A sculpture entitled ‘Speak’ provides the impetus for understanding the cruciform vocation of pastor theologians. Called to herald the word of God to the church, they ever stand under the word as they seek to humbly listen and proclaim the word. The sculpture challenges pastor theologians to see their position not as an opportunity to make a name for themselves but to humble themselves before God as they learn to see the pulpit as a cross and themselves as crucified.
Bonhoeffer viewed the Church Struggle of the 1930’s not as a political struggle or a war of ideas but as a theological event. So it is with the struggles of the American evangelical church today. The fault lines fracturing the church are not primarily political or cultural but theological. A renewed commitment by the church to hearing and being confronted by the Word of the Lord will require that pastor theologians focus on the vital task of listening to and speaking the Word to the church.
The term “love” has become increasingly loose and undefined, used to describe a wide variety of ideas and to support various theological understandings of Christian life and obedience. An analysis of the biblical words behind the English word “love” reveals a more narrow understanding of the term. This understanding can be quantified with an analytical approach to help Christians grow in obedience to the two great commandments.
The “this is that” hermeneutic employed by Aimee Semple McPherson in her colorful and dramatic preaching sought to connect hearers directly with the text and characters of the Bible, helping them to see themselves in the light of scriptural narratives. It fails to meet standards of modern hermeneutics which depend heavily on a historical-critical approach. But perhaps in its failure it challenges modern interpreters to rethink how to engage the affective imaginations of hearers of Scripture and help them find their place in the drama of God’s redemptive work.
Augustine’s sermons remain a relatively understudied resource for understanding his reflections on the role of a shepherd. Exploring several of his Sermones ad populam reveals just how central a role Scripture played for Augustine as he understood his role as a shepherd and what it meant for him to fulfill that role.
Following a brief review of the centrality of humility in Scripture and the thinking of theologians in the past, Andrew Williams points out three remaining questions: What is humility? Why is it paramount? How does one become humble? Williams turns to Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s depiction of the humiliation and exaltation of Christ to offer insights on these questions, demonstrating that Bonhoeffer’s Christological emphasis has important payoffs for helping equip the church for humble engagement, both within the community and with the outside world.
Does humility play a role in contemporary evangelical spiritual formation? Reviewing the common texts on spiritual disciplines in evangelicalism today, Coleman Ford argues that humility, once an explicit focus in spiritual formation, has become largely implicit. This leads to a poverty in spiritual formation practices and texts that needs addressing, as humility plays a central and necessary role. To address the issue, Ford turns to Jonathan Edwards’s reflections on humility, particularly those developed in his treatise Some Thoughts Concerning the Revival. Surveying many common texts on spiritual formation today, Ford contends that following Edwards’s model of making humility central provides a necessary corrective and an essential guiding framework for all those involved in the task of discipleship.
Discussions of virtue ethics among theologians are commonplace today, but what has led to their fairly recent rebirth? Benjamin Burkholder introduces readers to the key figures and volumes behind the resurgence of virtue ethics, focusing particularly on the foundational works of Alasdair MacIntyre and Stanley Hauerwas, as well as more recent contributors like Joseph J. Kotva, Jr., Daniel Harrington, and James Keenan. The historical overview and the explanation of how these authors have developed various strands of virtue ethics leads to reflection on tensions and questions that remain, thus opening pathways for further study and application by Pastor Theologians.
The care of souls requires precision in diagnosing vice and encouraging virtue. Nathan Barczi turns to Thomas Aquinas’s discussion of the theological virtues in the Second Part of the Second Part of the Summa Theologica, arguing that his treatment of humility, enhances the capacity of Pastor Theologians to accurately diagnose the deformities of the human soul that pertain to humility, thus strengthening Pastor Theologians in the practice of the art of soul care. Barczi guides readers through the precise definitions provided by Thomas to clarify what humility is and isn’t with the aim to cut through some of the common misunderstandings of this virtue and generally improve pastoral care.
Matt O’Reilly takes us to Philippi to reflect on the dynamics of humility formation in followers of Jesus. O’Reilly’s comments are in dialogue with the social science category Social Identity Theory, which locates human identity in our relation to social groups. O’Reilly utilizes this theory as a means for articulating how pastors are called to shepherd the social identity of congregations, and in particular how to embed humility as a distinct feature of the social identity of the church. He concludes with a vital exhortation to Pastor Theologians to be theological shepherds of the church in the way we lead.
