Classical Pastoral Care: Vol. 1, Becoming a Minister

by Thomas C. Oden

The care of souls is a pastor's greatest task. This series provides a wealth of guidance with commentary on Augustine, Luther, Calvin, and Baxter.

Genres: Reference

4 pages, Paperback

Published September 1, 2000

About the author

Thomas C. Oden was Henry Anson Buttz Professor of Theology and Ethics at Drew University in New Jersey from 1980 until his retirement in 2004. He remained faculty emeritus until his death. He was the general editor of the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture and the Ancient Christian Doctrine series as well as the author of Classic Christianity, a revision of his three-volume systematic theology.

Reviews

[Kyle Grindberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is wonderful, Oden leads us to humbly listen to our brothers in the past how they counseled, and this is exactly what Evangelical Church needs to today. However, in his chapter on women ministers, he is no longer fit to humbly listen to our brothers in the past, but to instead invoke his chronological snobbery on history and insist that they believed just as he does (when it's very clear he's grasping at straws).

[Derek DeMars · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting resource, collecting quotes on various topics of pastoral ministry from pre-modern Christian theologians and ministers (all pre-1700s). As with any quote collection, some selections were more useful than others. There is a lot of material from Luther and Baxter, as they had more statements on the subject than most other writers, but the selections from the early church were almost always appropriate to the topic at hand. Oden was a brilliant compiler and expert on the church fathers, but I have to say his overviews between the quotes were often very dry and came across a bit sterile and procedural.

Pastors would definitely benefit from having this on their shelf. A number of the quotes are quite encouraging, showing that ministers in every area face the same challenges -- whether it be burnout, or intimidation at the scope of the pastoral task -- but also share the same limitless resources in Christ. And the topical arrangement makes it easy to peruse based on which sections appeal most to the reader.

[Charles Erlandson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Invaluable Historical Education on How to be a Pastor.
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