The Pastor as Gardener: A Renewed Vision for Ministry
Digital Verbum Edition
Overview
A restorative, life-giving vision of pastoral work
In times of confusion and chaos, people often find that their path to wholeness runs through a garden. Tending plants and tilling soil are timeless, restorative acts that can renew our sense of identity and purpose. In The Pastor as Gardener, Matthew Erickson taps into this truth and applies it to the work of pastoral ministry.
Writing for clergy who question whether meaningful ministry is possible in our current cultural context, Erickson encourages pastors to reframe their vocation as the work of a gardener. Bringing together Scripture and practical theology, he shows how gardening metaphors offer new ways of thinking about critical issues in pastoral work: effectiveness, humility, hospitality, and more. Readers will come away with a deeper appreciation for their ministry environment, a better understanding of the stages of growth in the pastoral life, and an increased ability to persevere in ministry even when fruit is not immediately apparent.
Nuanced and insightful, The Pastor as Gardener will appeal to readers who appreciate the pastoral wisdom of Eugene Peterson and the agrarian sensibilities of Wendell Berry. For ministers seeking a sense of vocation that is deeply rooted but also dynamic, this book is essential reading.
“We kneel with our hands in the soil of pastoral ministry, finding connection with those who have done this work before us and those who will do it after we are gone. We learn from Jesus, who is simultaneously the seed, the vine, and the gardener.”
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- Encourages pastors to reframe their vocation as the restorative work of a gardener
- Applies gardening metaphors to critical issues in pastoral work, such as effectiveness and humility
- Shows how to persevere in ministry even when fruit is not immediately apparent
Table of Contents
Foreword by Winn Collier
Introduction
1. The Pastor as Gardener: Renewing a Lost Image
2. Mistaken for a Gardener: Exploring the Biblical Text
3. The Way of the Pastor-Gardener: Examples for a Way Forward
4. The Cultural Challenge and the Pastor-Gardener: The Environment of Ministry
5. The Challenge of Pastoral Formation and Nurture: The Pastor-Gardener and the Community of Ministry
6. The Challenge of Pastoral Practice: The Pastor-Gardener and Ministry Askesis, Guides, and Practices
7. The Church and the Pastor-Gardener: The Soil of Ministry
8. Seasons and the Pastor-Gardener: Time, Growth, and Ministry
9. Hope: The Defining Virtue of the Pastor-Gardener
Afterword
Acknowledgments
For Further Reading
Index of Subjects
Index of Scripture
By directing our attention to inner life and outward ministry, realities beneath and above the surface, and the different seasons of personal and ecclesial life, Matthew Erickson shows us the vitality and importance of the metaphor of pastor as gardener. While pastors may be the primary audience, this insightful, catalytic, and personal book will bring great benefit to all who love Christ and his church.
——Vincent Bacote, Wheaton College