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Far too often, there is a stark divide between the academy and the ministry of the church, between pastors and theologians. Gerald Hiestand and Todd Wilson offer a rallying cry to a new generation of church leaders and show the promising ways in which one can embody the calling of a "pastor theologian" for the good of the church.
List of contents
Introduction: Why Pastor-Theologians?
Chapter 1 Pastor or Theologian? A Modern Identity Crisis
Chapter 2 The Great Divorce: How Did It Happen?
PART 1: THE LOCAL THEOLOGIAN
Chapter 3 Resourcing the Congregation
Chapter 4 The Contemplative Pastor: Eugene Peterson (c. 1980)
PART 2: THE POPULAR THEOLOGIAN
Chapter 5 Influencing the Masses
Chapter 6 The Evangelical Statesman: John Stott (c. 2000)
PART 3: THE ECCLESIAL THEOLOGIAN
Chapter 7 Engaging the Theologians
Chapter 8 The Bishop and Scholar: N. T. Wright (c. 2009)
Conclusion: The Future of a Movement
About the author
Todd A. Wilson (PhD, University of Cambridge) is the Senior Pastor of Calvary Memorial Church in Oak Park, Illinois and the chairman and co-founder of the Center for Pastor Theologians, a ministry dedicated to resourcing pastors engaged in biblical and theological scholarship. He is the author of Galatians: Gospel-Rooted Living and Pastors in the Classics. Todd is married to Katie, his high school sweetheart, and they have seven children, three biological and four adopted from Ethiopia.
Summary
Pastoral ministry today is often ruled by an emphasis on short-sighted goals, pragmatic results, and shallow thinking. Unfortunately, those in the academy tend to have the opposite problem, failing to connect theological study to the pressing issues facing the church today. Contemporary evangelicalism has lost sight of the inherent connection between pastoral leadership and theology. This results in theologically anemic churches, and ecclesial anemic theologies.
Todd Wilson and Gerald Hiestand contend that among a younger generation of evangelical pastors and theologians, there is a growing appreciation for the native connection between theology and pastoral ministry. At the heart of this recovery of a theological vision for ministry is the re-emergence of the role of the "pastor theologian."
The Pastor Theologian presents a taxonomy of the pastor-theologian and shows how individual pastors—given their unique calling and gift-set—can best embody this age-old vocation in the 21st century. They present three models that combine theological study and practical ministry to the church:
The Local Theologian—a pastor theologian who ably services the theological needs of a local congregation.
The Popular Theologian—a pastor theologian who writes theology to a wider lay audience.
The Ecclesial Theologian—a pastor theologian who writes theology to other theologians and scholars.
Raising the banner for the pastor as theologian, this book invites the emerging generation of theologians and pastors to reimagine the pastoral vocation along theological lines, and to identify with one of the above models of the pastor theologian.
