I recently finished this great book called “The Work of the Pastor” by Williams Still, and wanted to share the highlights with you.
Overall, it’s a great book. I loved not only the content, but the timing of my reading was perfect. The book has five chapters (it’s a short book) that place large emphasis on what Williams Still thought to be the very core of a pastor’s work.
God used this in my life to refocus my main ministry towards others as one of prayer and scripture reading/sharing. It’s easy to get lost in the flood of group events, Sunday services, and all the new ways to get people engaged, and involved – but this isn’t our main calling as pastors.
I encourage everyone to read this book, you can find it on Amazon at THIS LINK, or you can find it other places, I’m sure.
As a way to give you a better feel of the book, here’s a list of it’s chapters with some of my favorite quotes from each of them.
Foreward by Sinclair B Ferguson
“I never preach now without believing that something will be done that will last for eternity.” -Sinclair B Ferguson
“It is not many words, but words spoken in faith, that God blesses.” -Robert Murray M’Cheyne
Chapter 1- Feed my sheep
“To be pastors you must be ‘fed men’, not only in knowledge, but in wisdom, grace, humility, courage, fear of God, and fearlessness of men.”
“Courage is the greatest lack today. If all men in the ministry acted upon what they know we would have a far better ministry.”
“The living Word thoroughly, adequately and graciously deals with our people, problems and all.”
Chapter 2 – The pastor outside the pulpit
“The pastor is not a spiritual doctor… The Holy Spirit is the Doctor.”
Chapter 3 – Complete and contemporary
“The whole truth and nothing but the truth of the whole Bible fed to God’s people in a balanced diet. We must learn to be dietitians.”
“The Word must be saturated in the living, up-to-date grace of God by His Spirit.”
Chapter 4 – Commissioned by God
“The church’s task is not only to gain converts, but so to build them up that they are ‘thrustable out’.”
“Don’t assume that God will tell another what you should do. It does happen, but in special circumstances.”
“To minister fruitfully, we must minister as those who have died.”
“We must challenge our people to pray for the ministry.”
Chapter 5 – Walking the tightrope
“The devil is a master of sidetrack.”
“To save the sheep from wild beasts and all other dangers is not to feed them; and if they are not fed, what matters whether they are safe or not?”
“We are so eager, we want a short training and a long ministry. Jesus had thirty years’ training and three years’ ministry.”
I hope you enjoyed those quotes and that you find the book to be as helpful to you as it was me.
Has there been a good book you’ve read recently? I’d love to hear in the comments below!