Letters to New Pastors

by Michael Jinkins. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2006. ISBN 0­8028­2751­9. Pb., 186 pp. $15.

For almost five years we were privi­leged to be in a program developed by the Office of Theology and Worship entitled “Excellence from the Start.” The design of the program was to put new pastors in groups of seven or eight under the leadership of experienced pastor/mentors. Groups met twice a year for theological reflection on min­istry in light of assigned readings.

At one of our early meetings, at a time when nearly all of the pastors in the group were going through difficult challenges in their congregations, Michael Jinkins, academic dean at Austin Presbyterian Theological Semi­nary, met with us. The wisdom he shared in a short period of time was a tremendous source of encouragement to us all. Now Michael Jinkins has made that wisdom available to the whole church. Because the book is structured as a series of letters from Jinkins to several new pastors, it seemed appropriate to offer our review in a similar fashion.

Dear Allen: As a young pastor coming out of semi­nary, I thought (as did many of my classmates) that I would be God’s gift to the church. Armed with my newly printed diploma, a Bible, a theological toolbox, and more passion than com­mon sense I was unleashed on an unsus­pecting rural church. I, like so many of my colleagues, soon found that life in the parish is vastly different from the cloistered walls of academia, and was thus in need of a refresher course in pastoral identity and care. I am im­mensely grateful that the EFS program provided a forum to discuss many of the issues facing a new pastor who sudden­ly finds himself/herself in over his/her head. EFS provided the structures to help me through difficult times and en­abled me to remain faithful to my call. However, my one regret is that the pro­gram was not available to more new pastors who may have been or are still in the same boat in which I found my­self.

To address this need Michael Jinkins has written a wonderful new book, Let­ters to New Pastors. The book is reminis­cent of Paul’s letters to young Timothy in both its style and tone, sometimes pastoral, sometimes admonishing. It is just the resource to remind me of my days sitting across the table from Michael and then gathering with our EFS group gaining new insight into the task of ministry. The book is a way to continue those important conversations that began in seminary but over the years have been forgotten in the hustle and bustle of parish life. This is a book I will be giving to our current seminar­ians and any others who, in listening to the still small voice, respond by com­mitting themselves to a life of faithful service.

Dear Brian: Thank you for recommending Jinkins’ book to me and, even more, thank you for introducing our EFS group to Michael. Because of your recommenda­tion, I was eager to review his book for the OUTLOOK, but I have to say, it has exceeded my highest expectations. What a marvelous distillation of pas­toral wisdom, gleaned from the classic resources on ministry, offered in con­versation with the issues every pastor, new or experienced, faces. I find so many of my own struggles in ministry reflected here. I love the way Jinkins addresses with soul­searching honesty and candor the issues that make min­istry stressful without resorting to pious clichés. Having worked closely with new pastors, I cannot thank Michael Jinkins enough for a book that offers exactly what they, and I, need to hear.

The first letter sets the tone for the whole book. “Dear Mal, your last letter ends with the question, ‘What have I gotten myself into?’ I suppose the an­swer depends on whether you really mean what you’re saying. Did you get yourself into the mess you’re in? Be­cause if you did, then you’d better get yourself out of it. And as quickly as pos­sible. Pastoral ministry is not a career, Mal, it is a vocation, and if you chose it for yourself, you’re in the wrong place. You’re only going to do yourself and others a great deal of damage if you stay.”

The last letter is also addressed to Malcolm. In part Jinkins writes, “In your last letter you asked me the ques­tion, ‘Is it all worth it? as you reflected on the difficulties you’ve faced in your first year of ministry. … I also asked whether it was all worth it … when God placed me in a congregation where the people wouldn’t love me no matter how hard I tried to win their af­fection. It felt like a curse at first. But in reality it was a blessing. I had to discov­er deep down the meaning of God’s call as the motivation for ministry, rather than relying on the motivation of being well liked by the people. It took time, and tears, but eventually I came to see, as John Calvin knew years ago, that it is God’s call that sustains us as pastors. Nothing less can.” That is wisdom we all need to take to heart.

The church I serve has sent a signif­icant number of outstanding men and women to seminary in recent years. I intend to give a copy of this book to each of them and to those who are now in their first or second pastorates. I would encourage every new pastor to purchase a copy and every presbytery’s Committee on Preparation for Min­istry to have copies on hand to give to each candidate they receive. This book is as good and satisfying as the ribs and brisket at “The Saltlick.”

BRIAN BROCK is associate pastor of Mallard Creek Church in Charlotte, N.C.; ALLEN MCSWEEN is pastor of Fourth Church in Greenville, S.C.