Particular Baptist pastor and theologian, Abraham Booth (1734-1806) gives ten things to take heed in pastoral ministry, in his 1784 sermon, preached at the ordination of a young pastor named Thomas Hopkins. This sermon was widely circulated among the Particular Baptists of his day and pastors like Andrew Fuller, William Carey, John Sutcliff, and John Ryland Jr, were very much influenced by this sermon. The sermon “Pastoral Cautions” was based on the text of 1 Timothy 4:16 “Take heed to yourself.”
The ten things that Booth cautions pastors to take heed are :
1. “Take heed to yourself, then, with regard to the reality of true godliness, and the state of religion in your own soul”
2. “Take heed to yourself, lest you mistake an increase of gifts for a growth in grace”
3. “Take heed that your pastoral office prove not a snare to your soul, lifting you up with pride and self-importance”
4. “Take heed to yourself, respecting your temper and conduct in general”
5. “I will now adopt the words of our Lord, and say, Take heed and beware of covetousness”
6. “Take heed, I will venture to ask, take heed to your Second-Self in the person of your wife”
7. “Take heed to yourself, with regard to the diligent improvement of your talents and opportunities, in the whole course of your ministry”
8. “Take heed to yourself, respecting the motives by which you are influenced in all your endeavours to obtain useful knowledge”
9. “Take heed of yourself, with regard to that success, and those discouragements, which may attend your ministry”
10. “Once more: Take heed that you pay an habitual regard to divine influence; as that without which you cannot either enjoy a holy liberty in your work, or have any reason to expect success” [1]
Whether you are someone who is aspiring to be in ministry or a seminarian or a pastor, this is a must read for you. The full sermon can be read online here.
Footnotes
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[1] Michael & Alison Haykin, eds., The Works of Abraham Booth, Volume 1: Confession of Faith & Sermons (Particular Baptist Press, 2006), pp. 57-84.
