The Christian Ministry: With an Inquiry into the Causes of Its Inefficiency

The classic of Christian ministerial thought by Charles Bridges is presented to the reader anew in this superb edition, complete with the author's annotations. The author considered that the ministry's failings in certain core duties sufficient genesis for a book. Why did this failure occur? Had modern priests and ministers lost their way from the tradition and essence of Christian belief? Were corruptions of the heart frequent and getting commoner? These questions are answered with unflinching sincerity: humans, including the ordained, have shortfalls which can only be assuaged by opening one's heart completely to God. The later parts of the text focus upon the essential duties of the churchman: preaching with the aim of uniting congregation and community in an unstinting belief in the Lord is not a simple matter. Rather we discover it to be a diverse practice; the preacher must not only incorporate aspects of the doctrinal and scriptural truths, but be sensitive to the emotions of his churchgoers.