The Reformed Pastor

The Reformed Pastor written Richard Baxter organized and edited By James M. Houston. What does it mean to be ordained by God to teach a flock and to shepherd a congregation? This book is written by one Pastor to other Pastors in how to disciple the members of his congregation in their Christian walk. To make sure those who belong to the local church have accepted Jesus as Savior and that each individual member is growing spiritually in both knowledge and obedience to the commands of God. The ultimate purpose of the Pastor is to glorify God. The ultimate purpose of any Christian is to glorify God. Richard Baxter believed in catechism of each member of the church he pastored; Catechism was not limited to new members or the youth of the church; it was not left to those working under him. He spent two days a week going to families catechizing families; He had someone else in the church scheduling the dates and the church compensating members for lost time; He kept records of the answers his members, so he knew how they grew in knowledge. The author knew a member could grow in knowledge of the Lord yet not grow in his relationship with the Lord. He believed in God's wrath towards the sinner and God's provision for salvation. A Pastor should demand strong knowledge of theology and prepare strong sermons, yet this should not interfere with him visiting the sick or care for the individual. He argued for essential doctrine and not letting the nonessential divide the body of Christ. This book is an argument for the Pastor/ servant of God's church. To be a servant to God by serving those who belong to the church he pastored and being obedient to God. This work originally written by Richard Baxter is abridged by a James M. Houston.

The Reformed Pastor was actually very different than I anticipated, being nothing about reformed theology or even theology at all. "Reformed Pastor" actually means reforming pastors, using the word the same way we would say "reformed hardened criminal." Hmmm. I guess that already tells you this book isn't one of those "feel-good" books. Richard Baxter was famous for two things: being a tremendous pastor to a town in England, and getting constantly into trouble for being so blunt that he would make enemies of his friends. This book is about being a tremendous pastor, and it is very very blunt. It is an extended lecture he proposed to give to a local ministerial association in 1656. The book uses as its foundation and framework Acts 20:28: "Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood." The book first deals with pastors "taking heed" to their own spiritual state and life, and then turns its attention to taking heed to all the flock. As to the topic of taking heed to their own spiritual lives, Baxter starts at the beginning, with making sure the reader is truly a Christian, and progresses through disciplines, qualifications, and indwelling sin. He next emphasizes the reasons why a pastor must be rigorous in his own spiritual life. He expounds reasons such as how many eyes are on the man of God, how difficult the work is, and how the honor of Christ depends on it. He reminds his reader of many practical insights, such as "all that a minister does is a kind of preaching" and to avoid the error of men who "study hard to preach exactly, and study little or not at all to live exactly." After dealing with the pastor's personal life, he tackles the pastor's responsibility to shepherd his congregation. His most radical recommendation, radical back then and almost unthinkable to American churches today, is for a pastor to personally visit and catechize people (for those unfamiliar with the term, it means to teach a list of several hundred questions and answers of basic theology). Specifically, he says a pastor should catechize each and every family, in the pastor's entire town, each and every year. In Baxter's town that meant 2000 people in 800 families, that he and his associate pastor took two full days every week to go through the whole town every year. He bluntly states, "If the pastoral office consists of overseeing all the flock, then surely the number of souls under the care of each pastor must not be greater than he is able to take such heed as to here is required." Yea, and I'm sure the pastoral staff of most churches personally know every member of their flock. And yes, I know that we consider Sunday School teachers or small group leaders to be "overseeing the flock"- but how many of those leaders in our churches see themselves as shepherds, have been theologically trained and commissioned as overseers, one-

I read this book because so many people have spoken of it as a classic. Having now finished it, I must say I am a little disappointed with the content. I expected profound and striking ideas. In these pages however, were no new principles I have not already learned.The smallness of Baxter's content however, is far exceeded by the substance of his character. It is his character, his pastoral passion for ministry that makes this book the classic it has become. His single-minded devotion to God and his tender, shepherd's heart for his flock have inspired pastors for over 300 years.This book is not an easy read. The English language has changed substantially over 300 years, and as a result the essence of Baxter's pastoral passion is undoubtedly distorted. Still, this volume IS a classic, and is a must-read for any pastor wanting to refine and/or restore his motivation for ministry.

Having been a pastor for almost 25 years I admit to initially being angry when I read The Reformed Pastor some years ago."Why didn't someone show this book to me before?" I thought to myself. How foolish a young minister is who enters the Gospel ministry having been told of Baxter but who refuses to read Baxter. This Puritan of Puritans was wonderfully gifted by God to be a real pastor.

The wisdom of Richard Baxter's THE REFORMED PASTOR should be required readng for all who are even thinking about going into the ministry. It will make you re-think your calling, and look into your personal conviction to Christ like few other books can. A must read.