The Difference that Theology Makes for Pastoral Ministry
John P. Burgess
Assoc. Professor of Theology
Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
The Challenges of Pastoral Ministry
The Reformed tradition has always insisted on a theologically educated ministry. Theology is good stuff, not just because it offers us intellectual stimulation, even exhilaration, but also because, as we Presbyterians state among the historic principles of our church order, "truth is in order to goodness . . . We are persuaded that there is an inseparable connection between faith and practice, truth and duty." The church's theology does nothing less than help to sustain pastoral identity and excellence in pastoral ministry.
Pastoral ministry faces new challenges today. Whether we serve as ministers of Word and sacrament or as commissioned lay pastors or as persons in other forms of ministry, many of us find pastoral ministry to have become extraordinarily trying and demanding, and we are deeply concerned about the general health of the church and of the congregations that we serve.
To be sure, we should not think too much of our problems. The work of a pastor has always been difficult, as three historical examples remind us. Athanasius was the great defender of Nicene Orthodoxy. In 328, he became the bishop of Alexandria, a position of great power and influence. But Athanasius never found peace. Despite his great abilities as a pastor, politician, and theologian, his daily fortunes rested on whether a defender or opponent of Nicea was on the throne in Rome. Athanasius would lead his church for a few years, and then have to go into exile when a new ruler came to power. He would live in exile a few years, then rulers would change again, and he would be able to return home. No less than five times Athanasius went in and out of exile, hardly our idea of a happy ministry.
Fast-forward now to the 16th century and John Calvin, our spiritual forebear in the Reformed tradition. Historians have concluded that Calvin was a very sick man much of his life. He suffered from various physical ailments, including insomnia, stomach disorders, and the gout. He pushed himself relentlessly and lived in a perpetual state of physical and mental exhaustion. He also experienced terrible personal tragedies. His only child died shortly after birth, and his wife died seven years later.
In the more recent past, we might think of Martin Luther King, Jr., who experienced beatings, imprisonments, and ultimately assassination, as a result of his ministry. Like Athanasius and Calvin, King lived each day of his life under great stress, never quite sure what the future would bring.
So, ministry has never been easy, and our difficulties as pastors pale, by comparison, to those that confronted such people as Athanasius, Calvin, and King. But difficulties we have, difficulties that may in the end be even more troubling and perplexing than theirs. Whatever hardships they endured, Athanasius, Calvin, and King had a profound sense of serving God. In contrast, many pastors today in North America are haunted by basic questions of pastoral identity. We are deeply confused about who and what God has called us to be.
Questions of Identity
Pastors today are unclear about their identity because the church is unclear about its identity. Fifty years ago, sociologists believed that a modern, technological society would inevitably grow more secular and atheistic. The church would have to learn how to minister in the secular city (see theologian Harvey Cox's book of 1965). But at the beginning of a new millennium, we can see that the church suffers not under too little religion, but under too much.
