Brothers, We Are Not Professionals: A Plea to Pastors for Radical Ministry, by John Piper

Brothers, We Are Not Professionals: A Plea to Pastors for Radical Ministry by John Piper
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Disclaimer: This reviewer received this as a free Goodreads giveaway book.

Brothers, We Are Not Professionals: A Pleas to Pastors for Radical Ministry, by John Piper, is, no doubt, a much needed book got pastors leading their congregations. If not, it is unlikely that Piper would have come up with a new edition of his book were it not needed by many pastors. And while I'm not a pastor, but what would be referred to as a lay-person, I attempted to read this as a pastor.

That said, I had a rough time reading past the first two chapters. The first chapter begins

 "We pastors are being killed by the professionalizing of the pastoral ministry.  The mentality of the professional is not the mentality of the prophet.  It is not the mentality of the slave of Christ.  Professionalism has nothing to do with the essence and heart of the Christian ministry."

This explanation may be valid if one uses the argument that a professional is merely out for money, rather than acting as a spiritual guide for a congregation. However, according to World English Dictionary, one definition for profession is "1. an occupation requiring special training in the liberal arts or sciences, esp. one of the three learned professions, law, theology, or medicine.". If a pastor has not acquired the knowledge with which to lead his or her congregation, then the people of that church will be as leaderless as though the pastor were absent. One need not be looking for a quick dollar to be a professional paster; professional and pastor are not opposites.

The second chapter ("Brother, God Loves His Glory") starts out making God sound like an egotistical being, rather than a loving God who wants the best for His creation/children.

The chapters following the first two did have some good advice. However, if the new edition of the book was the first time one has read Piper, it might be easy to give up quickly and not get past the first two chapters. Add to that the fact that several denominations are allowing women in leadership roles, and the idea of call all pastors brothers may be a further turn-off.

The remainder of my disclaimer: having grown up in the Episcopal church - a denomination that tends to lean slightly to the left - this may have colored my views on reading this book. In all honesty, I believe that there is a place for this book, most likely in the more conservative Christian denominations. But for those of us who tend to be a little more liberal, this may be a bit difficult to read.

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