Pastor Paul: Nurturing a Culture of Christoformity in the Church (Theological Explorations for the Church Catholic)
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Overview
Being a pastor is a complicated calling. Pastors are often pulled in multiple directions and must “become all things to all people” (1 Cor. 9:22). What does the New Testament say (or not say) about the pastoral calling? And what can we learn about it from the apostle Paul?
According to popular New Testament scholar Scot McKnight, pastoring must begin first and foremost with spiritual formation, which plays a vital role in the life and ministry of the pastor. As leaders, pastors both create and nurture culture in a church. The biblical vision for that culture is Christoformity, or Christlikeness. Grounding pastoral ministry in the pastoral praxis of the apostle Paul, McKnight shows that nurturing Christoformity was at the heart of the Pauline mission. The pastor’s central calling, then, is to mediate Christ in everything. McKnight explores seven dimensions that illustrate this concept—friendship, siblings, generosity, storytelling, witness, subverting the world, and wisdom—as he calls pastors to be conformed to Christ and to nurture a culture of Christoformity in their churches.
- Focuses on the role of spiritual formation in pastoral ministry
- Explores the theme of Christoformity in the Pauline mission
- Examines dimensions of pastoral ministry including of friendship, generosity, storytelling, and wisdom
- Pastors as Culture Makers
- A Culture of Friendship
- A Culture of Siblings
- A Culture of Generosity
- A Culture of Storytellers
- A Culture of Witness
- A Culture of World Subversion
- A Culture of Wisdom
- Final Thoughts: Nurturing Christoformity
Top Highlights
“The pastor is called to nurture a culture of Christoformity.” (Page 4)
“Pastors are, to use a medical analogy, general practitioners rather than specialists.” (Page 2)
“Measuring success by numbers—butts or budgets—is also worldly. What mattered to Paul was presenting his churches complete in Christ.” (Page 194)
“God’s loving presence transforms us because God’s presence is transformative! Our love of others does the same: when we love others, we indwell them and they indwell us, and personal presence makes space for others, and that space now occupied by the one we love influences us to become like them. Genuine friendships, which are two way, are always transformative. To make space for another is to invite change.” (Page 45)
“The apostle Paul explicitly depicts himself in priestly terms: ‘because of the grace given me by God to be a minister [leitourgon] of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service [hierourgounta] of the gospel of God, so that the offering [prosphora] of the Gentiles may be acceptable [euprosdektos], sanctified [hēgiasmenē] by the Holy Spirit’ (Rom. 15:15–16).” (Page 22)
With careful exegesis of Paul’s world, Paul’s letters, and our own world, Scot McKnight shows how pastoral ministry in the spirit of Paul is focused on nurturing a culture of corporate Christlikeness. Full of wisdom concerning critical aspects of both Pauline and contemporary pastoral ministry, this is a book that will help form more faithful ministers of the gospel and, through them, more faithful churches.
—Michael J. Gorman, Raymond E. Brown Professor of Biblical Studies and Theology, St. Mary’s Seminary and University, Baltimore
This book contains a wealth of treasures for anyone who is currently pastoring, who has been pastoring for years, or who is beginning to sense a call to pastor. It is full of biblical and theological insights from the life and writings of Paul, as well as McKnight’s own astute observations on the pastor’s life. McKnight’s ability to mine the Scriptures to bring inspiration, wisdom, and a Christoform framework to the work of a pastor is profound. Most striking is that the vision he presents for pastors feels attainable. So at its heart this book is deeply encouraging. I highly recommend this.
—Lucy Peppiatt, principal, Westminster Theological Centre, United Kingdom
During my doctoral cohort led by Scot, he talked about writing this book. As he shared insights and the vision for it, I immediately began to think about how I as a pastor would be spiritually formed, encouraged, and strengthened by it to shepherd God’s people. This book is a gift to pastors. I highly recommend it.
—Derwin L. Gray, lead pastor, Transformation Church; author of The High-Definition Leader: Building Multiethnic Churches in a Multiethnic World
- Title: Pastor Paul: Nurturing a Culture of Christoformity in the Church
- Author: Scot McKnight
- Series: Theological Explorations for the Church Catholic
- Publisher: Baker
- Publication Date: 2019
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Topic: Pastoral Theology
Scot McKnight is a theologian who has focused most of his writings on the New Testament and the historical Jesus. He is currently a professor of New Testament at Northern Baptist Theological Seminary in Lombard, IL. He earned a B.A. degree from Grand Rapids Baptist College (now Cornerstone University), an M.A. degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and a Ph.D. from the University of Nottingham.
McKnight is a member of the Society Biblical Literature and the Society for New Testament Studies. He has written and edited many award-winning books. He has over 25 books to his name, including Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, the volumes on Galatians and 1 Peter in the NIV Application Commentary, and A New Vision for Israel: The Teaching of Jesus in National Context.
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