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Peterson's Influence On My Ministry

Decent Essays

It is difficult to choose a single book or author that has influenced me. Miroslav Volf helped me to understand grace and forgiveness in a new way that has impacted my ministry (Volf, 2005). Eugene Peterson showed me that ministry looks different for every person and in every context (Peterson, 1992). Donald Miller reminded me of how Christianity looks from the outside (Miller, 2004). And Fernando Arzola Jr. gave me an entirely new paradigm for youth ministry (Arzola, 2008). But the book that most resonated with my own calling was Slow Church, written by C. Christopher Smith and John Pattison a few years ago. This book told many stories and covered a diversity of topics, but the few that stood out the most to me were their understanding of …show more content…

Smith and Pattison reminded us that an “emphasis on homogeneity seems to imply that [the church growth movement] sets its sights on something less than God’s reconciliation of all humanity and all creation (Smith & Pattison, 2014, p. 110). In my own ministry, I have focused on reconciliation

between generations and ethnic groups, but there is still so much work in those areas and others that needs to be done. And a change of heart is needed for many of us, as we learn to let go of our most sacred cows for the sake of God’s kingdom.
I desire to be part of a community that values creativity in how we partner with God in ministry, commitment to a particular people and place, and the necessary work to facilitate reconciliation between all people and God. Slow Church helped me to better articulate these ideas, but I am still learning how to lead others in living them out. As Smith and Pattison reminded me repeatedly through their book, these are all ordinary things, lived out in our day to day lives (Smith & Pattison, 2014, p. 223). It is my intention and my hope, by the grace of God, to keep practicing them for as long as I have

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