a lively vocabulary and richly visual style, Peterson diagnoses—beautifully, vividly—the illnesses of the modern pastor: over-inflated with the sense of indispensability, squeezed by expectations, sapped by long habits in the wrong direction, deluded by methodology, seduced into management, unfaithful to the calling. Shopkeepers, not pastors. In reading it, I am amen-ing, just as I predicted. “Terrible, Doc; that’s just terrible.” But as the chapters develop, my amens fall silent, not for some difference of opinion, but because I hear him diagnosing my condition. I do want to rediscover the Scriptures, I do feel handicapped by my exegesis, the words have become flat and lifeless and I do desire to hear in them the voice of God! And so I hope that Peterson will go back on his word; I hope that, contrary to what he wrote in the book’s introduction, he will write some “formal instruction in the areas of prayer, Scripture, and spiritual direction” (12). The situation seems dire—surely this astute diagnostician may have also a pharmaceutical degree?
My wish is not to be fulfilled. The book ends, having offered me only a few anecdotes and parables for prescriptions. Still, though, I find it hard to fault Peterson for this. Perhaps there is here a lesson I’ve been needing to learn, a lesson about longing and true spiritual formation. Perhaps it is the design of God that I first be pricked and pained with yearnings and then in this dissatisfaction not to be fed new solutions and methodologies, but to venture into His presence for fulfillment, to go to Him as the Great Physician. If Working the Angles taught me anything, it is this: I must be attentive to God, not to be a successful pastor, but to be a satisfied one. And in the pages of Peterson’s book, God calls to me, and I must respond to Him, first as His child and then as His under-shepherd. If I expect my ministry to have shape, I must let Him shape it, working the angles into the dimensions of my everyday living.
August 6, 2016
Stop reading this review, and go buy this book. Now.
Using a mathematical metaphor, Eugene Peterson gives readers a trigonometry of pastoral ministry. The lines of the pastoral calling are preaching, teaching, administration, etc. But without angles, there is no triangle. Without the angles of prayer, Scripture reading, and giving spiritual direction, pastoral ministry is mere religious shop-keeping. In a culture where everything is defined by busyness Peterson reminds those in ministry that our calling is attention to God: attention before Him in prayer; attention to His words and action across the millenia of Israel and Christ; attention to what God is doing in the person who is in front of me at any particular moment.
I really cannot recommend this book highly enough. I was expecting a lot after reading the Five Smooth Stones of Pastoral Work, and Peterson more than delivers. What I especially loved about this book is that Peterson does not do what we all expect (and want) him to do: provide us formulae and a checklist for how we can get better at prayer, Bible-reading, and counseling. Peterson doesn't capitulate. Instead, he draws you in to the story of redemption, to the structure and power of the Psalter, to remembering our and others' identity in Christ in conversations.
This is a book I want to return to at least every five years. Peterson is an incredibly gifted writer whose veins are coursing with Bible. You are sure to be refreshed, challenged, stimulated, and blessed by this work.
Using a mathematical metaphor, Eugene Peterson gives readers a trigonometry of pastoral ministry. The lines of the pastoral calling are preaching, teaching, administration, etc. But without angles, there is no triangle. Without the angles of prayer, Scripture reading, and giving spiritual direction, pastoral ministry is mere religious shop-keeping. In a culture where everything is defined by busyness Peterson reminds those in ministry that our calling is attention to God: attention before Him in prayer; attention to His words and action across the millenia of Israel and Christ; attention to what God is doing in the person who is in front of me at any particular moment.
I really cannot recommend this book highly enough. I was expecting a lot after reading the Five Smooth Stones of Pastoral Work, and Peterson more than delivers. What I especially loved about this book is that Peterson does not do what we all expect (and want) him to do: provide us formulae and a checklist for how we can get better at prayer, Bible-reading, and counseling. Peterson doesn't capitulate. Instead, he draws you in to the story of redemption, to the structure and power of the Psalter, to remembering our and others' identity in Christ in conversations.
This is a book I want to return to at least every five years. Peterson is an incredibly gifted writer whose veins are coursing with Bible. You are sure to be refreshed, challenged, stimulated, and blessed by this work.
