Seasoned pastor Craig Barnes tells the story of a fictionalized pastor and reflects on the experiences and relationships that have formed his vocation and shaped his soul over a lifetime of pastoral ministry, helping other pastors make sense of their own calling.
Diary of a Pastor's Soul tells the story of a fictionalized pastor, embarking on his final year before retirement, who reflects on the experiences and relationships that have formed his vocation and shaped his soul over a lifetime of pastoral ministry.
"Pastors know that there's no one who understands the particular challenges and joys of ministry better than Craig Barnes. When you read this diary, Craig's delight in, exasperation with, and love for the church is manifest. In this rich collection of some of Craig's best thoughts on the Christian ministry, pastors will find much encouragement and guidance, and anybody else will discover why the pastoral ministry is such a serious, joyful, demanding, and ultimately fulfilling vocation."
--Will Willimon, United Methodist Bishop (retired); Duke Divinity School; author of Accidental Preacher: A Memoir
"In this fascinating and beautifully written book, Craig Barnes, employing a creative format, lovingly reveals the challenges and privileged blessings of the pastoral vocation. Barnes loves being a pastor and finds surprising grace even in ordinary ecclesiastical minutiae. I couldn't put the book down."
--John M. Buchanan, former editor and publisher, the Christian Century
"Craig Barnes offers readers a diary full of grace and truth about pastoral ministry. His writing is a salve for the human soul. But more than that, the Holy haunts this book."
--Luke A. Powery, Duke University
"Barnes has more gifts than anyone has a right to have, and many of them shine in Diary of a Pastor's Soul. The meal Barnes offers us is served up like a harvest of ordinary ruminations from a pastor's soul. It gradually turns out, however, to be more like sitting at Babette's feast, prepared by one specially gifted by God to show us how local and seasonal ingredients of pain, beauty, and faith can be more than enough to reveal a table that is actually laden with truth and grace. Take and eat."
--Mark Labberton, president, Fuller Theological Seminary
