The Pastor

by Eugene H. Peterson

Overview

The heartening, transformative story of an unlikely pastor, and one answer to the oft-neglected question: what does it actually mean to be a pastor? 

Eugene Peterson never wanted to be a pastor. But, in 1962, when he was asked by the Presbyterian Church to begin a new church in Bel Air, Maryland, he surprised himself by answering the call. Suddenly at the helm of the newly-established Christ Our King Presbyterian Church, Peterson—who had little conception of what it really meant to be a pastor—dedicated his life to understanding and fulfilling his vocation. 

In The Pastor, Peterson shares the stories and lessons from his thirty years in that single pulpit. The result is a quietly powerful and inspirational book, a true gift to anyone looking to grow in their faith and live virtuously. Steering away from abstractions, Peterson challenges conventional wisdom regarding church marketing, mega pastors, and the church’s too-cozy relationship to American consumerism to present a simple, grounded description of what being a minister means today. With warmth, familiarity, and humor, Peterson offers a contemporary perspective on an ancient vocation, one with authenticity, openness, and faith at its center. 

Here is a simple but revolutionary reminder that “preaching is proclamation... but only when it gets embedded in conversation, in a listening ear and responding tongue, does it become gospel.” 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061988219
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	09/18/2012
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 8.82(h) x 0.91(d)

About the Author

Eugene H. Peterson (1932-2018) was a pastor, theologian, professor, poet, and author of over thirty books, including his bestselling translation of the Bible, The Message, and his memoir, The Pastor. In 1963, he founded the Christ Our King Presbyterian Church in Bel Air, Maryland, where he served as pastor for nearly three decades before retiring in Montana with his wife, Jan.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Pastor Pete 1

I Topo and Kairos 7

1 Montana: Sacred Ground and Stories 9

2 New York: Pastor John of Patmos 15

II "Intently Haphazard" 25

3 My Mother's Songs and Stories 27

4 My Father's Butcher Shop 35

5 Garrison Johns 46

6 The Treeless Christmas of 1939 50

7 Uncle Sven 56

8 The Carnegie 61

9 Cousin Abraham 66

10 Mennonite Punch 70

11 Holy Land 72

12 Augustine Njokuobi and Elijah Odajara 80

13 Seminary 84

14 Jan 92

III Shekinah 99

15 Ziklag 103

16 Catacombs Presbyterian Church 108

17 Tuesdays 130

18 Company of Pastors 143

19 Willi Ossa 161

20 Bezalel 167

21 Eucharistic Hospitality 188

22 Apreciation and Follery 197

23 Pilgrimage 204

24 Heather-Scented Theology 209

25 Presbycostal 213

26 Emmaus Walks 218

27 Sister Genevieve 223

28 Eric Liddell 233

29 "Write in a Book What you See…" 237

30 My Ten Secretaries 250

31 Wayne and Claudia 253

32 Jackson 259

33 The Atheist and the Nun 265

34 Judith 270

35 "Invisible Six Days a Week, Incomprehensible the Seventh" 273

IV Good Deaths 289

36 The Next One 291

37 Wind Words 295

38 Fyodor 300

39 The Photograph 304

40 Death in the Desert 310

Afterword: Letter to a Young Pastor 314

Acknowledgments 319

Editorial Reviews

Eugene Peterson excavates the challenges and mysteries regarding pastors and church and gives me hope for both. This a must read for every person who is or thinks they are called to be a pastor and for every person who has one.” — William Paul Young, author of The Shack

“If anyone knows how to be a pastor in the contemporary context that person is Eugene Peterson. Eugene possesses the rare combination of a pastor’s heart and a pastor’s art. Take and read!” — Richard J. Foster, author of Celebration of Discipline

“I’ve been nagging Eugene Peterson for years to write a memoir. In our clamorous, celebrity-driven, entertainment culture, his life and words convey a quiet whisper of sanity, authenticity, and, yes, holiness.” — Philip Yancey, author of What Good is God

“A good book for folks who like pastors. And a good book for folks who don’t. The Pastor is the disarming tale of one of the unlikely suspects who has helped shape North American Christianity.” — Shane Claiborne author of The Irresistible Revolution

“More than a gifted writer, Eugene Peterson is a voice calling upon the churches to recover the vocation of the pastor in order to experience the renewing of their faith in the midst of an increasingly commercialized, depersonalized, and spiritually barren land.” — Dale T. Irvin, President, New York Theological Seminary

“If you are hoping to be a pastor, or just to understand what that is, get this book and soak in it for at least three full days with no distraction. It may save your life and make you a blessing.” — Dallas Willard, author of The Divine Conspiracy

“A gift to anyone who has tried answering the call to pastor, and to a church that needs true pastors. . . . It is a subtle manifesto of hope for our time.” — Christianity Today

“Peterson found writing as a way to pay attention, and as an act of prayer. It’s our privilege to have his words, full of insight and truth. This book might be considered a long prayer for pastors.” — Englewood Review of Books

“A book full of much needed wisdom that is written with eloquence.” — Seattle Post-Intelligencer

“Peterson is a master storyteller. . . . The Pastor is a profound and important meditation . . . serves as a necessary reaffirmation of the true nature of a calling that in current American religious life seems largely lost.” — Religion & Ethics Newsweekly

From the Publisher

A book full of much needed wisdom that is written with eloquence.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Peterson is a master storyteller. . . . The Pastor is a profound and important meditation . . . serves as a necessary reaffirmation of the true nature of a calling that in current American religious life seems largely lost.

Religion & Ethics Newsweekly

I’ve been nagging Eugene Peterson for years to write a memoir. In our clamorous, celebrity-driven, entertainment culture, his life and words convey a quiet whisper of sanity, authenticity, and, yes, holiness.

Philip Yancey

Peterson found writing as a way to pay attention, and as an act of prayer. It’s our privilege to have his words, full of insight and truth. This book might be considered a long prayer for pastors.

Englewood Review of Books

A gift to anyone who has tried answering the call to pastor, and to a church that needs true pastors. . . . It is a subtle manifesto of hope for our time.

Christianity Today

A good book for folks who like pastors. And a good book for folks who don’t. The Pastor is the disarming tale of one of the unlikely suspects who has helped shape North American Christianity.

Shane Claiborne author of The Irresistible Revolution

More than a gifted writer, Eugene Peterson is a voice calling upon the churches to recover the vocation of the pastor in order to experience the renewing of their faith in the midst of an increasingly commercialized, depersonalized, and spiritually barren land.

Dale T. Irvin

Eugene Peterson excavates the challenges and mysteries regarding pastors and church and gives me hope for both. This a must read for every person who is or thinks they are called to be a pastor and for every person who has one.

William Paul Young

If anyone knows how to be a pastor in the contemporary context that person is Eugene Peterson. Eugene possesses the rare combination of a pastor’s heart and a pastor’s art. Take and read!

Richard J. Foster

If you are hoping to be a pastor, or just to understand what that is, get this book and soak in it for at least three full days with no distraction. It may save your life and make you a blessing.

Dallas Willard

A book full of much needed wisdom that is written with eloquence.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Eugene H. Peterson (The Jesus Way; Practice Resurrection) thinks of himself as a scholar and a writer and certainly his bibliography of over thirty books supports that predisposition. On the other hand, he never sought to be a pastor. When, in 1962, that position was thrust upon him, he entered the job without metaphorical training wheels, learning step-by-step what he imagined that others knew instinctively. The Pastor is an anecdote-filled memoir of his nearly three decades of his hard-won education. Along the way, Peterson offers telling wisdom about human relations, church marketing, preaching in a mega-church world, and diluting the gospel message in a glitzy secular world.