Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work

Whereas much of the current literature on pastoring stresses up-to-date training and new techniques stemming from the behavioral sciences, Eugene Peterson here calls for returning to an "old" resource--the Bible--as the basis for all of pastoral ministry.

Originally published in 1980 and now being reprinted to meet continuing demand, Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work shows how five Old Testament books provide a solid foundation for much of what a pastor does:
 

• Prayer-Directing: Song of Songs
• Story-Making: Ruth
• Pain-Sharing: Lamentations
• Nay-Saying: Ecclesiastes
• Community-Building: Esther

Pointing to the relevance of ancient wisdom, adapting Jewish religious tradition to contemporary pastoral practice, and affirming a significant link between pastoral work and the act of worship, this book opens up to pastors a wealth of valuable practical-theological insights.

• Working the Angles: The Shape of Pastoral Integrity
• The Contemplative Pastor: Returning to the Art of Spiritual Direction
• Under the Unpredictable Plant: An Exploration in Vocational Holiness
• Pastor: Revised Edition: The Theology and Practice of Ordained Ministry
• The Pastor as Minor Poet: Texts and Subtexts in the Ministerial Life (Calvin Institute of Christian Worship Liturgical Studies)
• Toughest People to Love: How to Understand, Lead, and Love the Difficult People in Your Life -- Including Yourself
• The Pastor: A Memoir
• A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society
• As Kingfishers Catch Fire: A Conversation on the Ways of God Formed by the Words of God
• Pastoral Theology in an Intercultural World: