Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work

by Eugene H. Peterson

Publisher:

Eerdmans

, 1992

Overview

Whereas much of the current literature on pastoring stresses up-to-date training and new techniques stemming from the behavioral sciences, Eugene Peterson here calls for returning to an “old” resource—the Bible—as the basis for all of pastoral ministry.

Originally published in 1980 and now being reprinted to meet continuing demand, Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work shows how five Old Testament books provide a solid foundation for much of what a pastor does:

Prayer-Directing: Song of Songs

Story-Making: Ruth

Pain-Sharing: Lamentations

Nay-Saying: Ecclesiastes

Community-Building: Esther

Pointing to the relevance of ancient wisdom, adapting Jewish religious tradition to contemporary pastoral practice, and affirming a significant link between pastoral work and the act of worship, this book opens up to pastors a wealth of valuable practical-theological insights.

Key Features

• Calls for return to the Bible as the basis for all of pastoral ministry
• Provides pastors a wealth of valuable practical-theological insights
• Shows how five Old Testament books provide a solid foundation for much of what a pastor does

Contents

• The Pastoral Work of Prayer-Directing: Song of Songs
• The Pastoral Work of Story-Making: Ruth
• The Pastoral Work of Pain-Sharing: Lamentations
• The Pastoral Work of Nay-Saying: Ecclesiastes
• The Pastoral Work of Community-Building: Esther

Product Details

• Title: Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work
• Author: Eugene H. Peterson
• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Print Publication Date: 1992
• Logos Release Date: 2022
• Pages: 241
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
• Subjects: Pastoral theology; Bible. O.T. Five Scrolls › Use; Bible. O.T. Five Scrolls › Criticism, interpretation, etc
• ISBNs: 9780802806604, 0802806600
• Resource ID: LLS:FVSMTHSTPASWK
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T00:09:45Z

About Eugene H. Peterson

Eugene H. Peterson (1932–2018) was a pastor, scholar, author, and poet. He wrote more than thirty books, including his widely acclaimed paraphrase of the Bible, The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language, his memoir, The Pastor, and numerous works of biblical spiritual formation, including Run with the Horses, also available in a commemorative edition. Peterson was founding pastor of Christ Our King Presbyterian Church in Bel Air, Maryland, where he served for twenty-nine years before retiring in 1991. With degrees from Seattle Pacific, New York Theological Seminary, and Johns Hopkins University, he served as professor of spiritual theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia, until retiring in Lakeside, Montana, in 2006.