Today’s aspiring pastors often read books like Alexander Strauch’s Biblical Eldership or Timothy Z. Witmer’s The Shepherd Leader as part of their seminary training and ordination process. We also encourage young ministers to read classics like Baxter’s The Reformed Pastor and Spurgeon’s Lectures to My Students.

But have you ever asked what books the reformers picked up when they were studying pastoral ministry? I was surprised to discover a few years ago that Gregory the Great’s Pastoral Rule was the single most influential book on pastoral ministry through the first millennium and a half of church history. In fact, it was one of the most cited sources in Calvin’s Institutes. In their new book Ancient Wisdom for the Care of Souls, Coleman Ford and Shawn Wilhite glean sage counsel from ancient pastors like Irenaeus of Lyons, Augustine of Hippo, and Athanasius of Alexandria—leaders who were as close to the age of the apostles as we are to the Reformation. 

What stands out in these church fathers’ writings is their commitment to the charge Paul gave Timothy: “Watch your life and doctrine closely” (1 Tim. 4:16, NIV). As Brandon Smith highlights in his review, “Contemporary ministry models often place personalities or programs and systems at the church’s center. These [early church] models assume that . . . spiritual virtue and theological faithfulness are the foundation.” The fathers were convinced that pursuing wisdom, virtue, and a clear theological vision was the surest path to both faithfulness and true fruitfulness.

Check out the review linked below, then challenge yourself to read more of the fathers’ vision for pastoral ministry. Let their ancient wisdom give you firmer paths to faithfulness.

Jared Kennedy

Editor

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