Pastor

by William H Willimon

Overview

One of the great sources of discouragement for those in ordained ministry is the perception that they are alone. The challenges and difficulties they face seem all the larger for their frequent lack of mentors and friends with whom to discuss these issues. Yet, according to Willimon, a "cloud of witnesses" surrounds those in ordained ministry, forebears from whom they could learn if they had the opportunity to listen. The challenges and joys of ministry are not new; they have been present since the first Christian congregations began. From the age of the church fathers and mothers, into the Middle Ages, through the Reformation, and down to the present, faithful leaders of the Christian Church have contemplated, debated, laughed, and prayed about the life of ordained leadership. In this new volume Willimon brings together the best voices from 20 centuries of Christian pastors and leaders, introducing what they have to say on the tasks and roles of ministry. Brief, accessible excerpts from the most important writings on ordained ministry encourage today's pastors. Each introduction places the excerpt in the context of its own time and place, then discusses its particular relevance for the practice of ministry today. This volume will serve as a guide to all who seek the wisdom of those who have followed the call to ordained ministry before them.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780687097883
Publisher:	Abingdon Press
Publication date:	10/01/2002
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.26(h) x 0.78(d)

About the Author

Will Willimon is a preacher and teacher of preachers. He is a United Methodist bishop (retired) and serves as Professor of the Practice of Christian Ministry and Director of the Doctor of Ministry program at Duke Divinity School, Durham, North Carolina. For twenty years he was Dean of the Chapel at Duke University. A 1996 Baylor University study named him among the Twelve Most Effective Preachers in the English speaking world. The Pew Research Center found that Will was one of the most widely read authors among Protestant clergy in 2005. His quarterly Pulpit Resource is used by thousands of pastors throughout North America, Canada, and Australia. In 2021 he gave the prestigious Lyman Beecher Lectures on Preaching at Yale Divinity School. Those lectures became the book, Preachers Dare: Speaking for God which is the inspiration for his ninetieth book, Listeners Dare: Hearing God in the Sermon.

Feeling most at home behind a pulpit, Will Willimon’s deepest calling is to be a preacher and truth-teller of Jesus Christ. He is Professor of the Practice of Christian Ministry at Duke University Divinity School and retired Bishop of the North Alabama Conference of The United Methodist Church, after serving for 20 years as faculty member and Dean of the Chapel at Duke University. He lives in Durham, North Carolina. Will Willimon has published many books, including his preaching subscription service on MinistryMatters.com, Pulpit Resource, and Fear of the Other: No Fear in Love, both published by Abingdon Press.