The Unnecessary Pastor: Rediscovering the Call

Best-selling authors Eugene Peterson and Marva Dawn offer encouragement to the leaders of today’s counter-culture movement. Pastors are strategically placed to counter the culture. No other profession looks so inoffensive but is in fact so dangerous to the status quo. Their weapon ‘A gospel that is profoundly countercultural. But standing firm in today’s world isn’t easy. Powerful forces, both subtle and obvious, attempt to domesticate pastors, to make them, in a word, unnecessary. In this volume, two of today’s most respected authors help pastors recover their gospel identity and maintain a pure vision of Christian leadership. Eugene Peterson and Marva Dawn here reconnect pastors with the biblical texts that will train them as countercultural servants of the gospel. In his section of the book, Peterson explores Romans, 1 and 2 Timothy, and Titus, drawing from them the correct view of pastoral identity. In turn, Dawn looks to Paul’s letter to the Ephesians for instruction for churches seeking to live faithfully in today’s world. Packed with encouraging insights from experienced practitioners, this book is must reading for anyone involved in church or parachurch leadership or for anyone now preparing for ministry.