“Do little things with great love.” That statement has stuck with me ever since I heard it some years ago. Life is mostly made up of small choices and seemingly insignificant happenings. Although there is nothing wrong with pursuing and achieving big goals, we do not always have the ability to do great things. Sometimes there are not many occasions to do big things. Therefore, doing little things with great love is a proper outlook on life. In other words, it means love your neighbor as yourself, even in little ways.
This outlook on the Christian life—doing little things with great love—is also fitting for pastoral ministry. Reuben Bredenhof has written a little book about this topic: The Ministry of Small Things: Wisdom for Those Who Serve in the Church. This book is for ordinary pastors who serve in ordinary churches. It is a brief but insightful resource that shows how the little things in pastoral care can be big blessings for the church. The Ministry of Small Things (TMST) is less than 150 pages, yet it contains much wisdom.
TMST has three main parts: (1) beginning the work, (2) doing the work, and (3) pressing on with the work. In the work of pastoral ministry, these three parts overlap, as Bredenhof notes. But the book’s threefold structure is a helpful outline. A person could read this book quickly because it is short and the language is clear and understandable. Since the book has thirty chapters, however, it makes a good daily pastoral devotional for a month. Each chapter begins with a Bible verse and ends with a reflection question.
If you have read other books on pastoral ministry, TMST will be a review in some ways. There is not anything completely new or groundbreaking in the book. But Bredenhof explains some smaller aspects of pastoral care in helpful ways that prompt pastors to think. He does not just give a to-do list of pastoral care items. Instead, in each chapter, he explains one part of pastoral care and elaborates on it in an encouraging, biblical way. As a pastor, Bredenhof knows from experience that the ministry consists of many seemingly insignificant conversations and interactions. He encourages fellow pastors “to embrace the small moments of gospel ministry. They may not seem extraordinary, but these are the kinds of works that God uses mightily to bless his people” (9).
In TMST you will read about pastors praying for and with people in the congregation. You will read about pastors spending time with people in their church family and being there for them in various life situations. This book will encourage pastors to read Scripture with God’s people and speak words of wisdom to them. Bredenhof reminds pastors to be good listeners, to reach out to people in the congregation, and to encourage them. More topics include weeping with those who weep and being steadfast in the ministry. In summary, in these chapters Bredenhof encourages pastors to lovingly and faithfully walk alongside the people God has put in their care on life’s journey.
I have to admit that the cynic in me says, Pastors should know these things and be doing them already! Good seminaries train pastors to visit the flock, pray for the flock, read the Word to the flock, and care for the flock week after week, year after year, with patience and love. Thankfully, I had good seminary training and have read helpful pastoral books, so I had already been practicing many of the small things Bredenhof discusses in this book. At the same time, I forget some details of pastoral care. And sometimes I fall out of a good pastoral habit I once had. Furthermore, I need encouragement to continue to do the little pastoral care things with great love. So even though this book was a review for me, it was a helpful review that encouraged me again to grow in pastoral care toward the congregation I serve. In fact, this book made me write a few “notes to self” about pastoral care practices.
Let me share a few of my favorite parts of TMST. First, I enjoyed Bredenhof’s encouragement in chapter 13 for pastors to lovingly reach out to people in the church family. He mentions that it is wise to send written notes, texts, and emails to let people know you are praying for them, thinking of them, and that you care about them. “Reaching out doesn’t always generate lengthy pastoral interaction. …But it can be part of building a good relationship. It can lay the groundwork for deeper connections in the future” (67). From experience, I can say this is true. People do appreciate it when I reach out to them, even in small ways.
Another chapter of this book that I appreciate is the one where Bredenhof explains the benefits of pastors getting to know their congregation (chapter 3). Although study is important, pastors must also spend much time with fellow Christians in their church family. It is tempting for a pastor to avoid people, read books, live online, and constantly geek out on intricate theological discussions. But to properly shepherd the flock, a pastor has to get out of his study, away from his screen and books, and invest time in getting to know the people. “The more time we invest in getting to know a person, the more effectively we can help them with wise counsel from God’s Word, and the more personally we can pray for them” (25).
I also enjoyed the chapter about a pastor’s love for his congregation (chapter 2). In this chapter Bredenhof rightly emphasizes the need for a pastor to love the people he serves. The greatest commandment in life is love, which means the greatest commandment in the pastoral ministry is also love. “There should be no question in the minds of his people that their pastor cherishes them” (21). Loving the flock is not always easy. And it does not usually gain attention or make a pastor famous. As Bredenhof notes, loving the flock can sometimes seem inefficient and even hurt (22). “Love: It’s a simple thing, but fundamental to ministry” (22). A pastor can have many great qualities, but “without love, he is nothing” (21).
Who should get this book? I would say TMST is a great resource for new pastors. As far as pastoral care books go, this will be one of my top recommendations for pastors starting their first call to ministry. This book will also be helpful for pastors who have not learned the ins and outs of daily pastoral care. Again, most of the pastoral care insights in this book are also found in other ministry books (e.g., praying with people, listening carefully to them, encouraging them, being there for them during big life events, reading Scripture with them, and simply being available). For pastors who have read other books on pastoral care and are already doing some of these “small things,” this book will be a helpful review. It will encourage them to press on in doing the little things of pastoral care that are a blessing to God’s people.
Pastoral care typically does not consist of epic interactions or headline-grabbing visitations. It is usually not exciting, fun, or entertaining. It will not make a pastor rich or famous. It is often uninteresting and seemingly mundane. Most pastoral care is done behind the scenes and in the ordinary moments of life. Pastors should not be fooled into thinking that their pastoral care is the stuff of legend. In fact, the best pastors who lovingly and humbly serve Christ’s flock are often not noticed. They fly under the radar while performing their ministry of doing little things with great love. As Bredenhof says, “A ministry of small things will be a ministry marked by love” (20). But those small things done in love are the best things, things that greatly bless God’s people and bring him glory.
©Shane Lems. All Rights Reserved.
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Shane Lems
Shane Lems is a graduate of Westminster Seminary California and has a DMin from RTS Orlando. He has been a church planter and pastor in the URCNA. Since 2013 he’s been serving as pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church (OPC) in Hammond, WI. He is married and has four children. Shane has written numerous articles for Modern Reformation, New Horizons, and other publications. He is also the author of Doctrines of Grace: Student Edition and manages a book blog, The Reformed Reader.
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