THE SECRET LIFE OF A PASTOR
(and other intimate letters on ministry)
By Michael A. Milton
Christian Focus. 117 pages. £5.99
ISBN 978 1 781 915 967
This book is a collection of letters that the author has composed over the years to his seminary students.
While the book is quite practical, it is not a ‘how-to’ manual on the nuts and bolts of ministry, but rather a range of warm Christ-centred advice on the need for the pastor to maintain a love for his people, his Bible and particularly his Saviour.
Michael Milton is a Presbyterian pastor who has trained several generations of seminarians at four institutions in the United States. For those of us who don’t share his geographical or denominational background, occasional ‘translation’ is needed, but his personal warmth and devotion infectiously transcends these barriers.
There are wonderful nuggets (sometimes in the form of short bullet lists) on the merits of family prayers (he used to read his sermons to his family on Saturday nights), how the pastor is not a CEO, the need for simplicity in sermons and so on, but there are also unexpected gems (for example on careful preparation of public prayers and the privilege of baptism).
Speaking as an experienced pastor to trainee pastors, he totally understands the world and the pressures that the recipients of his letters are entering into and speaks honestly about them, but his chapter on being careful not to ‘relay’ all of the difficulties a pastor faces in ministry back to his wife and children is classic (and quite amusing!) and worth the value of the book alone.
This short and readable book would obviously be an encouraging read for someone heading off to theological college or investigating pastoral ministry. However there are also extremely helpful reminders for those already along the path of ministry, and indeed for lay people who care for pastors. In a tweet, email and text message world, this book is also a wonderful plea for (and example of) the power of letter writing in ministry, which may find us reaching for our fountain pens!
