The Care of Souls: John Calvin’s Shepherding Ministry Marcus J. Serven Marcus J. Serven (Th.M, D.Min., Covenant Theological Seminary) retired in 2016 after serving for nearly thirty-seven years in full-time pastoral ministry. Pastor Serven ministered at congregations within several Presbyterian denominations, and he is currently a member of the Presbytery of the Midwest (OPC). He wrote his doctoral dissertation, Seeking the Old Paths: Towards a Recovery of John Calvin’s Pastoral Theology Amongst Reformed and Presbyterian Pastors Today (2011), under the direction of noted church historian David B. Calhoun. Abstract: Many Christians today have distinct impressions of who John Calvin was, but most have never read a single line from his Institutes of the Christian Religion, or benefited from the careful exegesis found in his Commentaries on the Bible, or reflected upon a single salient point from one of his many published sermons. In brief, the reformer John Calvin (1509–1564) has been misinterpreted, misread, and misunderstood.1 He is, perhaps, best known for his views on the doctrines of election, predestination, and reprobation.2 He is also known for his pivotal role in the prosecution of the arch-heretic Michael Servetus (1511–1553) who rejected the Trinity and the deity of Jesus Christ.3 But none…

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Toward a Theology of Pastoral Care in a Missional Mode Andrew Zantingh Andrew Zantingh is a graduate of Calvin Theological Seminary and serves as Professor of Congregational Theology at Missional Training Center, Phoenix, and Lead Pastor of The Journey Church in Kitchener, Ontatrio, Canada. As a lead pastor, Andrew has helped shift two churches in Canada to a missional Pastoral Theology, and he now mentors and coaches other pastors to be a missional leaders and disciplers. Abstract: For close to twenty-five years, I have been learning how to care for the congregations God has called me to serve. In this respect, I am like most other professional pastors who paid significant money to be trained by professional professors to gain the necessary skills and techniques to do specialized care in a congregational setting. In addition to being a pastor, I now also teach graduate level pastoral care courses for pastors. The following paper is my theological reflection on the task of training pastors to do pastoral care in a missional way. There are some significant problems with our current approach to pastoral theology. In this volume, Michael Goheen identifies three crucial assumptions that have negatively shaped pastoral theology’s historical growth…

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Pastoral Theology in a Missional Mode Michael W. Goheen Michael Goheen (Ph.D. Utrecht) is Professor and Director of Theological Education at Missional Training Center, Phoenix and professor of missional theology at Covenant Theological Seminary, St Louis, Missouri. Abstract: In this article I argue for the renewal of pastoral theology from a missional mode. This approach to pastoral theology offers rich resources addressing critical areas of contemporary concern. This article is more than just academic reflection. In fact, this reflects a curricular work in progress at Missional Training Center, Phoenix, Arizona—an extension site of Covenant Theological Seminary, St Louis, Missouri. For the past six years we have been attempting some creative approaches to theological education based on the rich insights from the 1960s—1980s offered by Western mission leaders and Southern hemisphere church leaders on theological education in a missional mode. I am especially indebted to the insights of Lesslie Newbigin, Harvie Conn, and David Bosch, and will draw primarily on their work in this article. I begin by briefly exposing the roots of this problematic view of pastoral theology. I then sketch the missional turn in the 20th century and note its considerable impact beginning with ecclesiology, and then on theology…

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Pastor-Scholar: The Pastor Theologian and Scholarship Douglas Estes Douglas Estes (PhD, University of Nottingham) is Assistant Professor of New Testament and Practical Theology and director of the DMin Program at South University in Columbia, South Carolina. Prior to this appointment, he served as a pastor for 16 years. He has written or edited seven books, including Questions and Rhetoric in the Greek New Testament (Zondervan, 2017) and How John Works (SBL Press, 2016), as well as contributed to a variety of publications including Bible Study Magazine and Christianity Today. He is the editor of Didaktikos: Journal of Theological Education (Lexham). Abstract: There is a critical need today for pastor-scholars to serve the Church and to advance theological knowledge. The pastor who is a scholar will utilize the format of the written word to dialogue with an important part of modern society—scholars and educated readers—through the form of scholarly discourse. Though the pastor-scholar is not a common calling, once one embraces this calling, there are several essential characteristics that can positively impact the pastor-scholar’s profession and standing. Key Words: pastor-scholar, pastor theologian, ecclesial theologian, scholarship, academics, writing, Augustine, Jonathan Edwards Share this on: FacebookTwitterLinkedin

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Light from the Third Great Awakening: Harold Ockenga and the Call to Future Pastor-Theologians Owen Strachan Owen Strachan (PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School), is associate professor of Christian Theology and director of the Center for Public Theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the author of The Pastor as Public Theologian (with Kevin Vanhoozer, Baker Academic) and Awakening the Evangelical Mind (Zondervan Academic). Abstract: Something remarkable transpired in the mid-twentieth century. Just as the First Great Awakening reset the ecclesiastical paradigm along gospel-demarcated lines in the 1700s, and just as the Second Great Awakening redrew the Protestant map through the explosion of upstart groups like the Baptists and Methodists, so the Third Great Awakening of the neo-evangelical years fundamentally recalibrated and repositioned evangelicalism for unprecedented expansion and activity. Many individuals contributed to this galaxy-formation. Upon close reflection, however, Harold Ockenga—with Billy Graham and Carl Henry—formed the three horsemen of the Neo-Evangelical Resurgence. It is the purpose of this article to first explore Ockenga’s significance for the current day, as the twenty-first century church’s experience mirrors that of the neo-evangelicals some 60–70 years ago. Ockenga offers us an example of a richly theological pastorate, and a pulpit that majored in…

