The Pastor by Eugene Peterson

As with all books by Eugene Peterson, I initially found this book difficult to get into. I find that the way he writes forces you to slow down, get into a quiet place, and only then do you really find his writing having an impact on you. And it does have a big impact, especially this book.

Peterson writes in a poetic way, painting vivid pictures in your mind as he tells his story. He revisits similar themes all the way through the book. It is not so much a linear narrative as a piece of classical music, each movement echoing but building on the last. At times you wonder why he is telling a story in so much detail, and then he brings it together in a powerful way. He describes how he became a pastor, having been warned against it by friends, and the gradual and sometimes painful process of realising what his calling involved, and what it did not involve. I loved how the whole thing is soaked in the scriptures, how he uses biblical stories and characters to summarise different key periods in his life and the life of his church.

You really need to read it for yourself, so I'll just give you a couple of quotes to whet your appetite:
(On the church growth movement) "The momentum of what was being termed church growth was gathering... it was more like church cancer - growth that was a deadly illness, the explosion of runaway cells that attack the health and equilibrium of the body"
(On the role of a pastor) "My work is not to fix people. It is to lead people in the worship of God and to lead them in living a holy life"
(Discussing the Christian pursuit of happiness and the next spiritual fix) "our task is to obey -believingly, trustingly obey. Simply obey in a 'long obedience'".
(On pastors being asked for 'pearls of wisdom', and meals as sacramental) "Jesus didn't drop pearls around Galilee for people as clues to find their way to God or their neighbours. He ate meals with them. And you can do what Jesus did. Every evening take and receive the life of Jesus around your table".

Some quite provocative thoughts, obviously you need to read them in context to fully understand where he's coming from, but I hope they will give you a desire to buy and read this book. Get yourself in a quiet room for a couple of hours and just let his well crafted words and paragraphs reach into your soul and create a desire for a more authentic relationship with God and church.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Pastor-Eugene-H-Peterson/dp/0061988219/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1362260047&sr=8-1