Today, I have finished reading the most important book that I have read in the last six years of training. It was not any of the theology or commentaries that I have worked with. It was not any of the language tools. While all of those have been beneficial in my training to become a pastor they all lacked something. There was never a connection between the academia of learning and real world application. No the book I read designed for someone like me. It was Eugene Peterson’s book The Pastor. This book is his memoir of how he became a pastor and what meant for him. While reading though, I not only gained insight to his life and walk as a pastor, but was able to reflect on who do I want to be as a pastor, and how have I viewed the pastors in my life.
There are several things that I could share from his book, but there is one theme that I think applies to everyone. That is our walk is often an haphazard journey. I have found that true in my own life. My desire to be a pastor is not something I dreamed of, instead it was a pursuit by God, guiding me to this point. As I talk to others I often find that how they arrive to doing their ministries or life now is not what they dreamed of when they were younger. In others, I find that they are busy wanting to plan every detail and struggle with God in their walk and control. My wife stumbled across Proverbs 16:9 in her grappling with letting God take control.
Recently, I found Psalm 25:4-5: “Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.” I read this as I was reading Peterson’s book and realized that as I was preparing to graduate I was starting to make my own plans and needed to step back. I need to make sure that God was in control. I urge all of us to do that. Those two verses have been a daily prayer for me the last few weeks. I would urge anyone to join me in that prayer. Let God teach us his ways, his paths. We know that God is our salvation and anything he has for us is so much greater than anything we can dream of. I also recommend that anyone read Peterson’s book for the insight that it offers into the heart of a pastor.