December 23, 2024
Peterson stretches me in good ways. He makes me think, helps me slow down, and gives me a different perspective. But he also makes me uncomfortable sometimes (in this book, his emphasis on "hearing" the Word made me question his view on inspiration).
The introduction to this book was 5 stars. We often spend all our time on the lines of the triangle -- teaching, preaching, and administration. But our ministry triangle will be askew if we neglect the angles -- prayer, Bible, and pastoral direction. Better to get the angles anchored, Peterson urges us, and the rest will take care of itself.
The rest of the book was good. Peterson is thoughtful, helpful, though sometimes a bit too poetic for me. (I probably loved the introduction the best because that's where he was most direct.)
The introduction to this book was 5 stars. We often spend all our time on the lines of the triangle -- teaching, preaching, and administration. But our ministry triangle will be askew if we neglect the angles -- prayer, Bible, and pastoral direction. Better to get the angles anchored, Peterson urges us, and the rest will take care of itself.
The rest of the book was good. Peterson is thoughtful, helpful, though sometimes a bit too poetic for me. (I probably loved the introduction the best because that's where he was most direct.)
April 15, 2025
“More often than we think, the unspoken, sometimes unconscious reason that persons seek out conversation with the pastor is a desire to keep company with God”
This book is for pastors. Eugene Peterson gives his opinion of the unseen, unglamorous disciplines that pastors must have in order to do their job honestly. In the first few pages, Peterson demonstrates that he has a very strong sense of true pastoral vocation. Despite his weakness on some evangelical distinctives, he knows what a pastor ought to be and he has graciously chosen to share his insight with us.
I must say that this is some of the best stuff I have read recently. Peterson’s pen wields the force of all wisdom, conviction, and force we want to see in a pastor. He clearly possesses a rich grasp of both people and the pastorate, thus he effectively drives his axe poignantly into the heart of the reader chapter after chapter. I’m glad I read this in my time training to be a pastor. Can’t recommend it highly enough.
This book is for pastors. Eugene Peterson gives his opinion of the unseen, unglamorous disciplines that pastors must have in order to do their job honestly. In the first few pages, Peterson demonstrates that he has a very strong sense of true pastoral vocation. Despite his weakness on some evangelical distinctives, he knows what a pastor ought to be and he has graciously chosen to share his insight with us.
I must say that this is some of the best stuff I have read recently. Peterson’s pen wields the force of all wisdom, conviction, and force we want to see in a pastor. He clearly possesses a rich grasp of both people and the pastorate, thus he effectively drives his axe poignantly into the heart of the reader chapter after chapter. I’m glad I read this in my time training to be a pastor. Can’t recommend it highly enough.
February 24, 2011
This was my first time to read Peterson, and while it would have been impossible for this book to live up to the hype I've heard about his writing, I really did enjoy it. It's targeted at a very specific audience to which I no longer belong - the professional pastor. However, having served in some form of that capacity for close to a decade, I was very easily able to relate to his "angle", as it were.
The book is divided into three basic sections which examine foundations of the pastoral vocation: prayer, Scripture, and spiritual direction. While he emphasizes the reason why that these historically have been the foundations of pastoral ministry, there is an obvious case for all Christians to be rooted in the particulars of orthopraxy.
Having said that, the weakness I felt most keenly in Peterson's perspective is that he keeps a very firm line between clergy and laity, a line which I feel is not warranted by any scriptural precedence. Nonetheless, he accurately critiques some of the issues that come up when practicing that kind of dichotomy. For that reason, I would recommend this to anyone who has worked before or is currently working in the ministry profession. For those outside of the profession, it can serve as a good window into the workings of the pastoral mind and help cultivate mindfulness that pastors are people too.
The book is divided into three basic sections which examine foundations of the pastoral vocation: prayer, Scripture, and spiritual direction. While he emphasizes the reason why that these historically have been the foundations of pastoral ministry, there is an obvious case for all Christians to be rooted in the particulars of orthopraxy.
