7 Books on End-of-Life Issues

Andrew Spencer provides a list of seven books on end-of-life issues here.

Books for Your Pastoral Care Library

 Kelli Trujillo has compiled seven of them here.

Blomberg on the Implications of Textual Criticism on Pastoral Ministry

"The average reader of Scripture is not at any great peril if he or she does not understand the text-critical  process; however, the pastor or teacher who wants to instruct with the greatest amount of accuracy and precision but who bypasses this step in exegesis risks relying on an inferior text at some point without even knowing it. Ignorance of textual criticism will become a more serious obstacle for pastors or teachers when they are unable to answer parishioners' questions about how the text has come to us in the forms in which we have it, or about why different modern-language translations opt for different textual variants. They will be unable to respond to the charges of the ‘far right’ that contemporary translations have corrupted the supposedly pure, inerrant King James Version, and of the ‘far left’ that careless copying or theologically motivated distortions prove so pervasive that we cannot be confident that anything remaining resembles the original documents."

Craig L. Blomberg with Jennifer Foutz Markley, A Handbook of New Testament Exegesis (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2010), 26.
 

Pastoral Ministry and the Book of Job

“The Book of Job is recognized primarily for its valuable contribution to whatever answer there is to the universal question of why man must suffer. It is also recognized as a serious investigation into whether one's loyalty to God is dependent upon his being favored by God. Because of these primary contributions and even as a by-product of them, the book is also a biblical resource in pastoral care. It presents the dynamics of suffering and healing within the framework of the pastoral relationship. Unfortunately this pastoral resource has been largely overlooked because of the greater interest in the theological issues involved in Job's suffering.”

William E. Hulme, Dialogue in Despair: Pastoral Commentary on the Book of Job (Nashville: Abingdon, 1968), 9.

Three Pastoral Models

Glen Scrivener has an interesting post comparing three pastoral models. Read it here.

What Your Pastor Wishes You Knew About Him

Andy Nasselli has summarized a list by Dan Burrell, a former pastor, on ten things that your pastor probably wishes you knew about him. The ten are:

1. Bible college and seminary weren’t enough.
2. Good sermon preparation takes time.
3. His family is important too.
4. Be kind if you have a criticism.
5. Give your pastor time to grow.
6. Your pastor probably views you differently than you view him.
7. Pastors sometimes find it difficult to have friendships.
8. Your pastor may well be different out of the pulpit than when he’s in the pulpit and that doesn’t necessarily make him a hypocrite.
9. Your pastor has bills too.
10. Your pastor loves the work of the ministry.

Mounce on Pastors and Teachers in Ephesians 4:11

Bill Mounce has posted on the topic of pastors and teachers in Ephesians 4:11. The post is part exegesis and part pastoral philosophy. I would have preferred a more of the former since it serves as the basis for the latter. In any case, you can read it here.

Ministry Job Search Resources

Dustin Benge has provided a helpful set of links from the Ministry Referral Office of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary to help those looking for ministry positions.

Guidebook for Preparing Ministerial Resumes

Sample Resume 1

Sample Resume 2

Sample Resume 3

Cover Letters for Ministerial Resumes

Internet Websites Posting Ministry Opportunities

Interviewing for Ministerial Positions