This book surprised me. The advertisements for it looked intriguing, but we are blessed to have many wonderful volumes about the work of a pastor. The author, Harold L. Senkbeil, is a long-time Lutheran pastor. Since I am not a Lutheran, I wondered if I might diverge from him on many points. To be sure, he would sometimes talk about the sacraments or baptism in a way that is totally foreign to my thinking, but I loved his book nonetheless. I could easily roll over those sacramental comments because what he had to say about God, His Word, and the ministry struck me directly in the heart. He wrote in so many ways about the pastor I want to be and showed me the way to get there.

He had a knack for working in his life experiences without ever making it about him. He would mention what he learned growing up on a farm many times but I assure you it was never trite nor meaningless. In fact, every facet of farming that he ties to the ministry will be so clear that you will wonder why you hadn’t thought of it before. He gives a wonderful description of what a pastor even is. He will explain both the care and the cure of souls and define a pastoral “habitus” along the way. Even if you’ve never heard the term before, you will be glad to make its acquaintance. There’s an extraordinary chapter on how the word of God is our source for ministry. His description of part of pastoring being the work of diagnosis and a work on the soul covers more in one chapter than some such books do in their entirety. His chapter on treatment of what is diagnosed makes it all practical. Other chapters that tie everything to Christ are extraordinary. He relates theologically how to talk about sin and justification and what shame and guilt are in a way that will minister to your soul as he’s trying to tell you how to help others! Be sure to check out his sexual case study, which again is written for you to help others, in a chapter that is as good as I’ve ever read on that subject.

I have underlined many sentences in my copy. In addition to the wonderful material, the author is an extraordinary, captivating writer. I was unable to read this book fast. In fact, I could never read more than one chapter at a sitting because it would give me so much to dwell on. That means it may take you a few days to read it, but they will be days well spent. This publisher has had a legacy year in writing about pastoring as they’ve already released one of the best volumes on preaching (The Heart of the Preacher) that I have seen in a long time. This book is worthy of the highest possible recommendation!

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.