Paul Morrison then takes up the question of whether or not God is humble. Through careful analysis of biblical texts and ethical visions, Morrison argues that, while Jesus takes on the posture of humility in the incarnation, humility is not a virtue that can be ascribed to the nature of God. Morrison defines humility as modesty or selflessness, which he understands to be the refusal to pursue glory for oneself. For Morrison, it follows that God is not humble in that God is the only being who can rightly pursue glory for himself, and so humility is not properly understood as a virtue inherent in the being of God. Morrison’s analysis takes us into the deep questions of the nature of humility and what it means for humans to humble ourselves.
Jason Meyer offers an analysis of the counter-cultural nature of humility in the New Testament. Meyer argues that in the ancient world, humility was seen, not as a virtue, but as a vice. In a culture saturated with the value of seeking glory, to refuse to seek glory and instead pursue humility was viewed as immoral. This stark cultural context reveals just how revolutionary is the depiction of Christ as a humble servant and how challenging the call to embrace humility would have been for the original hearers of the gospel. And, while Christianity has made humility a far more palatable cultural concept, we must still wrestle with just how revolutionary the call to humility is for all who would follow Christ.
Michael LeFebvre offers a thorough exegesis of Deuteronomy 17:14–20, “the Bible’s foundational lesson on humility in leadership.” LeFebvre argues that this passage, the only law contained in the Torah about kingship, takes us into the heart of Christian leadership, where we find the command of God to the king not to trust in riches, military power, or lineage, but instead to trust fully in God, a posture of humility that is unique in ancient Near Eastern visions of kingship. The Israelite king is to be distinguished from all other kings by taking a position of humility rooted in deep reliance on the Lord.
This essay explores the theme of humility in Augustine’s letters and sermons as an essential component of pastoral theology. The first section of the paper develops a working model of pastoral humility from Augustine’s example, before following philosopher Kent Dunnington in distinguishing Augustinian humility among other contemporary accounts. The final section draws on theologian Simeon Zahl’s concept of “affective salience” to articulate doctrinal prescriptions that may help cultivate Augustinian humility in the trenches of pastor-theologian life.
David Morlan directs our attention to the immediate context of the post-Covid world, offering a vision for the church’s mission of spiritual transformation. Morlan centers this vision in the dynamics of our larger culture and its impact on the church. The “Twittering Machine” has created a culture of narcissism, and the church has fallen into these narcissistic tendencies. To break out of the celebrity culture which has taken root in the church, Morlan calls us to be converted back to Christianity, to refocus on the proper mission of the church by emphasizing a non-manipulative evangelism that calls the church out of her self-focus. This focus on conversion is itself a means of conversion for the church, who will then be freed to pursue her hopeful mission.
Chris Ganski provides us with an eschatologically infused vision of a church that witnesses to the hope that is ours in Christ in an age of despair. Beginning with evidence of the currently increasing despair, Ganski encourages us to reflect on the hopefulness which should characterize the church in exile. He calls us to honestly consider how we too often place our hope in this-worldly objects. When the church does this, we easily fall into the surrounding despair, thus failing to offer the witness to hope that is our calling. Ganski concludes his essay by grounding our hope in the eschatological reality of Christ’s resurrection, encouraging the church to fulfill our vocation of hopefulness that is so desperately needed today.
Tim Fox offers a fascinating dialogue between the theme of hope and the life of God in 1 Timothy and the Reformed scholar Petrus van Mastricht. Fox suggests that the interweaving of hope and God’s life runs through 1 Timothy as a critical theme. He then connects this theme to the work of a Reformer, showing in action how the biblical text informed Mastricht as a pastor theologian. Through this dialogue, Fox calls us to our work as those whose hope is anchored in the living God.
Nathan Barczi offers pastoral insight into cultivating hope in an age of AI. In this article, Barczi, who serves as a chaplain at MIT, offers us expert analysis of the growth and impact of AI on our world. Barczi calls us to consider what it means to be human, how reflection on AI can help us to sharpen our understanding of the biblical vision of imago Dei, and how engaging these conversations can shape us as a hopeful people.
Phil Anderas offers a reflection on the formation of a pastor theologian in hope, rooted in his thoughtful engagement of themes from Luther’s theology. Anderas encourages us to see that meditation, prayer, suffering, and bearing the cross are the formative elements of hopeful pastors, far more than degrees and “success.” Ultimately, this is a call to theological formation in hope in its proper object: the word of God that kills and makes alive. All true theologians must pass through this forge and so become hopeful servants of the Lord who has sent his word.
Cory Wilson points to the widespread evidence that evangelical Christianity has failed to create communities that reflect Christ’s character. Wilson looks to Lesslie Newbigin and Paul Hiebert, two figures known for their missiology and visions of the church and culture, to tap into the underutilized resources found in their theological visions for virtue formation. The essay concludes with a timely call for pastors to shepherd their churches to be faithful missionary communities, formed in virtue, living lives that are filled with the hope that is ours in Christ Jesus.
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