Book Review: The Christian Pastor's Manual (9Marks)

This book review was prepared for 9Marks.

“Avengers Assemble.” In recent Marvel movies, earth’s mightiest superheroes have often come together to deal with the latest existential threat or a new comic book villain. I wonder whether pastors sometimes wish that they could do something similar. When facing the latest challenge at your church, wouldn’t it be wonderful to be able to assemble your own team of ministry “superheroes”? To be able to call on a group of gifted and godly pastors, with all of the wisdom and experience you need, to help you navigate your current difficulty?

We should be thankful that we can often find such brothers in the various conventions, associations and fraternals that we belong to in the present. However, is also possible for us to draw such wisdom and experience from a group of ministry heroes in the past.

Almost 200 years ago, a pastor called John Brown decided to assemble a group of such heroes. Ministering in Edinburgh, Scotland around the end of the long eighteenth century, he identified the pastoral Iron Man’s and ministry Hulk’s of this era, and compiled their most useful writings on pastoral ministry into a single accessible volume. First published in 1826, it has now been reprinted by Reformation Heritage Books, and provides a pre-assembled team of ministry avengers that can help you navigate the various challenges you might face today.

Brown’s Avengers

Brown’s book is made up of 15 chapters, each of which is a separate work from the eighteenth century. It includes the writings of 10 pastors in total. Some of them are still well-known today, such as John Newton and Isaac Watts, who both have multiple pieces included. However, there are others that have largely been forgotten. These overlooked heroes, including John Mason and David Bostwick, are rich additions to the wider team with their works being among the most worthwhile inclusions. 

The writers are drawn from a variety of denominations, with four Presbyterians (John Mason, David Bostwick, John Jennings, John Erskine), three Anglicans (Thomas Scott, Richard Cecil, John Newton), two Congregationalists (Philip Doddridge, Isaac Watts), and one Baptist (Abraham Booth). This diversity of contributors means that the book doesn’t address the issues that can arise from specific aspects of a congregation’s ecclesiology. Instead, it focuses on the shared topics and tasks that sit at the centre of every pastor’s ministry. This means that the book is of great help for any pastor, no matter what congregation or denomination you belong to.

A Manual for Ministry

The 15 chapters address all the central aspects of pastoral ministry, including preaching, counselling, evangelism, personal study, and a pastor’s own spiritual formation. Indeed, the topics covered are so broad, while always retaining a level of depth and detail, that the book will almost certainly contain wisdom for whatever situation you might encounter.

Do you want to rethink how to provide regular and personal spiritual care for your flock? Philip Doddridge has a treatise challenging us to consider the importance of visitation. If it is a lack of zeal for evangelism that concerns you, then you should read John Newton’s letter on relating to the unconverted world. Are you conscious of a lack of application or affection in your sermons? If so, then you would profit from the reflections of John Jennings on how to grow in these aspects of preaching. The book really is a basic manual for every part of pastoral ministry!

Many of the chapters are general overviews of a minister’s role, which include encouraging reflections on the worth of pastoral work. As a result, reading it can provide you with a helpful opportunity to stand back and reflect on your ministry. Why not use it as the basis for conducting a ministry audit at an away day? Or take it with you on holiday and allow these experienced and godly men to help you identify areas for encouragement. If you want to uncover opportunities for growth in personal piety, you can use the list of questions for self-examination that Watts recommends. Alternatively, if you want to understand how you might be able to grow as a preacher, you can slowly read through Bostwick’s searching sermon on The Character and Duty of a Christian Preacher. If you have ever wished that you could just sit and listened to an older and wiser pastor reflect on the value of ministry and the lessons they have learnt over the years, this book allows you to do exactly that with these heroes of the past.

Wisdom for Today

Given that it is a manual for ministry, the primary target audience for the book is clearly pastors. However, those aspiring to or training for ministry will certainly find it helpful in shaping what they are aiming towards. Lay elders and regular preachers can also profit from the chapters that address pastoral care and preaching. Indeed, the breadth of the authors and general applicability of the topics is a real strength of the work, ensuring that it will be profitable for you wherever or however you are serving God’s people.

It should be noted that it is by no means perfect. Given the historical distance between the authors and today, it would have been helpful to have an introduction to the book that outlined the character and circumstances of those Brown assembled. Further, this historical distance also means that some of the advice they give is somewhat questionable or needs reframing. For example, Mason insists that to sleep longer than 6 hours each night is a selfish indulgence. Similarly, Doddridge includes a scathing condemnation of ministers who spend too much time solving problems in algebra or calculating astronomy, as opposed to wearing themselves out on their sermons. Nevertheless, listening to these experienced brothers from outside our time and context helps us to focus on the universal and unchanging duties of all of God’s ministers. It also allows them to challenge us on any contemporary imbalances and ministry assumptions that we have implicitly adopted from modern evangelicalism. As a result, even if you are able to assemble a body of brothers in the present to help you out in ministry, you might find there is also much profit in listening to these wise voices from the past as well. Indeed, Brown’s team of ministry Avengers might be the very spiritual superheroes that you need!