Having said that, the weakness I felt most keenly in Peterson's perspective is that he keeps a very firm line between clergy and laity, a line which I feel is not warranted by any scriptural precedence. Nonetheless, he accurately critiques some of the issues that come up when practicing that kind of dichotomy. For that reason, I would recommend this to anyone who has worked before or is currently working in the ministry profession. For those outside of the profession, it can serve as a good window into the workings of the pastoral mind and help cultivate mindfulness that pastors are people too.
April 20, 2022
Peterson sketches a picture for pastoral ministry that is at odds with much of what we see today. "It is bitterly disappointing to enter a room full of people whom you have every reason to expect to share the quest and commitments of pastoral work and find within ten minutes that they most definitely do not. They talk of images and statistics. They drop names. They discuss influence and status." (1)
Instead of building upon the pastor-as-CEO/influencer/spiritual-goods provider models we see today in spades, Peterson holds to a deeper, more fundamental and contemplative picture of a pastor as one who helps the community to be attentive to God. Prayer, the Word, and Spiritual Direction are the basic "angles" from which the title draws its name.
"The culture conditions us to approach people and situations as journalists: see the big, exploit the crisis, edit and abridge the commonplace, interview the glamorous. But the Scriptures and our best traditions train us in a different approach: notice the small, persevere in the commonplace, and appreciate the obscure." (149)
I found this book to be richly nourishing, sanity-giving, and at many points a helpful corrective to some of my own misconceived notions of pastoral ministry.
Instead of building upon the pastor-as-CEO/influencer/spiritual-goods provider models we see today in spades, Peterson holds to a deeper, more fundamental and contemplative picture of a pastor as one who helps the community to be attentive to God. Prayer, the Word, and Spiritual Direction are the basic "angles" from which the title draws its name.
"The culture conditions us to approach people and situations as journalists: see the big, exploit the crisis, edit and abridge the commonplace, interview the glamorous. But the Scriptures and our best traditions train us in a different approach: notice the small, persevere in the commonplace, and appreciate the obscure." (149)
I found this book to be richly nourishing, sanity-giving, and at many points a helpful corrective to some of my own misconceived notions of pastoral ministry.
January 8, 2024
Das Buch hat seine Stärken gerade zu Beginn und zum Schluss, wenn es um Gebet und darum, wie man geistlich Beziehung zu anderen lebt, geht. Dafür schätze ich Peterson. Im Mittelteil verliert er sich jedoch in künstlichen Gegenüberstellungen, die dann zulasten des Neueren gegeneinander ausgespielt werden: säkulares Sabbatverständnis vs. ein christliches Sabbatverständnis, die griechische schole vs. das moderne Schulsystem, Kulturen der mündlichen Sprache vs. der schriftlichen Sprache etc. Der Buchdruck wird dadurch überwiegend negativ bewertet. Worauf Peterson hinaus möchte, blieb mir lange Zeit unklar; manchmal wirkte er fast ein bisschen verbittert. Schließlich kam er dann zu einer Hermeneutik der contemplativen Exegese, womit er meint: Wir sollten die biblische Geschichte nicht nur lesen, sondern als Gottes Wort hören. Okay, danke. Durch die anfangs erwähnten Nuggets daher noch drei Sterne. Deutlich stärker fand ich The Contemplative Pastor: Returning to the Art of Spiritual Direction
December 11, 2022
An excellent book. I would happily recommend this to anyone interested in pastoring to help frame them for the work ahead.
With the leadership craze which blasted through the 90s, which now shapes so much of what people think pastoring is meant to be, this is a refreshing read which seeks to reshape the paradigm of pastoring.
Peterson's three angles of prayer, scripture and spiritual direction form a bedrock on which to build pastoral leadership, and aren't meant to be taken as merely periphery or secondary to organizational leadership.
Highly enjoyed, and am now deeply convicted to become a better pastor.
9.4/10
With the leadership craze which blasted through the 90s, which now shapes so much of what people think pastoring is meant to be, this is a refreshing read which seeks to reshape the paradigm of pastoring.
Peterson's three angles of prayer, scripture and spiritual direction form a bedrock on which to build pastoral leadership, and aren't meant to be taken as merely periphery or secondary to organizational leadership.
Highly enjoyed, and am now deeply convicted to become a better pastor.
