Librarian's Pick

Rev. David Steveline

The title of a recent book on Reformed Theology, Loving God with our Minds: The Pastor as Theologian, sums up succinctly my own convictions concerning one of the central roles of the pastor in the life of the church. Like it or not every pastor must be a theologian. It comes with our calling. It is in part how we love and serve the Lord. Pastors must seek to understand the truth of the gospel deeply so they can speak truly and effectively to an increasingly complex and skeptical age.

There is an old saying that comes out of America’s WWII experience that should be applied to preaching: “loose lips sinks ships”. I don’t think it is an exaggeration to say that shallow, cliché ridden preaching costs lives. During a lifetime of pastoral ministry I have found myself needing to work hard, week after week, to think my way into the truth expressed in the text of scripture so I could be faithful to my calling to preach and teach the word. This is often a lonely task. Laboring over the text of scripture is a little like Jacob wrestling with God. We dare not let go until we are blessed.

Over the years I found myself needing to reach out for dialog partners who would sharpen my thinking, inspire my imagination and kindle my heart. Sometimes these were colleagues in ministry; other times laymen in my church. But more often they were pastors, theologians, novelists and poets I met in the pages of books.

Let me share with you a few of their names in hopes they might serve you as well as they have served me. First place goes to a trio of authors: Eugene Peterson, Richard Foster, and Walter Wangerin Jr. each of whom has inspired and enriched my life and ministry more than I can measure. Start with Peterson’s The Contemplative Pastor and follow it up with his Subversive Spiritually. From there try Wangerin’s Reliving the Passion and Preparing for Jesus. Then read Foster’s Celebration of Discipline and Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home. Read with your eyes wide open. You may just discover you have found a friend.

Reverend David Steveline is Director of Library Services at Wesley Biblical Seminary. He resides in Jackson, Mississippi with his wife, Alama, and together they have three children.