Review: The Pastor as Public Theologian: Reclaiming a Lost Vision

The Pastor as Public Theologian: Reclaiming a Lost Vision by Kevin J. Vanhoozer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I got hooked right at the introduction! I totally loved the two anecdotes at the Preface! I shall not spoil it for you guys (go read the preview on amazon or google books), but I do emphatically resonate with the notion that the public do not see how a pastor can be a theologian at the same time - there is simply no schema for such a being. Being a naturally gifted reader, thinker and teacher, I humbly accept and agree with the impression that the work of a minister "is a lot harder than scholarship."

I appreciate the conscious effort to include "Pastoral Perspectives," short segments written by pastors to supplement the main section laid down by the authors. These were the parts of the book I most enjoyed. If I were to highlight the best three, they would be Kevin DeYoung's "A Place for Truth," Guy A. Davies's "The Drama of Preaching" and Jason B. Hood's "The Pastor-Theologian as Pulpit Apologist."

It is a pity that I did not really resonate with the main essays. Owen's Strachan's Chapter 1 essay "Of Prophets, Priests, and Kings: A Brief Biblical Theology of the Pastorate" did not really appeal to me because I'm guessing that the book is targeted at the practicing pastor and not the academic scholarly work that I lean more toward; but which otherwise provided a bite-sized summary of how pastor-theologians can apply biblical theology today. I could not really appreciate Strachan's Chapter 2 essay titled "Of Scholars and Saints: A Brief History of the Pastorate" as church history is not one of my areas of interest. But I thoroughly enjoyed the subsection titled "The Modern Turn: Populism, Professionalism, and the Taming of the Pastorate" where I got a better picture of how the queen of sciences (theology) gave way to a less scholarly and more populist (and opinionated) style of preaching.

Vanhoozer's Chapter 3 "In the Evangelical Mood: The Purpose of the Pastor-Theologian" was highly cerebral and did not appeal much to me. Most ministers would already know why we ought to do this-or-that; we do not really need to be convinced in our minds. If I could use Clowney's Called to the Ministry (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...) as a reference, I far prefer the passionate call to sold-out service to Christ by a minister who has given his all, and invites others to do the same. I've mixed feelings about Vanhoozer's Chapter 4 essay, "Artisans in the House of God: The Practices of the Pastor-Theologian." Most sections have the same symptoms of being too intellectual as Chapter 3, but there were glimpses of fervent and contagious calls to a higher Christ-like standard.

Thankfully, the Introduction (Pastors, Theologians, and Other Public Figures) and Conclusion (Fifty-five summary theses on the pastor as public theologian), both authored by Kevin J. Vanhoozer, were excellent. It would be extremely useful to read these two sections over and over again, meditating on the timeless nuggets of wisdom and passionate calls to ministry.

If your church or seminary has this book, I encourage you to borrow it to read through the Pastoral Perspectives short-essays at the end of every chapter, along with the Introduction and Conclusion. However, it is not a book that I would purchase to keep on my bookshelf to lend to others.

I received this book from Baker Academic through Netgalley.com in exchange for this review.

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