9.4/10
January 16, 2023
Classic Peterson, meaning uniquely beneficial take on pastoral ministry, but always given with a side of iffiness.
November 6, 2025
A must read for those in a pastoral role! Peterson does an excellent job on redirecting the mind on why people pastor in the first place, guiding others to God! Let us not grow weary in our endeavors, but truly have God guide us in His strength, not our own!
September 17, 2024
Such an important read.
April 4, 2022
Simultaneously a breath of fresh air and a kick in the pants.
September 3, 2022
My first book by Peterson. What an excellent writer! This book made me want to read the biography of his life. That may be jumping to the top of the stack soon...
March 16, 2024
The best book I have read so far which discusses Prayer, Scripture, and Spiritual Direction so wonderfully. I also began reading out loud recently as a way to engage more senses as I'm reading. Slowly speaking Eugene's words as you read this book only deepen the meaning of it as you come to understand more of Eugene's heart begind writing this work. You know he is one who has poured into these disciplines more than he has written about them. That is the type of person I want to emulate.
I regret that I have waited this long to read anything from Peterson.
April 1, 2018
Peterson teaches me how to be a pastor. From him I get the permission to really take the time to pray and read scripture and just spend time with people. There is a lot of pressure to short change these things for other things.
February 24, 2025
Absolutely remarkable work on the essential shape of pastoral work.
I found myself both convicted and inspired by the introduction to the final word. There was not a missed line in this entire text. Eugene Peterson speaks from experience and out of passion and compassion for the role of the pastor. Although he wrote this many decades ago, it is still just as relevant (if not more so) today.
In short, Peterson shares three angels that shape pastoral integrity: prayer, reading Scripture, and giving spiritual direction. Only by being attentive to these three critical acts, says Peterson, can pastors fulfill their prime responsibility of keeping the religious community attentive to God.
What I love most is that none of that is new. Everyone knows that pastors should dedicate themselves to these three practices! But the conviction with which Peterson writes, the prose, and everything he says are so captivating that I could read a paragraph over many times and get something new each time. I don't say this about many books, particularly books like these, but this will not only be one that I return to time and time again, but it will be a book that I refer other pastors to read as well.
I found myself both convicted and inspired by the introduction to the final word. There was not a missed line in this entire text. Eugene Peterson speaks from experience and out of passion and compassion for the role of the pastor. Although he wrote this many decades ago, it is still just as relevant (if not more so) today.
In short, Peterson shares three angels that shape pastoral integrity: prayer, reading Scripture, and giving spiritual direction. Only by being attentive to these three critical acts, says Peterson, can pastors fulfill their prime responsibility of keeping the religious community attentive to God.
What I love most is that none of that is new. Everyone knows that pastors should dedicate themselves to these three practices! But the conviction with which Peterson writes, the prose, and everything he says are so captivating that I could read a paragraph over many times and get something new each time. I don't say this about many books, particularly books like these, but this will not only be one that I return to time and time again, but it will be a book that I refer other pastors to read as well.
July 15, 2021
I wish I'd read this at the start of my ministry, and not the closing years. I was uncertain at first but I've found it very convicting, prompting me to pray, which is always the sign of a good book. It has had the same effect for me, as EM Bounds "Power Through Prayer" had on me many years ago.
Here is a reminder of two really important lessons in pastoral ministry :-
First, our pastoral ministry does not only take place in the pulpit or in formal pastoral meetings, but often in the most unexpected and unplanned moments. How often we beat ourselves up as pastors because of our felt sense of failing to do as much as we should or as well as we should. Every moment of our ministry is of significance.
Second, we must stop turning into "professionals". Our responsibility is not to "fix" people and their problems. Our task is to direct them to God, who alone can fix them. For that reason, we should beware of simply applying what we perceive the remedy to their ills. As James directs, we should be slow to speak but quick to listen. Sometimes it may mean we don't offer "solutions". Like us, those who come to us need to know God. Gosh, did I really just say that?
Here is a reminder of two really important lessons in pastoral ministry :-
First, our pastoral ministry does not only take place in the pulpit or in formal pastoral meetings, but often in the most unexpected and unplanned moments. How often we beat ourselves up as pastors because of our felt sense of failing to do as much as we should or as well as we should. Every moment of our ministry is of significance.