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Pastor Theologians, The Gospel, and the Ministry of Racial Conciliation Benjamin D. Espinoza Benjamin Espinoza (MA, Asbury Theological Seminary) is a PhD student at Michigan State University. His research explores theological education, leadership, vocation, and diversity in churches and seminaries. He is a fellow with the Center for Pastor Theologians and serves on the board of the Association of Youth Ministry Educators. Abstract: Evangelicalism has a historically tenuous relationship with racial conciliation. As our nation becomes increasingly diverse, we must rethink our approaches to racial conciliation. The purpose of this article is to give pastor theologians a vision and plan for developing a rich ministry of racial conciliation. The paper will situate racial conciliation as a gospel issue that demands a response. Next, the article will explore how scholars have reflected on the source, nature, and solutions to racism. Finally, I develop key practices and implications that will assist pastor theologians in being agents of racial conciliation in both ecclesial and academic spaces. Key Words: Race, evangelicalism, pastor theologian, racial conciliation, social justice, gospel Share this on: FacebookTwitterLinkedin

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A Way Forward for Pastor-Apologists: Navigating the Apologetic Method Debate Joshua D. Chatraw Joshua Chatraw (PhD, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary) is Associate Professor of Theology and Apologetics and the Executive Director of The Center for Apologetics and Cultural Engagement at Liberty University. Introduction When discussing apologetics with pastors, I routinely hear two types of responses concerning method: frustration and confusion.1 While often having been taught a particular approach that seems logical and fits within their theological tradition, they nevertheless find the approach is too confining. “Real life discussions do not work like that,” they tell me. The systems they learned in seminary classes made sense but in the messiness of ministry they often fall short. Dealing with people who don’t primarily theorize their way through life or who seem to have completely different operational frameworks, they become either frustrated with their neighbors or dissatisfied with apologetics as they understand it (and often both). Others are simply confused by the various methods, and when they try to delve into the methodological discussions they find some of the disputes akin to theological hair splitting and the polarizing tone uninviting. In hopes of alleviating some of this confusion and frustration, this article will…

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What Worship Leaders Need Their Pastors to Know: A Call to Theological Leadership in Worship Matthew Ward Matthew Ward (PhD, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) is the Associate Pastor of First Baptist Church, Thomson GA, and has led music ministries for almost twenty years. He is also a Fellow of the Center for Pastor Theologians. Abstract: Many pastors today do not understand their role in their church’s worship—they have not received training in the principles of corporate worship and someone else on staff has the title of “worship leader.” That elusive role is to provide theological leadership to the worship ministries of the local church. Theological leadership assumes that pastors have done the work of developing a theology of worship. It then involves two steps: contextualizing that theology to their unique local church and communicating it effectively with that local church. While there are many examples of a theology of worship available to consider, there are few examples of a contextualized theology; this article offers two that are still general enough to glean benefits and pitfalls. Communication is a two-way process. If pastors are to be effective theological leaders, they must cultivate meaningful relationships—particularly with their worship leaders, listen and learn,…

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Preaching Psalm 46 to the People of God Today Jonathan Master Jonathan Master (PhD University of Aberdeen) is professor of theology and dean of the School of Divinity at Cairn University in Langhorne, PA. Abstract: The preached word is the means that God has ordained for both the evangelization of the nations and for the building up of the church. As evangelicals, we are committed to the fact that all of scripture is inspired and profitable for the people of God: therefore, all scripture must be preached—including the Psalms. In Part 1, I present four recommendations for preaching Psalm 46 today. Each of these recommendations supplement the preacher’s regular homiletic preparation. These recommendations are intended to remind preachers of certain features of the Psalms in general and of this psalm in particular. In Part II, I present an example sermon, considering each of these guidelines. Key Words: Psalms, preaching the Psalms, Martin Luther, Reformation preaching Share this on: FacebookTwitterLinkedin

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Theological Preaching and Preaching Through Theology: The Priority of the Pastor-Theologian Gary L. Shultz Jr. Gary L. Shultz Jr. (Ph.D. in Systematic Theology from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church in Fulton, Missouri. He teaches theology and preaching for Liberty University and Baptist Bible Theological Seminary. He also serves as a fellow for the Center of Pastor Theologians. Abstract: Over the last several years a renewed call for the re-emergence of pastor theologians has occurred within Evangelicalism. The distinguishing mark of the pastor-theologian is that his broader theological ministry to the church and the academy is explicitly grounded in his pastoral ministry, and his broader theological ministry strengthens and reinforces his pastoral ministry. While pastoral ministry has many facets, its foundation is the ministry of the Word, and the heart of the ministry of the word is preaching. Therefore, preaching the Word should be the priority and aim of the pastor-theologian, not only in his pastoral ministry, but in his broader theological ministry. This article will establish this truth by demonstrating how preaching is the theological act that grounds all other aspects of pastoral ministry even as it is grounded itself by that ministry….

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