Pastor Paul

My review of Scot McKnight’s latest, Pastor Paul: Nurturing a Culture of Christoformity in the Church.

Goals of the Book:
Today’s pastor is called to wear many hats. In their regular, day to day life? They are called to be preachers, teachers, small group leaders, ministry leaders, volunteer organizers; they are expected to do hospital visits, open their home to guests for meals and coffee, to study the Bible and theology, yet be always open to new people. On the bigger picture? They are called to be CEOs, vision casters, culture creators and leaders, political pundits, and, maybe if there’s time, grow in Christlikeness.

Scot McKnight aims to show what Paul thought about the ministry of the pastor. He examines Paul’s language to investigate how he describes the pastor, putting together everything Paul says about the pastor into a comprehensive picture and model for pastoral leadership.

McKnight’s goal is to show the ways in which the pastor creates culture and how they should influence culture. Whether or not the pastor wants to admit it, they are the ones who set the pace for their ministries and dictate what their churches look like. This book helps the pastor get in front of their culture and shape it into christoformity rather than the cultures that the world values.

What does this offer the Church?:
Both the pastor and their church will benefit from this book. For the pastor, this book could be a breath of fresh air. This book stands apart from most books on pastoral leadership because it does not ask more of the pastor than the Bible does. Instead, the book calls the pastor to Christlikeness with the hope that the culture will start looking more like Christ, modeled after the pastor.

For the church, they might realize that a cruciform culture looks a lot better than the culture of the world. For example, one of the categories that Paul emphasizes, that McKnight highlights, is the language Paul uses to describe his ministry partners. Rather than describing them exclusively as friends or co-workers, he refers to them as brothers and sisters. When the pastor starts to view everyone as a family, the whole church starts to feel more like a family. And when the church feels like family, the presence of God is more easily discerned and appreciated within the community. This will change the life of the congregation, encouraging them to be more inclusive and welcoming as the Spirit opens their hearts to the kin(g)dom of God.

How effectively does this communicate its goals?:
So, I have a confession. In my tenure at Northern Seminary, which is soon coming to an end, I had the chance to take a class with Dr. McKnight entitled “Paul’s Pastoral Theology”. A lot of the material covered in the class was also covered in this book, so I was tracking with a lot of the arguments being made. In this sense, I am a little biased. But I think the books works well, is organized in an easy to follow fashion, and effectively argues his points. (It helps, though, that McKnight does not create categories out of thin air; instead, he brings to the surface what is already present in Paul’s theology.

Are you a pastor, or do you know a pastor? If so, I can’t recommend this book enough. You’ll find plenty of encouraging ways to think about the office of the pastor, and you’ll be encouraged as you see how the office can open up to new possibilities and wonders that God had planned for it.

While I don't fully agree with Scot McKnight on some theological items I still find his writing to be thought provoking. So, when I was given the opportunity to read an advance copy of this text I agreed to do so.

The book is about Pastoring. Specially about how Paul viewed Pastoring. Paul may not have written volumes on the thought of Pastoring, but by his actions and his letters you get a glimpse into the heart of a man committed to seeing spiritual growth in his disciples and in the church's which he planted.

While the book is mostly for those in pastoral ministry or in any type of Spiritual nurturing ministry I think that even the pay person will gain some good insights into the Apostle Paul and his view on our growth and maturity in Christ.

The introductory chapter (1) is very thought provoking, I read it three times to delve into its depths and it set me to thinking much about my own style of pastoring and whether or not I am actually doing the ministry that God called me to. It was a great refresher and thus a great reminder of the areas where I have been falling down.

As I said earlier, I appreciate Scot McKnights thought process, while I don't always agree. But this is a very excellent study in the life of Paul and how we can gain encouragement for how we do ministry.

Enjoy!

In the United States, churches are in decline and the pastoral vocation has long appeared to be in trouble. In the face of shrinking numbers and congregations choosing to disband and close their doors, many techniques and various approaches to pastoral leadership have been proposed: chief entertainer, circus ringmaster, savvy cultural commentator, hip and trendy coolster, and businesslike CEO. But what is most needed is a return to the New Testament, and more broadly the Bible, grounding the pastoral vocation in ancient wisdom and sound theological reflection on the human condition, the nature of God, and the character of God's people.

Pastor Paul is Scot McKnight's attempt to address modern deficiencies in the church, particularly with regard to the pastoral vocation. He does so by examining the life and ministry of Paul. According to McKnight, Paul's chief aim was to shape congregations according to "Christoformity." Paul wanted his congregations to be shaped by the Spirit into the image and likeness of Christ.

McKnight writes about the various ways Paul went about achieving this goal. He cites the Bible, but also ancient literature to show the challenges Paul faced. He incorporates several modern voices into his argument who help us see how Paul's way of ministry can address shortcomings present today, and McKnight does so with his characteristic tone that reflects a passion for the church, a love for people, and a desire to see Jesus glorified.

This is a good book, helpful for the minister and congregant alike, as the church discerns her way forward in what continues to be a challenging time.

Our modern world and its diverse expectations put a dark thick fog over the glorious calling of a pastor. We are pulled in every possible direction and must adapt to fulfil each need. Sometimes, we wonder, what is the essence of our calling? What does God say about the crux of our task?

Enter Pastor Paul by Scot Mcknight. This book attempts to dispel the fog and help us to see what it means to be a pastor. Mcknight argues that pastoring first of all is about spiritual formation. Our job as pastors is to create and nurture culture that promotes spiritual formation that is to say we are to foster Christlikeness culture. Exploring Pauline epistles, Mcknight suggests that in all we are meant to meditate Christ. And this is the crux of our task.

Mcknight is an engaging writer and this book is sprinkled with good illustrations.

If you are a pastor or a concerned laity, this book is for you.

I loved this book from Scot McKnight. His books never disappoint, and I always enjoy his unique perspective. This book on pastoring through the lens of Paul is no exception. He brings together biblical study and theology to craft a beautiful picture of what pastoring at its finest and most biblically faithful can look like. Highly recommend!

I greatly appreciated this book, and its insights into Pastoral ministry. Although a bit technical, with some chapter sections being monotinous to try getting through, the overall vision of pastoring offered by McKnight is compelling and will be encouraging, challenging, and edifying for those looking for a thoroughly biblical vision of what the pastoral vocation can (and should) look like. Highly recommended.

It was good but I thought it would be more of a biography about Paul. It highlights scripture that shows up-and-coming pastors how to fill that role, based on Paul's life and writings.