The Reformed Pastor

Book Review

            The author of The Reformed Pastor, Richard Baxter, was born November 12, 1615, in England. He was: Educated at Donnington Free School, ordained deacon by the Bishop or Worcester, head of Richard Foley’s School, the curate of Bridgeport, the curate of Kidderminster, an army chaplain at Coventry and later became the vicar of Kidderminster. Baxter was married and at one point spent twenty-one months in prison for his faith and for being a non-conformist. Baxter was a pastor, evangelist and a prolific writer with more than 130 of his works printed in his lifetime. Baxter died December 8, 1691. The Reformed Pastor was first published in 1656. A controversial figure from the start, J. I Packer, in the book’s introduction writes, “Baxter was a poor performer in public life. Though always respected for his godliness and pastoral prowess, and always seeking doctrinal and ecclesiastical peace, his combative, judgmental, pedagogic way of proceeding with his peers made failure the foregone conclusion every time.” (p. 10) Nevertheless, countless pastors and theologians for more than 300 years consider Baxter’s work an essential treatise for the way shepherds are called to tend the flock entrusted to them by God.

            This is the second time I have read this book and I was again forced to consider my own pastoral philosophy to see if I was being true to God’s calling for my life as a pastor. The book, although well written, is difficult to understand at times because it is written in King James English with all the 17^th Century language idioms. Consequently, getting through its little more than 250 pages can be frustrating. Nevertheless, perseverance with the difficult text pays off with sound, common sense principles and applications. Generally, the book is divided into three sections: A pastor’s personal responsibility, a pastor’s responsibility to his congregation and those within his community and finally the application of the pastor’s responsibilities overall.

            In order to provide some context for the book, it is important to remember that Baxter lived through the heart of the reformation period. Generally speaking, the reformation was led by Martin Luther and John Calvin. It is commonly accepted that the reformation began in 1517 when Luther nailed his ninety-five theses to the doors of the Castle Church of Wittenburg and concludes in 1648 with the treaty of Westphalia. The reformation sought to strike at the heart of the catholic church’s practice of baptism, absolution and church corruption. Like Luther, Baxter, writing less than a decade after the treaty of Westphalia, continues the reformation message that salvation cannot be earned, bought or bartered for. Instead, Baxter insisted that salvation is a free, gracious gift provided by God through Jesus’ death and resurrection.

            Baxter’s first order of business is outlining a pastor’s personal responsibility. In keeping with the message of the reformation, Baxter writes, “See that the work of saving grace be thoroughly wrought in your own souls.” (p. 53) Baxter is not content with allowing ministers to be just like everyone else. Instead, he expects those entrusted with the Gospel to live to a higher standard-not for their own benefit but for the benefit of those in their congregation as well as those who are skeptical of the message of the Gospel. In our current culture, pastors are rarely looked upon as anything special. In fact, countless scandals and improprieties have marginalized the effectiveness of many ministries. Baxter has some very harsh words for ministers of his age that ring true for our era as well when he writes, “Take heed to yourselves, lest your example contradict your doctrine, and lest you lay such stumbling-blocks before the blind, as may be the occasion of their ruin; lest you unsay with your lives, what you say with your tongues…Why, if one of you that is a leader of the flock, should be ensnared but once into some scandalous crime, there is scarcely a man or woman that seeketh diligently after their salvation, within hearing of it, but, besides the grief of their hearts for your sin, are likely to have it cast in their teeth by the ungodly about them, however much they detest it, and lament it.” (pp. 63, 79) After reading Baxter’s description of a pastor, it is clear that our current age leans very heavily on what Dietrich Bohnhoeffer, in his magnificent book, The Cost of Discipleship, describes as cheap grace. We certainly don’t want to be accused of being legalistic (even if that term is inappropriately applied) so we pastors regularly break out the trump card of “grace” in the hopes that people will simply listen to what we say and won’t look too closely at our lives. Baxter doesn’t stop with outlining a pastor’s personal responsibility, he goes on to outline a pastor’s responsibility to his congregation.

            One of Baxter’s prominent messages throughout the entire book is that a pastor’s number one objective is the salvation of those given to his or her care-those within their congregation who claim to be Christians and those within their immediate geographic area who are unbelievers. However, the second section of Baxter’s book represents some of his harshest and most difficult teachings. Foundational to Baxter’s teaching in this section is his insistence on being in close personal relationship with all those given to a pastor’s care. As a consequence, Baxter writes, “When we are commanded to take heed to all the flock, it is plainly implied, that flocks must ordinarily be no greater than we are capable of overseeing…” (p. 88) Specifically, Baxter insists that each pastor must know each person within his congregation by name. Furthermore, Baxter prescribes that a pastor must visit each person at their home regularly to discuss their daily lives and spiritual state. Baxter uses a wonderful analogy when he writes, “The physician that will undertake the care of all the sick people in a whole nation, or county, when he is not able to visit the hundredth man of them, may as well say, Let them perish.” (pp. 89-90) I can already hear the bluster and push-back from today’s pastors who have thousands upon thousands of congregants. They claim that there is too great a need to limit the size of their congregations. Furthermore, more people means bigger budgets and that means bigger and better programs to reach more people with the message of the Gospel and to better serve those in need-all very good and noble objectives. However, can the same thing be accomplished with more pastors serving fewer people with the added benefit of personal instruction for life and faith? Can pastors today honestly say that their congregants are maturing in their life and faith? During Baxter’s era, he writes, “There are many of our flock that are young and weak, who, though they are of long standing, are yet of small proficiency or strength. This, indeed, is the most common condition of the godly. Most of them content themselves with low degrees of grace, and it is no easy matter to get them higher.” (p. 97) Honestly, can’t this be said of our congregants today as well? During Baxter’s era, capable and qualified pastors were not always immediately available. However, today, in the United States alone, there are countless Seminaries and Bible colleges that graduate capable and Godly men and women every year who have no ministry opportunities. If countless men and women are willing to enter a thankless vocation that they believe God has called them to yet are unable to find formal ministry opportunities, then perhaps pastors with thousands of congregants should consider whether God has called them to pastor congregations so large that they can’t possibly know 95% of their people by name let alone shepherd each one individually.

            Baxter continues to pile on with his difficult teachings when he insists that the failure to enforce church discipline is one of the greatest scandals of the Church. Baxter writes, “We corrupt Christianity itself in the eyes of the world, and do our part to make them believe that Christ is no more for holiness than Satan, or that the Christian religion exacteth holiness no more than the false religions of the world. For if the holy and unholy are all permitted to be sheep of the same fold, without any means being used to separate them, we defame the Redeemer, as if he were guilty of it, and as if this were the nature of his precepts.” (p. 168) Harsh words indeed. Of course no one wants to be the one that passes judgment because we are all guilty of some sin. However, this is not an issue of whether or not someone has ever sinned. Scripture is clear that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Instead, this is a matter of someone who is willingly and knowingly living a life that is sinful. In this case, even if fellow Christians say and do nothing, the pastor has a duty to address the matter and take some action. Alas! I can already hear the charge of “legalism!” However, it is important to remember that charges of legalism have historically been limited to religious mandates that are added to salvation by faith through grace alone. For example, legalism would say that in addition to salvation by faith through grace, a person can only be saved if ___________ and you can fill in the blank and that would capture the essence of “legalism.” Church discipline has nothing to do with salvation per se. Instead, church discipline is a means to edify the offender and the Church body as well. Baxter insists that, “The neglect of discipline hath a strong tendency to delude immortal souls, by making those think they are Christians that are not, while they are permitted to live with the character of such, and are not separated from the rest by God’s ordinance: and it may make the scandalous think their sin a tolerable thing, which is so tolerated by pastors of the church.” (p. 168) Lack of Church discipline has certainly not gotten better since Baxter’s age. Clearly there are a myriad of reasons: Pastors simply don’t know enough about the people in their churches because their churches are too big, they are too busy with countless programs, or perhaps they fear getting so deeply involved in the messy lives of the people they have been called to care for. For whatever reason, the general policy for many churches is that all are welcome regardless of the state of their lives in the hopes that those who are living openly, sinful lives might somehow be convicted to change through the pastor’s magnificently, eloquent sermon. Excuse the sarcasm but the evidence of our society, the fact that the divorce rate, as one example, within the Church is the same as the rate outside the Church, contradicts the conventional wisdom that a 30-40 minute sermon is somehow significantly transformational. Instead, pastors must begin to shepherd their flock in a way that is beneficial for the entire flock. Sometimes that requires the courage to make difficult decisions and take on difficult tasks.

Final Reflection

            I recognize that I have sided with Baxter as is evident by my comments, but I want to make it clear that I love pastors—I am a pastor for goodness sake! I can’t help but love men and women who voluntarily take on a thankless vocation that often pays them little or nothing in exchange for long hours and lots of criticism. I know it’s a hard job and it’s not always easy to know the right thing to do and I know that many pastors do the best they can. I also want to make it clear that congregants have a duty in and to the Church. If you are a congregant, will you hold your pastor to a higher standard while at the same time submit to his or her authority over your life and faith? Consider this: If you were sick, wouldn’t you expect your doctor to be the best at what he or she does? The answer is obvious. But your doctor’s expertise is irrelevant if you don’t submit yourself to him or her for examination, diagnosis and instruction. We are so fastidious about maintaining our physical bodies that will perish yet we give little or no thought to our souls that will continue for all eternity. If you’re up to the challenge, I highly recommend picking up a copy of The Reformed Pastor and see if it doesn’t challenge what you think is normal and acceptable.