Perhaps the most prominent model for pastoral ministry that exists today is that of the professional. Seminaries now focus their training of young pastors on organizational and leadership skills. Books abound which attempt to aid the pastor by teaching him or her principles for running a church, principles which are usually nothing more than the latest business leadership ideas that have been baptized by Christian jargon and made to fit the pastorate. Pastors also view themselves in this manner. This is evidenced by the desire to move up the corporate ladder to the next biggest and wealthiest church. Education then simply becomes a means to this end of increasing one's personal prestige and pocketbooks. The preceding description is a sign that all is not well in the popular conception of the pastorate and that there is subsequently much that has been lost which needs to be regained. In the midst of the current conversation going on about the professionalization of the pastorate, John Piper in his book Brothers, We Are Not Professionals, speaks as a herald calling pastors back to the biblical model of the pastorate. His words are fresh and convicting and very much needed.

As the title of his book suggests, Piper is not afraid to consciously go against the flow of the popular ideas about the pastorate. He is not one to mince words and takes this faulty thinking head on. Many would say that the professionalization of the pastorate is a positive development. Piper, however, makes it clear in the first chapter that pastors are actually being killed by the professionalization of the ministry (1). He writes that "the love of professionalism . . . kills a man's belief that he is sent by God to save people from hell and to make them Christ-exalting, spiritual aliens in the world" (3). In the next twenty-nine chapters Piper deals with different areas in which the thinking of pastors needs to be reformed in the light of God's word.

One of the refreshing aspects of Piper's book is his concern for theology and doctrine. Many today view doctrine as being unimportant at best and dangerous at worst. Piper, however, contends that doctrine is an essential element for pastoral ministry. This is evident by the fact that he has an entire chapter on justification by faith (chapter four). Piper points out that far from being superfluous, the preaching of the doctrine of justification by faith reforms and revives the church (18). He exhorts pastors to preach this doctrine that was indispensable to great men of the church like Luther, Calvin, and Bunyan. In the chapter he even spends several pages giving a short explication of and defense for justification by faith as he understands it. Piper is indeed right that what truly and lastingly moves the heart of men is not mere emotionalism or passion, but deep mediation and teaching on what are often difficult theological issues.

Piper's concern for the theology underpinning the pastorate comes through in every chapter, but is especially evidenced in chapter 15 titled "Brothers, Save the Saints." Here he notes that there is often a distinction in the mind of pastors between their duty to save the lost and edify the saints (105). However, as he points out, this way of presenting the ministry is incomplete. The erroneous thinking behind such a statement is that the salvation of the saints does not depend upon pastoral ministry. This is false. He writes "the goal of a pastor is not merely to edify the saints but to save the saints" (106). That is to say that not just the salvation of sinners depends upon gospel preaching but the salvation of the church depends upon the same. The final salvation of the church depends upon their perseverance in the faith and their perseverance in the faith depends in large measure upon the ministry of the pastor. Therefore, the ministry of the pastor is essential to ensuring the ultimate salvation of the church. How then should this affect pastoral ministry? One way that Piper notes is that "our preaching must not be playful but earnest" because of the weighty and serious matters involved in pastoral ministry (111). Other chapters that especially highlight Piper's concern for theology affecting the view of the pastorate are his chapter on hell (chapter 16) and his chapter on missions (chapter 25).

Another strength of Piper's book is the importance he places upon sound exegesis of the Scriptures. In a day when many are seeking to do nothing more than tickle the ears of men and women, Piper calls pastors back to a grounding in the biblical text, and not just the biblical text in translation but the biblical text in the original languages. Chapter 12 is essentially an exhortation to pastors to teach and preach from the original languages. While it is certainly not an easy thing for pastors to maintain their Greek and Hebrew skills after seminary, doing so in large part determines whether one is able to glean fresh truth from the word or simply resort to "boring generalities" (83). Chapter 11 also is concerned with exegesis of Scripture. In it he challenges pastors to query the text. Much preaching that is done does not even claim to be expository preaching and the preaching that does make the claim to it often does not go very deep into the text. Therefore, Piper tells pastors to slow down and chew on texts and struggle to understand how different propositions fit together (75). God's word is what reforms pastoral ministry and the church. Thus, in order for there to be a significant change in either there must be a return to serious study of the text, especially from the original languages.

Piper's book is also intensely practical for the pastor. He writes on many topics which get down to the nitty gritty of pastoral ministry and how it should be transformed from the professional paradigm. Chapter 4 is on the absolute necessity of prayer for the pastor. In chapter 10 Piper tells pastors to fight for their lives by appropriating adequate time to read. Chapter 13 exhorts pastors to specifically read Christian biography as a source of strength and renewal in the ministry. Showing again that he does not shy away from addressing culturally hot topics, in chapter 26 Piper tells pastors to sever the root of racism by deliberately seeking to raise "the warmth of commitment to racial understanding and love and demonstrable harmony" (203). Additionally, Piper has a convicting chapter on pastors modeling for their churches a life of "wartime simplicity" regarding finances. In our abundantly wealthy society this is something that we particularly need to hear. The kind of radical ministry which Piper presents is certainly not as safe or domesticated as the professional model, but it kindles within the heart a fire to spend oneself out for the glory of God and the advancing of his kingdom, a goal far more satisfying than the competition of moving up the corporate ladder. One can only hope that his book will indeed have such an effect in the hearts and minds of those pastors who read it.

A Book Review Of Brothers, We Are Not Professionals By John Piper