Resources on Pastoral Ministry
This is a transcript of brief remarks delivered by Dr. Wingard, Professor of Pastoral Theology and Dean of Students at the RTS Jackson Senior Banquet on Mary 14, 2021. Tonight, I’ve been asked to offer a few words of encouragement to graduating counselors and pastors. So, here we go: I encourage you – counselors and pastors – to acknowledge your need for each other. Pastors need working friendships with counselors, and counselors need working friendships with pastors. Both pastors and counselors will have more powerful ministries if they work with each other. Pastors deal with things corporately and cannot be involved intensely with the personal issues of each member of a growing congregation – the needs are too great.…
Read More
Each Lord’s Day my congregation has morning and evening worship services. Old and New Testament readings are included at each service – a total of four readings. Along with singing Psalms, this method exposes the congregation to large amounts of scripture during the worship services of the church. At each service, one scripture passage is my preaching text. For the other reading, I prepare a brief introduction to the reading. I have found the following valuable resources in preparing my comments: Family Worship Bible Guide, Joel Beeke et al. Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible (6 volumes) Sabbath Scripture Readings (2 volumes), Thomas Chalmers Promise and Deliverance (volumes 1-4), S.G. DeGraaf I want my RTS Jackson students familiar…
Read More
My approach to pastoral ministry is little more than doing what I saw my dad do. I cherish this 1951 article.* The second half describes the work of my dad, George Wingard, in his first pastorate. He was, it reads, “very much like an old-time circuit rider, except that he does his riding in a Chevrolet Carryall.” My father served in a home mission field in the rural mountains and valleys of Searcy County, Arkansas, a field that included Presbyterian Chapel, Welcome Church, Garrett Memorial Presbyterian Church, and Lyon Chapel. I remember my parents reminiscing about places like Marshall and Snowball. The article depicts my dad as I remember him: hardworking, cooperative with other Christian denominations, and willing to…
Read More
Harold L. Senkbeil, The Care of Souls: Cultivating a Pastor’s Heart. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2019, xxvi+ 296, $15.85, hardcover. The COVID pandemic has interrupted our face-to-face relationships. Recently a friend mentioned that his choir scheduled a Zoom meeting so everyone could see and hear each other. The goal was to maintain contact and encourage; but he said it had the opposite effect on him. The online gathering left him even more pained, reinforcing what has been lost and intensifying the pain of separation. True pastoral ministry must be face-to-face. There is no substitute for it. Too often books on pastoral ministry focus on technique, offering skills that pastors must have to manage people, in this case the church. They…
Read More
1.Don’t procrastinate. Become a candidate for ministry in your denomination as early as possible. Follow your Candidates and Credentials Committee’s instructions to a tee. Don’t put off candidacy and its prerequisites until the end of your seminary career. If you do, you will complete your degree, but be unable to accept a call because you’ve failed to follow your denomination’s requirements. That may mean you are months away from accepting a call. Show respect for your denomination and love for your family by staying on track. PCA students need to keep in mind the following: You must be a member for at least six months of a church in the presbytery where you want to come under care. You must…
Read More