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
Add it to your shelf
Where to buy it
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 (1932–2018) was a longtime pastor and professor of spiritual theology at Regent College, Vancouver, British Columbia. His many acclaimed books include Tell It Slant, The Jesus Way, Eat This Book, and the contemporary translation of the Bible titled The Message.
Editorial Reviews
St. Anthony Messenger
"This excellent treatise on the rediscovery of the authentic purpose of true pastoral care deserves attention, dialogue and action."
Other titles by
Called to Community
The Life Jesus Wants for His People (Second Edition)
The Spirituality of Wine
Holy Luck
Practice Resurrection
A Conversation on Growing Up in Christ
Tell It Slant
A Conversation on the Language of Jesus in His Stories and Prayers
The Jesus Way
A Conversation on the Ways That Jesus Is the Way
Taking Your Soul to Work
Overcoming the Nine Deadly Sins of the Workplace
Practice Resurrection Study Guide
Eat This Book
A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading
