Book Review: The Pastor and the Modern World, by William Edgar, R. Kent Hughes & Alfred Poirier

William Edgar, R. Kent Hughes, and Alfred Poirier, The Pastor and the Modern World: Reformed Ministry and a Secular Culture. Westminster Seminary Press, 2022. 120 pages.

We’ve been served well by this set of three essays, originally lectures, delivered by William Edgar, R. Kent Hughes, and Alfred Poirier.

These essays, as the title suggests, are aimed entirely at the pastor, and they all prove helpful: Edgar’s for analyzing culture, Hughes’s for preaching from a heart genuinely affected by the Word, and Poirier’s for diagnosing and treating souls.

William Edgar’s ‘Are We Really Secular?’

Here’s how Edgar sets up his essay: “Traditional secularization theory once predicted the demise of religion. . . In these few pages, I would like to explore the way historians and sociologists have predicted God’s disappearance, and how they have got it wrong; at least we thought they did” (10).

Edgar draws the conclusion that there is no necessary connection between modernity and secularization. Who could argue with the statistics he cites? “In 1900, Africa had 10 million Christians representing about 10 percent of the population; by 2000, this figure had grown to 360 million, representing about half the population. . . In Asia, it is estimated that whereas in 1990 there were 22 million Christians, today the numbers are well over 300 million” (30). This certainly doesn’t look like religion declining in significance!

Does this mean, then, that secularization is in decline? Not so fast, says Edgar: “Secularization is still with us. It is there, alongside the growth. And it is far more pervasive, and far more subtle than is typically understood either by advocates or deniers” (32).  He notes the cultural trend of humans (who are inescapably religious) moving away from traditional religion and towards “surrogate forms of transcendence” (35) such as reason, science, literature, art, nationalism, and culture.

What you’ll see in this essay, brother pastor, is a class in paying attention to the ideas so prevalent in the world and then, for our sheep’s sake, bringing the Word of God to bear on what we see. The particular examples Edgar notes may not be fitting for your own congregation (the works of Max Weber or the paintings of Monet may not be at the forefront of your people’s minds), but the lens he provides can help make sense of folk-culture and pop-culture, too. . . exegeting the line in the Radiohead song or the newest prescription drug commercial.

And, in answer to these trends, he concludes we must have a message and a life that emphasizes the certainty of the judgment to come and, most importantly, the gospel: “Just as secularization permeates every area, every institution, every artistic vision, so the gospel applies to every part of life” (53).

Kent Hughes’s ‘The Heart of the Pastor in the Pulpit’

In the second essay, we’re taken from exegeting the culture to the public exegesis of the Scriptures. Kent Hughes begins by making the case that affections and preaching should go together.

He’s undoubtedly right, isn’t he? Think of what would be lost if this coming Sunday you simply typed your sermon into a text-to-voice app, set your phone on the podium, and hit play.

God designed preaching to take place by real, flesh-and-blood men. Do you keep this in mind—that your personality and character are the container in which the Word of God will be served to your people the next time you preach?

What’s the key to affectionate preaching, according to Hughes? We must have our hearts properly affected by the Word.

He gives us two venues in which our affections should significantly affect our sermons. The first is during our preparation. Hughes notes, “For the preacher, what happens in the study when he sits down with the text before him—pulsing with its verbal and plenary glories—is of first importance” (70).

It doesn’t matter if we’ve done the good work of seeing the structure of our passage and locating the meaning of the text (the things at which Simeon Trust—the ministry cofounded by Kent Hughes—excels!). If we aren’t seeing the glories of our text, then our preparation is stunted.

The second venue, and what I found to be the most helpful section of the entire book, is during the preaching event. Hughes says we not only need affectionate preparation, but also affectionate proclamation. He quotes Edwards: “(We need) an exceedingly affectionate way of preaching about the great things of religion and to flee a moderate, dull indifferent way of speaking” (77). Hughes is arguing for the kind of “full conviction” Paul has in mind (1 Thes. 1:5).

Helpfully, though, he reminds us we’ve got to work with what we’ve got. In other words, don’t try to be John Piper! He says, “The display of passion must be requisite with your God-given personality” (78). A good word, especially for young preachers.

Alfred Poirier’s ‘Gregory of Nazianzus: The Pastor as a Physician of Souls’

Very likely, you’ll be questioning your preaching chops after reading the Hughes essay. Thankfully, the final chapter by Alfred Poirier meets us in just the right spot. His chapter deals with Gregory of Nazianzus (329–390), a character that, as Poirier points out, almost certainly influenced the church in the East as much as Augustine in the West (97).

Poirier gives us a quick biographical sketch followed by instruction from Gregory’s ancient work Defense of His Flight to Pontus, which Poirier says “gave the church one of the most sustained and substantive works on pastoral theology” (98). The title bears this name because, on the heels of Gregory’s ordination to pastoral ministry, he literally left town!

He seems to have fled for two reasons. First, he felt the weight of the pastoral task in a fresh way. He says, “I did not, nor do I now, think myself qualified to rule a flock or herd, or to have authority over the souls of men” (102).

Can’t you relate? Haven’t there been times you’ve felt the weight of pastoral ministry and discerned yourself to be wholly inadequate? It’s comforting to know this isn’t a new phenomenon!

The second reason Gregory split is because he longed for the solitary life of contemplation away from the masses. How about you? If you could, would you change your job description to keep you in the study by yourself? Gregory was tempted to make that trade. But a few months later, he repented and returned to his pastoral post. As Poirier notes, “No one . . . no one is worthy (to be a pastor) and yet, Gregory acknowledges that, ‘someone must care for Christ’s flock’” (113) . . . even if it meant giving up the life of self-interested solitude.

Listen to the Kingdom-math in Gregory’s beautifully simple illustration: “As a park is better than and preferable to a tree, so also, in the sight of God, is the reformation of a whole church preferable to the progress of a single soul” (101). Gregory would encourage us to ask the questions: Am I with my people enough? Is it possible my time alone in the study is reforming me, but at the expense of my church?

Conclusion

These essays remind us that pastoral ministry is difficult work.

May we be found faithful in the three areas they helpfully highlight, for the glory of God.