Analysis of Ministry by the by Tidball - Book Report/Review Example

Ministry Pastoral leadership is an important aspect of Church ministries providing care and counselling to the people. In the present times, the ministry is in crisis and many claim the issue lies in the acceptance of psycho-social theories of ministry rather than seeking a theological base. While ministries have had a significant impact on the well being of individuals, the therapeutic approach to understanding ministries has ignored the relevance of the Bible and gospels in terms of pastoral care. Although leadership is a vital characteristic of pastors, it is not the sole responsibility or role played by pastors. To a great extent, church development depends on successful building of a pastor. The present centuries present challenges for the understanding of ministries and pastoral leadership and counseling. The corporate definition of leadership has seeped into the pastoral understanding of leadership as it builds up the membership between different leadership roles. All three books including Ministry by the Book, The Deliberate Church, and On Being a Servant of God, focus on the present challenges of ministry work as they relate to the understanding of pastoral work and the role of theology or Gospels in the functioning of successful ministries. In his book,Tidball (2008) has studied the biblical aspect of ministry working and has provided a new insight into the New Testaments. Tidball has closely examined the models that constitute church leadership in the contemporary world. The book draws greatly onto the subject of pastoral leadership, ministry work, and counseling, as influenced by the New Testament. In the entire book, Tidball (2008) has focused his book on an analysis of the New Testament and what it has to say about ministry. This analysis results in a set of diversely rich models that are sought from the New Testament. The New Testament contains various patterns that construct diverse models of church leadership and Tidball (2008) emphasizes that the models relating to ministry can help guide the church today. Contrary to the belief held by some people, Tidball (2008) holds that the gospels have always contained references regarding ministry work as well as the role of church in community leadership. Fourteen different models or patterns have been recognized to be present in the gospels that signify different aspects of ministry work. The main theme is the identification of biblical references to ministry work thereby establishing the crucial role played by ministries in terms of church leadership. Tidball (2008) also examines the changing circumstances surrounding the church and how ministries have worked during different times and cultures. This analysis is very important as it highlights the functioning of church during various eras that involved different environments. For example, ministries operating in oppressed cultures and kingdoms were characterized differently as opposed to those working times of faltering church. The different practitioners also had a great influence on how ministries work and were different from their counterparts. While examining the New Testament, Tidball (2008) has laid a great stress on the letters of Paul, Jude, and other saints that mention different models of ministry work. In examining the letters of Paul, Tidball (2008) has addressed a serious issue surrounding the role of women in pastoral leadership and has encouraged both men as well as women to become church leadership as the gospel contains no inhibition for women. In doing so, Tidball (2008) also emphasizes the importance of leadership that is meant to ‘serve’ God. Tidball (2008) has thus explored different aspects of ministries taking his references from the gospels rather than psychological and social theories of ministries. His derivation of the ministry models from the New Testament itself demonstrates the relevance of the gospels in the running of church ministries and pastoral leadership. The author has also reflected upon the significance of employing an approach of servant leadership that aims at serving God. This aspect of understanding ministries is consistent in all three books I will be studying including The Deliberate Church and on Being a Servant. Tidball (2008) uses the biblical text extensively in order to explore the different roles of ministries. Various ministry roles including bishop, deacon, elder, and so on, are mentioned however the descriptions are only too broad to allow specificity. Tidball (2008) recognizes the limitation of the general descriptions of ministry roles however he does not point out any strict boundaries to the different roles and the construction of a strict church structures classified into rigid hierarchies unlike many other books. Hence, Tidball (2008) has extensively drawn onto the ministry models as they are referred to as in the New Testament. Similarly, Dever and Alexander (2005) have also emphasized the role of the Biblical text and the gospels in directing the works of the church. The main thesis of the book is the derivation of ministry models as they have been put out in the Biblical texts. Hence, Dever and Alexander (2005) have tried to explain the role of God’s word - as written in the Bible - as the guiding light for the church. In short, the church should be directed by biblical texts and