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Some important things for church leaders

John Schmidt

Social Ministry: An Urgent Agenda for Pastors and Churches Haskell M. Miller. Waterloo, Ont.: Herald Press, 2000. 127 pp. $14.79.

Haskell Miller, a United Methodist Church pastor and educator for over 50 years, subtitles his book, An Urgent Agenda for Pastors and Churches. He claims, “Few pastors have been committed to passionate advocacy of social change to improve the lot of the needy or correct conditions of injustice.” He calls pastors to address social action as part of their responsibility in educating, equipping and involving lay people in the congregation in social ministry both locally and globally.

Miller emphasizes the pastor’s role in social responsibility to the poor and disenfranchised. His contention is that most churches tend to be suburban, middle-class – far removed from the difficulties facing those under the poverty line. He says finding a balance between being “theologically literate, spiritually aware” and “evangelically and socially active” will not be without its difficulties, since churches in the conservative tradition have tended not to focus much on the social side of ministry. In Mennonite circles, we have tended to rely a lot on Mennonite Central Committee to provide that emphasis, so Miller’s challenge needs to be heard. As an upwardly mobile people economically, being conservative in theology, and having a basically negative view of the inner city seems to have caused us to forget the plight of the poor.

Miller argues strongly for the need of pastoral leadership and lay involvement in social ministry in the day-to-day concerns faced in our modern culture, especially in light of the current world population explosion, environmental degradation, technological revolution and moral decay. Overall, this book is very readable, a pointed and concise summary of the issues involved in social ministry. He covers a lot of ground in 12 brief chapters, and, while not writing from an Anabaptist perspective, has some important things to say to leaders in our churches today.

John Schmidt is director of internship and campus pastor at Columbia Bible College in Abbotsford, B.C. He is a member of North Langley Community Church in Langley, B.C.

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Last modified November 5, 2001.

© 2001 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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