Working the Angles
The Shape of Pastoral Integrity
- Publisher
- Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
- Initial publish date
- May 1989
- Category
- Pastoral Resources, Administration, Growth
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9780802802651
- Publish Date
- May 1989
- List Price
- $27.99
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Description
American pastors, says Eugene Peterson, are abandoning their posts at an alarming rate. They are not leaving their churches and getting other jobs. Instead, they have become "a company of shopkeepers, and the shops they keep are churches." Pastors and the communities they serve have become preoccupied with image and standing, with administration, measurable success, sociological impact, and economic viability.
In Working the Angles, Peterson calls the attention of his fellow pastors to three basic acts--which he sees as the three angles of a triangle--that are so critical to the pastoral ministry that they determine the shape of everything else. The acts--prayer, reading Scripture, and giving spiritual direction--are acts of attention to God in three different contexts: oneself, the community of faith, and another person. Only by being attentive to these three critical acts, says Peterson, can pastors fulfill their prime responsibility of keeping the religious community attentive to God.
Written out of the author's own experience as pastor of a "single pastor church," this well-written, provocative book will be stimulating reading for lay Christians and pastors alike.
About the author
Eugene H. Peterson was a longtime pastor and is professor emeritus of spiritual theology at Regent College, Vancouver, British Columbia. His many other acclaimed books include The Contemplative Pastor, Eat This Book, and The Jesus Way.
Editorial Reviews
St. Anthony Messenger
"This excellent treatise on the rediscovery of the authentic purpose of true pastoral care deserves attention, dialogue and action."
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