Ordained ministry, says Willimon, is a gift of God to the
church--but that doesn't mean that it is easy. Always a difficult
vocation, changes in society and the church in recent years have
made the ordained life all the more complex and challenging. Is the
pastor primarily a preacher, a professional caregiver, an
administrator? Given the call of all Christians to be ministers to
the world, what is the distinctive ministry of the ordained? When
does one's ministry take on the character of prophet, and when does
it become that of priest? What are the special ethical obligations
and disciplines of the ordained? In this book, Willimon explores
these and other central questions about the vocation of ordained
ministry.
He begins with a discussion of who pastors are, asking about the
theological underpinnings of ordained ministry, and then moves on
to what pastors do, looking at the distinctive roles the pastor
must fulfill. The book also draws on great teachers of the
Christian tradition to demonstrate that, while much about Christian
ministry has changed, its core concerns--preaching the word, the
care of souls, the sacramental life of congregations--remains the
same.
Ordained ministry is a vocation to which we are called, not a
profession that we choose. To answer that call is to open oneself
to heartache and sometimes hardship; yet, given the one who calls,
it is to make oneself available to deep and profound joy as
well.
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