Theology for Ministry: How Doctrine Affects Pastoral Life and Practice

When a rich theological perspective is lost, so is the larger story for pastoral ministry. When pastors see how God’s whole counsel shapes and impacts their entire ministry, both pastors and churches will thrive. Deeply connecting theology with practice, this volume seeks to recover the rich scriptural framework for ministry that is grounded in key Christian doctrines such as the Triune God and his decrees, the person and work of Christ, and the application of all the benefits and blessings that come to us through the Spirit in our union with Christ. Contributors such as Joel Beeke, Ligon Duncan, Michael Horton, and Robert Letham write out of their experience both as pastors and theologians, providing a pattern of rich biblical-theological reflection that a vibrant ministry demands and that those engaged in ministry need in order to be sustained in their work.

Publisher: P & R
Type: Hardback
ISBN: 9781629956558

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Chad Van Dixhoorn (PhD, Cambridge University) is professor of church history at Westminster Theological Seminary and a former pastor in the United Kingdom and in Virginia. He is the author of Confessing the Faith and God’s Ambassadors.

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“Some competent and well-ordered theological writing is intellectually nourishing and instructive, but does little to nurture the heart. Other theological writing rushes so quickly to elicit emotional responses that a suspicion arises that the work is not really about God, truth, and grace, nor primarily about the self-disclosure of our triune God, but about us and how we feel about him. One of the marks of Sinclair Ferguson’s great contribution is that over his long years of ministry he has eschewed both poles and given us theology that is, on the one hand, profound and precise and, on the other, wonderfully edifying across the gamut of life and service, calling up responses of both mind and heart. So it is entirely appropriate that this book of essays honoring his life and work takes as its task the same mature synthesis. This book is important not only for what it says, but for what it models.” D. A. Carson, Emeritus Professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School