Second, we must stop turning into "professionals". Our responsibility is not to "fix" people and their problems. Our task is to direct them to God, who alone can fix them. For that reason, we should beware of simply applying what we perceive the remedy to their ills. As James directs, we should be slow to speak but quick to listen. Sometimes it may mean we don't offer "solutions". Like us, those who come to us need to know God. Gosh, did I really just say that?
July 14, 2024
Eugene Peterson's writing is strikingly poetic and beautiful in language. Though published in 1987, Working the Angles proves Peterson's ability to write timeless leadership counsel and lives up to his title as a "pastor to pastors." That being said, this is not a practical book. In his introduction, he says, "I am not writing formal instruction in the areas of prayer, Scripture, and spiritual direction. These have been and are being done well by many others." If you are looking for a book to radically and quickly change the direction of your spiritual life this is not the book for you.
While his intention is noble and the purpose of the book itself ("to call attention...[to what is] basic in the practice of our calling") is a fine premise for a book written by someone of his stature and expertise, I believe he does so in a sometimes messy and haphazard sort of way. His use of words is more poetic than clear, leaving the reader to guess Peterson's main point for pages on end. While there can be beauty in ambiguity, clarity would be most appreciated in a book meant to clearly call out what is "basic in the practice of our calling[.]"
I also found a few small problems and contradictions, most notably his claim on prayer:
Peterson argues that "[p]rayer must not be fabricated out of emotional fragments or professional duties." His point is that when prayer becomes routine (professional duty) it becomes stale. I strongly disagree with this idea. As spiritual leaders in the church, we have an obligation (or professional duty) to exemplify what prayer looks like for others. This includes the "give[ing] thanks at meals" and "bless[ing] the Rotary picnic" which Peterson asserts is "uninstructed and untrained." And if our prayers must be without "emotional fragments[,]" what are the Psalms? He contradicts his point in this chapter by describing the Psalms as "contain[ing] all kinds of prayers grouped together rather haphazardly." In other words: emotional fragments. His view on prayer is taken too far, implying that a certain level of holiness must be achieved before speaking to our Father. His point is that prayer is powerful and should not be taken lightly. I agree, though some more incisive language might have solved this theological problem.
While Working the Angles is not perfect, it is still undoubtedly a masterpiece of its time and a must-read for any current or aspiring leader in the Church. Pastors are leaving their posts but are keeping their positions- we must be prepared to fight off the temptation to fall into idleness and complacency.
A strong reminder to focus on prayer, Scripture, and spiritual direction in ministry was needed in the 1960s and may be more vital in the Church today.
While his intention is noble and the purpose of the book itself ("to call attention...[to what is] basic in the practice of our calling") is a fine premise for a book written by someone of his stature and expertise, I believe he does so in a sometimes messy and haphazard sort of way. His use of words is more poetic than clear, leaving the reader to guess Peterson's main point for pages on end. While there can be beauty in ambiguity, clarity would be most appreciated in a book meant to clearly call out what is "basic in the practice of our calling[.]"
I also found a few small problems and contradictions, most notably his claim on prayer:
Peterson argues that "[p]rayer must not be fabricated out of emotional fragments or professional duties." His point is that when prayer becomes routine (professional duty) it becomes stale. I strongly disagree with this idea. As spiritual leaders in the church, we have an obligation (or professional duty) to exemplify what prayer looks like for others. This includes the "give[ing] thanks at meals" and "bless[ing] the Rotary picnic" which Peterson asserts is "uninstructed and untrained." And if our prayers must be without "emotional fragments[,]" what are the Psalms? He contradicts his point in this chapter by describing the Psalms as "contain[ing] all kinds of prayers grouped together rather haphazardly." In other words: emotional fragments. His view on prayer is taken too far, implying that a certain level of holiness must be achieved before speaking to our Father. His point is that prayer is powerful and should not be taken lightly. I agree, though some more incisive language might have solved this theological problem.
While Working the Angles is not perfect, it is still undoubtedly a masterpiece of its time and a must-read for any current or aspiring leader in the Church. Pastors are leaving their posts but are keeping their positions- we must be prepared to fight off the temptation to fall into idleness and complacency.
