The Christian Ministry
Pastoral Book Reviews
One of the best overall treatments
of the causes of insufficiency in today's pulpit ministry.
The Christian Ministry
by Charles Bridges
Banner of Truth Trust, Carlisle, PA: 1997
390 Pages, Hardback.
Charles Bridges (1794-1869) was one of the leaders of
the Evangelical party in the Church of England in the last
century. He was vicar of Old Newton, Suffolk, from 1823 to 1849,
and later of Weymouth and Hinton Martell in Dorset. The Christian
Ministry is Bridges' best-known literary work.
Bridges divides his work
into 5 parts: 1) The General view of the Christian's Ministry (which
covers such topics as the Divine Origin and Institution of the
Christian Ministry, Qualifications of the Ministry, and Preparation for
the Ministry) 2) General Causes of the Want of Success in the Christian
Ministry (which covers topics such as The power of Satan a main
hindrance to Ministerial Success and the want of a Divine call a main
cause of failure in the Christian Ministry), 3) Causes of
Ministerial Insufficiency connected with our Personal Character, 4) The
Publick Work of the Christian Ministry, and 5) The Pastoral Work of the
Christian Ministry (Here he discusses cases in the work of Pastoral
ministry like "the infidel" and "the young
Christian). This book is another
ladened with practical and important truth which every minister should
cling to. Bridges will raise the level of the pastorate in the
eyes of all those who claim the banner of Christian ministry in this
regard. He will also show what the pastorate is and what the
pastorate is not. He will dispel the fallacies and engage the
Pastor in his work, rebuke him, exhort him, and aid him in becoming a
better and more reliable witness for the truth of Christ. Some
Quotes:
"The Great Head of the Church has ordained three grand repositories
of His truth. In the Scriptures...in the hearts of
Christians...and in the Christian Ministry." "For
the minister, the whole work of our our particular calling is a kind of
living heaven..." (footnote) "None
but He who made the world can make a minister of the Gospel." "The
solid establishment of the people may be materially hindered by the
minister's contracted statements, crude interpretations, or misdirected Scriptural
application." "It will
not fail to be objected that if none were to be admitted into holy
orders, except those who are possessed of every necessary qualification,
there could not possibly be procured a sufficient number of Pastors for
the supply of our Churches. To which i answer, that a small number of
chosen Pastors is preferable to a multitude of unqualified
teachers. At all hazards we must adhere to the command of God, and
leave the event to Providence. But in reality the dearth of
pastors is not so generally apprehended. To reject those
candidates for holy orders, whose labors in the church would be wholly
fruitless, is undoubtedly a work of piety. Others, on the
contrary, who are qualified to fulfill the duties of the sacred office,
would take encouragement from this exactness and severity; and the
Ministry would every day be rendered more respectable in the
world."
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