A Book Review from Books At a Glance
by Darren Bradley
In John 21:15-17, Jesus tells Peter to feed His lambs, shepherd, and feed His sheep, and in Acts 20:28, Paul reminds the elders from Ephesus that the Holy Spirit has appointed them to “shepherd the church of God.” What does this look like for the modern pastor? This is a question that Coleman Ford and Shawn Wilhite seek to answer in their book, Ancient Wisdom for the Care of Souls. Ford is a pastor and “assistant professor of humanities at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary,” and Wilhite is a pastor and “associate professor of New Testament at California Baptist University” (back cover). As the thesis of their book, Ford and Wilhite state, “We offer a simple vision of a pastor who prays, tends to people’s souls, and preaches the life-giving word of God” (p. 6), and “We seek to offer broad reflections on pastoral ministry while in conversation with patristic mentors” (p.15).
Book Summary
Ford and Wilhite have organized their book into three parts: (1) the virtues and spiritual life of a pastor, (2) the theological vision of a pastor, and (3) the ministry of a pastor. This allows them to use each chapter to focus on a specific quality, trait, or skill needed for pastoral ministry and bring the writings and actions of a church father to bear on the subject. Under a pastor’s virtues and spiritual life, Ford and Wilhite highlight the need for a pastor to be humble, spiritual, sacramental, and skilled, and use Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nyssa, Ambrose, and Origen as the church fathers to mentor the modern pastor. For the humble pastor, Basil taught, “The Christian grows in humility by modeling Christ and the apostles and shunning the path of Satan, which is, in essence, one of pride” (p. 26). Humility is a thread that runs throughout the book. Ford and Wilhite point out Origen’s view of the skilled pastor when they write, “According to Origen, exegetes must be faithful, humble, upright, and sincere instead of being preoccupied with other things” (p. 89).
In part two, the theological vision of a pastor, Ford and Wilhite use Irenaeus, Athanasius, Augustine, and Gregory of Nazianzus as their ancient mentors when discussing the biblical pastor, the Christ-centered pastor, the theological pastor, and the trinitarian pastor. Using Augustine as a mentor for the theological pastor, Ford and Wilhite write, “They [Augustine and his friends] saw theological development as a task done with friends and demonstrate how our theological minds often develop best in conversation with others” (p. 153). For the trinitarian pastor, Gregory of Nazianzus teaches, “Preaching on the Trinity brings pastors and their churches on a spiritual ascent to God similar to the ascent Moses took to Mount Sinai to see the mysteries of God’s presence” (p. 168). Finally, part three, the ministry of the pastor, allows Ford and Wilhite to show how Gregory the Great and John Chrysostom can mentor the contemplative pastor and the preaching pastor. For the contemplative pastor, “Gregory the Great used the double love as a guide for the contemplative life. To love God, one must seek him in times of focus and withdrawal. To love neighbor, one must reenter society to love and engage others” (p. 185). To the preaching pastor, Ford and Wilhite state, “Chrysostom teaches us that the purpose of preaching is not to accumulate favor or acclaim but to boldly proclaim God’s truth” (p. 209).
Evaluation
Ford and Wilhite have done an excellent job following through on their intended purpose. Not only have they effectively used the church fathers to provide timely examples of the specific attributes of a pastor, but they have done so in a way that becomes an example of pastors caring for the souls of their flock. One example of a church father mentoring the current pastor is found in the chapter discussing the sacramental pastor. Ford and Wilhite state, “The idea of sacrament, understood in a biblically faithful and theologically correct manner, leads to more faithful Christian discipleship and more serious pastoral practice” (p. 54). This is a true statement. However, Ambrose of Milan drives the point home when he teaches, “Whether in the act of baptism, the Lord’s Supper, or the preaching of God’s word, shepherds in the church usher the people of God into the presence of God. … To reduce such acts to anything less walks dangerously close to pagan religion—practicing rituals for ritual’s sake and trying to coax a deity into action” (p. 64). The church fathers told the truth plainly and forcefully, and so should modern pastors.
Two of the book’s strengths highlight how Ford and Wilhite model caring for the souls of their flock (readers). First, Ford and Wilhite willingly share ministry highs and lows. Ford speaks about growing up with a bifurcated view of Scripture until he finally realizes, “A whole Bible, not just the twenty-seven books of the New Testament, was needed to understand all the beauty and profundity of the gospel” (p. 98). This testimony leads into Irenaeus and his teaching about Scripture, “Irenaeus gives us our first blueprint for reading the Scriptures as one unified story about God and his redemptive work in Christ” (p. 100). The second strength is the encouraging statements by Ford and Wilhite, which are best exemplified by the final statement in the book: “Our desire and our hope is for you to know how essential your work is to the spiritual growth of your people. You are not alone because there have been many pastors before you… Seek to build on this heritage of soul care, which is truly the art of arts” (p. 222).
Although not detrimental, one area for improvement in the book is the need for contemplative questions at the end of each chapter. Ford and Wilhite ask a few questions within the book, but they are generally used to set up the next point they are trying to make. Each chapter is a powerful teaching tool, and two or three questions for the reader to reflect upon would have provided an additional way for the reader to have their soul cared for, and an example of questions to ask their flock. Another weakness is the lack of discussion about the art of lament. In his 2021 Patristic Theology class at Gateway Seminary, Wilhite discussed how Christians today had lost the understanding of the art of lament. Caring for souls needs a discussion about the art of lament.
Ancient Wisdom for the Care of Souls will inspire its readers to be willing to read more from our ancient fathers, learn from their wisdom, and be better prepared to care for their flock. Pastors and lay leaders of any church will find this book encouraging and an excellent tool for spiritual growth.
Darren Bradley