A strong reminder to focus on prayer, Scripture, and spiritual direction in ministry was needed in the 1960s and may be more vital in the Church today.
July 17, 2024
There is a lot of wisdom in this book.
I found his reflections on spiritual direction to be the most helpful. I grew up in a church that didn't really have a category for spiritual direction (let along that a pastor should have a spiritual director of his own!) and so it was new to me in some ways. However, having encountered the good fruits of spiritual direction in my current church, Peterson's reflections only increased for me the importance of this task for pastoral ministry.
I will certainly be returning to this book as I reflect more on what it means to be a faithful pastor.
I found his reflections on spiritual direction to be the most helpful. I grew up in a church that didn't really have a category for spiritual direction (let along that a pastor should have a spiritual director of his own!) and so it was new to me in some ways. However, having encountered the good fruits of spiritual direction in my current church, Peterson's reflections only increased for me the importance of this task for pastoral ministry.
I will certainly be returning to this book as I reflect more on what it means to be a faithful pastor.
December 2, 2024
Mean Gene does it again. He offers three essential angles of pastoral ministry: prayer, Scripture, and spiritual direction. If you’re familiar with Peterson, none of what is said here is new but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth engaging with. I found the section on spiritual direction (both giving it and receiving it) to be really challenging and helpful.
“we can impersonate a pastor without being a pastor. The problem, though, is that while we can get by with it in our communities, often with applause, we can’t get by with it within ourselves.” —p. 9
“we can impersonate a pastor without being a pastor. The problem, though, is that while we can get by with it in our communities, often with applause, we can’t get by with it within ourselves.” —p. 9
September 28, 2023
Peterson comes out swinging and doesn’t hold back the entire book. He stands by what he says and he’s not afraid to say it. I appreciated his insight into prayer, scripture, and spiritual directors. Despite being published in 1987, his words still very much apply to today’s society. I already know that Working with Angles is going to be a book I will look back on many times in my life.
February 12, 2024
Peterson is the gentle giant and pastoral prophet that towers in the corner of evangelical pastoral thought - and this amidst the unending and blabbering publishings (and hot takes on social media) from contemporary pastors. He writes with simplicity and beauty - cutting like Ockham’s razor. This is a must read for anyone in or considering pastoral ministry.
August 7, 2024
This was my first Peterson book. It did not disappoint. The way in which Peterson writes is both captivating in style and challenging in substance. You can tell from the beginning that Peterson is one who was soaked in word and prayer and who took the pastorate seriously. Looking forward to the rest in the series.
January 22, 2019
Peterson really gets back to the heart of pastoral work. Every pastor should read it.
July 23, 2019
4.5 stars. Classic Peterson. Last 2 chapters are required reading for ministers imo.
July 28, 2021
Eugene Peterson was a pastor, something the American Church is lacking. Many want to be effective communicators, influential teachers, and widely read authors... but few want to do the work of pastoring a group of people.
This little book focuses on three disciplines all pastors must do in order to have any kind of integrity: pray, read Scripture, and give spiritual direction. The most transformative part of the book for me was the section on prayer. It has not only informed my mind, but actually changed the way I pray.
Incredibly grateful to have discovered this old book in a used bookstore.
This little book focuses on three disciplines all pastors must do in order to have any kind of integrity: pray, read Scripture, and give spiritual direction. The most transformative part of the book for me was the section on prayer. It has not only informed my mind, but actually changed the way I pray.
Incredibly grateful to have discovered this old book in a used bookstore.
December 15, 2021
Unbelievably good. Why am I just now reading this!
March 13, 2024
Transformative if you are willing.
The triangle of pastoral ministry
- Scripture - Prayer - Spiritual Direction is reckoned as sever lack in our pastoral lives. Peterson is a needed sage in the realm of modern evangelicalism.
The triangle of pastoral ministry
- Scripture - Prayer - Spiritual Direction is reckoned as sever lack in our pastoral lives. Peterson is a needed sage in the realm of modern evangelicalism.
June 25, 2024
A must read for the person in the pulpit or pew
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