theological understanding of ministry and pastoral leadership as it is meant to serve God the way He wants us to serve Him. The Deliberate Church points out the need to ‘deliberately’ take actions that are for the well being of the church and the people it counsels so that it is ultimately pleasing God because His way is being followed. A church being guided by the biblical text ensures that it is proceeding in the right direction as wanted by God. the authors have stated that our way should be led by “God’s words” and the gospel should be the central text for reference in helping guide, direct, and lead our actions because doing so will allow us to achieve salvation through God’s word (Dever and Alexander, 2005). The implication also includes the development of gospel as a critical book of reference thereby enabling the society and culture to achieve momentum. Hence, it is clear that the gospel should guide ministries because they contain the word of God. Successful building of a church revolves around four ideas highlighted in the book which includes preaching, prayer, personal discipleship, and patience (Dever and Alexander,2005). The book has also explained the importance of an appropriate pace in allowing successful acceptance among the people. In pursuing a fast paced approach, one might lose out on the goals he could achieve in the long run as well. Dever and Alexander (2005) have pointed out how pursuing a fast pace is the root of losing one’s pastoral influence among the people. Before the people are ready to accept and adopt it,even a biblical change will not make much difference and is likely to end up reducing one’s influence. For a successful start,the pastors must keep their pace in line with that of the congregation so as to avoid running ahead of the people so that they lag behind. This factor has a great impact on how successful a church runs and has often been associated with the development of a healthy church environment that encourages the understanding of the gospel. This is the key to stirring greater involvement by the people so that they understand beyond simply knowing the gospel. Therefore, Dever and Alexander (2005) have emphasized on the dismission on modern gimmicks and a focus on evangelism techniques in order to inculcate a healthy understanding of the gospels. Again, the authors have stressed on the need to focus on the gospels as God’s words that direct the church ministries. A similar concept of ministry is present in the book written by Wiersby (2007). The book centers about the idea of being a God’s servant above all. The idea is similar to the other books that have been detailed above. Wiersby (2007) focuses the book on being God’s servant, which is what he feels is the essence of ministry work and pastoral leadership as the main purpose is to serve God. Wiersby 92007)mentions the need to minister the way God wants us to as it has been set out his His words in the Bible. Again, the author has focus on the centrality of God’s word in setting the direction for churches rather than man made notions that employ needless gimmicks. It can be easily stated that all three books have identified the theological or biblical way of approaching ministry work as it is done to serve God and hence, must be followed in accordance to God’s words in the Biblical text. Wiersby (2007) understands the lack of a clear vision when one may approach ministry work as he mentions that he, as well, lacked a clear vision when he started out. But clarity should pertain to the principles of ministry work as they constitute the gist of the pastoral work. Once may fully be aware about the techniques to employ and the ideas behind them however a clear direction with regards to the principles is also a necessary factor in determining the success of ministry. And the true success of ministry really is the successful delivery of one’s services towards God because the aim is to serve God. Thus, principles should be at the center place when trying to serve God. Principles are few and do not change with time unlike methods, the author explains (Wiersby, 2007). However,this is not say that methods are not important in ministry work. In fact,they are very important but it should be understood that methods are backed up by principles. A method adopted for ministry may only work if there is a relevant principle behind it. Principles allow one to deliver his services successfully as ministry is essentially involves the meeting of human needs through the glory of God as he channels the resources. Overall, Wiersby (2007) has pointed out the need to serve God in his way as stated in the gospels because the purpose of pastors is to serve God and hence, his words must guide the ministry. To sum up, all the books have employed a biblical approach to understanding the concept of ministries due to the introduction of modern ideas and/or gimmicks to understand ministry work. When serving God through ministries, one must only follow His words as he wants us to serve Him through ministries. References Dever, M. and Alexander, P. (2005). The deliberate church. 1st ed. Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books. Tidball, D. (2008). Ministry by the book. 1st ed. Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP Academic. Wiersbe, W. (2007). On being a servant of God. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books. Read More