Thompson, James W. (2006). Pastoral ministry according to Paul: A biblical vision. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic Press. 176 pp. $17.99

This volume by James W. Thompson is another work from a Restoration New Testament scholar whose conviction is that the Academy exists to serve the church. This particular work follows on the heels of his earlier work Preaching Like Paul. He is the Robert and Kay Onstead Distinguished Professor of Biblical Studies at Abilene Christian University and associate dean of ACU's graduate school of theology.

Thompson seeks to discover a solid biblical model of ministry emerging out of Paul's letters. At the outset he acknowledges both the multitudinous and misunderstood notions of contemporary models of ministry. Using this as his point of departure, the author clearly states that his task is "to show the correspondence between central theological themes and his pastoral goal" (Thompson, 2006, p. 9).

Thompson maintains that a consistent idea of ministry flows from all of Paul's letters: "Ministry is participation in God"s work of transforming the community of faith until it is 'blameless' at the coming of Jesus" (Thompson, 2006, p. 20). This working definition of ministry is counter-cultural to most of the contemporary thinking regarding church life today. First, it recognizes that ministry is a response to God's work. Second, it rightfully restores the place of community in the experience of faith. And, thirdly, it sees formation of Christian character from an eschatological viewpoint and not merely as an ethical goal.

Out of this emerging Pauline model three aspects of ministry are highlighted:

• Community formation that is concerned with the "messiness of church life"
• An awareness of living between the times
• Holiness of character that will be presented as "blameless" at the Parousia.

From the context of this tripartite model of ministry, Thompson asserts that Paul's ultimate aim is to present a cross-shaped believing community that grows away from selfishness and is able to respond to the needs of others. This transformation of self as a work of the "new creation" is seen by Paul to be a work of the Spirit within the body of Christ. This formation provides the concern of his pastoral care and vision (Thompson, 2006, p. 82).

What thrilled me the most in reading this book is that the author has provided for us a theological and exegetical foundation for viewing contemporary ministry. This ground-breaking work shows the centrality of the "transformation" language (i.e., Paul's vocabulary that uses the morph- stem in Greek) in Paul's understanding of the nature of the new creation. It prompted me to do some deeper research and write an article!

The following list offers my critique and response to this book:

(1) Thompson is brave and apparently willing to take heat from evangelicals and non-evangelicals, or Calvinists and non-Calvinists. He maintains that the center of Pauline theology is NOT justification by faith; rather, it is a theology of transformation. He also points out that Paul's pastoral vision of transformation focuses more on ecclesiology than on an individual's personal response to the gospel. And he boldly asserts that Paul does not concede his ministry to the point of allowing people to live in their weakness and sins. Rather, he demands transformation into the likeness and image of the crucified and emptied Christ.

(2) This book is a deep read. It is not designed for bedtime reading. This book will challenge several long-held views regarding ministry. I took a group of ministers through this work in 6 months. I suggest that one carve out time to slowly digest it and work through the new thoughts about ministry.

(3) Because of this, I would not see it being used in a congregational setting. This book is written on a graduate level, and I can see it being used as required reading for courses on a "Biblical/Theological Foundation for Ministry." It needs to have follow-up questions for discussion and further points of departure for research at the end of each chapter.

(4) Another significant issue: in this book Thompson astutely points out that nowhere in his correspondence does Paul refer to himself as a "pastor." This is philosophically problematic for the author because sprinkled all through the book are phrases such as "pastoral theology," "pastoral ministry," "pastoral work," "pastoral care," etc. This identification label is not transformational in its connotations. Thompson needed to provide another word that would be an overarching rubric for Paul's work.

(5) It would have been helpful if Thompson had concluded with a chapter that specifically mentioned and named all of the metaphors used in the Pauline corpus to describe the apostle's work. Then each could have been highlighted as to how it specifically adds to our understanding of transformational theology. From each metaphor then (such as wet-nurse, father, etc.) application could be made to contemporary functions of ministry.

I hope that the author will not think my critique too harsh. This was and will be one of the most important books I have ever read about trying to bring together such varied strands of contemporary ministry. The lack of a unifying center often drives ministers today to the brink of insanity. Pulled in fifty directions at once, it seems that many default into a managerial mode of a CEO. This book is a long-overdue corrective.