5 Formative Presuppositions of Pastoral Theology
🧵 about the presuppositions that formed Al Martin's course in Pastoral Theology
"A presupposition can be a specific expression of a biblical reality rooted in the witness of the Word of God which we are determined will act like a grid as we take up a subject and then attempt to present it to others."
Here are 5 concerning pastoral theology:
1) The primacy of preaching among the public duties of the ministry
"The simple reason for this is that in the wisdom and purpose of God, the primary means ordained by Him for gathering out His elect and edifying His people is the preaching and teaching of the Word of God."
"The great appointed means of spreading the good tidings of salvation through Christ is preaching - words spoken whether to the individual, or to the assembly. And this, nothing can supersede." (Broadus)
[Comment: Yet in elevating the importance of preaching, we must not downplay the importance of other duties in ministry such as prayer and pastoral care that are need for a well-balanced ministry]
2) The vital place of biblical church order as the supportive context of effective preaching
"All of the practical issues with which Paul deals in the pastoral epistles, and in his other letters, of course, are about proper behaviour in the house of God which is the support of the truth, particularly the preaching of the truth."
"Under the blessing of God, when preaching is what it ought to be in content, form, spiritual energy, and comprehensiveness, then a vigorous, healthy, biblically ordered church will become both its fruit and its validation."
[Comment: Studying ecclesiology should be a key and necessary part of every pastor/elder training course]
3) The conviction that a life of vital godliness is the indispensable prerequisite for all ministerial efficiency
"There is no aspect of pastoral duty which does to have its root in the state of the pastor's own inner life before God."
"It is only the man who has a large, varied and original life with God who can go on speaking about the things of God with fresh intent; but a thousand things happen to interfere with such a prayerful and meditative life." (James Stalker)
"It was said of an old divine, "He fed you with his doctrine, and edified you by his example. He wooed for Christ in his preaching, and he allured you to Christ by his walking." It would be a cause of great praise to God if we go to our graves and have people say this about us!"
4) There is a constant and delicate confluence and interaction of the divine and the human elements in every aspect of the work of the ministry
"It is clear that our Lord Jesus commits Himself to abide in us, while at the same time He directs us consciously to abide in Him."
By "nature, temperament, previous and present relationships and influences" we will lean either "toward a kind of overly mystical approach" to ministry or "be overly practical... and neglect the conscious and constant awareness of our utter dependence upon the workings of God."
"He does not work without us or against us, but with us and in us, so that His working comes to light in the blessing upon my working, and my working is blessed as He works in me to will and to work for His good pleasure."
5) The necessity of subjecting this field of Christian endeavour to specific critical analysis and structured presentation
"It is true that much can be learned by example if we have an observant eye, but I am presupposing that this subject of pastoral theology ought not to be left to any less-focused analysis and structured presentation than any other theological discipline."