Anthropology for Pastors
Pastors spend a lot of time thinking about people. As much time as they invest in biblical study, planning services, and more, people are the focus of their ministry. To be sure, Christ is the ultimate object of our worship and service. Serving Him means we are shaped primarily by His Word and the Holy Spirit. However, sermons are preached to people. Struggling members are counseled. Wayward saints are confronted. Take any meaningful ministry task and there will people involved somehow.
Because of the person-centeredness of ministry, most pastors probably don’t spend much time perusing introductory philosophy books. The responsibilities that fall to elders are numerous and weighty, enough to occupy one’s time without delving into such a field. Yet since we spend countless hours thinking about people each week, we should also consider what sources are shaping our perspective on others as well.
Because we spend time serving God’s people, then our ministry assumes some definition of what people are. Thinking about people—who they are, what they do, what they need to flourish, and so on—are principal questions in both philosophy and theology. Though philosophy has reason as its formal object, and theology has revelation, both areas of inquiry include the area of anthropology.
Anthropology is simply the study of human beings (Gk. Anthropos meaning man or person). Though it may in fact be a department in some universities, we’re all anthropologists if we spend time thinking about, observing, and ministering to human beings. So we should consider a basic, Christian vision of personhood if our ministry is going to hit the mark.
Information Overload
Media scholars and cultural historians have noted that in the early 21st century we are inundated with information at an unprecedented rate. However, it’s difficult to resist letting the floodwaters wash over us because we value education. We’re encouraged that a college education is the key to getting a job (even if our learning doesn’t always translate into practical work skills). It’s no surprise that these patterns exist because in modernity human beings are often reduced to what we know.
Of course, our rationality as human beings isn’t itself a problem. One can argue that one of the characteristics of the postmodern turn is a lack of emphasis on sound reasoning in public discourse, while a premium is placed on image and personality. Still, human beings are creatures who think and deliberate.
These are facts that we presuppose in our preaching, teaching, and other ministries all the time. In church history, God’s image in man has always been understood to entail (at least partially) the ability to reason. The capacity to relate to God and the rest of creation requires that we communicate, and communication presupposes some kind of rationality. Therefore, as we minister to people, we take certain things for granted. We believe our words will be understood by our listeners (especially if they’re truthful words from God). In this we affirm the existence and importance of the intellect, or the mind.
People of Passion
However, one of the limitations with a ministry that focuses too heavily on the intellect is that it can downplay or overlook the significance of affections. Some authors have gone to great lengths to define terms such as the “heart,” “affections,” “emotions,” “love,” and “desires,” and further describe how they relate to one another [1]. This is certainly an important exegetical and theological task, though it is beyond my scope here. I simply want to suggest that human flourishing, and Christian maturity specifically, is more than a task of filling heads with information. It is about the training and directing of the heart.
Once we admit that human beings aren’t “brains on a stick,” to put it crassly, we’re then prompted to observe how our thoughts and desires relate to one another [2]. Sometimes we see people learning about something or someone before they grow enthusiastic and then display genuine love or affection.
Imagine a new person assumes a teaching role in a stagnant Sunday School class in your church. With the proper, enthusiastic commitment to sound instruction, a spiritually immature student can come alive, it seems, with interest in God’s Word. In other instances, a person with vibrant affections for Christ may be driven to study Greek, so that they can read the New Testament more closely. In this case, it seems that godly passions are prompting intellectual activity.
Because numerous, complex patterns emerge over the course of ministry, it is probably wise that pastors not get caught in a “What came first?” type of inquiry. Instead, a more useful move will be to remember the simple fact that Jesus has commanded that we love Him with all of our mind and heart, regardless of the specific relationship between the two.
A Call to Action
The 19th century hymn “Trust & Obey” reminds us of a third, critical dimension to personhood. “Trust,” in the biblical sense, implies both understanding and assent (or credence), but it requires commitment, too. This commitment is an act of the will to behave in a way consistent with our true beliefs. These beliefs not only represent truths we know, but truths that we hold in our heart that prompt us to act faithfully toward God in the world.
This is what we mean when we say that actions speak louder than words. The Scriptures often, and in many ways, point to the how the Holy Spirit produces fruit in believers’ lives. Such fruit is tangibly expressed in our works. However, many Protestant Christians have a tendency to avoid emphasizing good works for fear that this will lead to a devaluation of the free grace of God. Of course, the apostles weren’t nervous about such a slippery slope (cf., Eph. 2:8-10; Titus 3:4-8)! They contended that grace works, acts, and manifests itself visibly in the church and the world.
Bringing It All Together
I’ve written elsewhere that there is often a tendency in evangelical churches to tolerate bad behavior as opposed to wrong beliefs. This is probably the case for several reasons, including the fact that we know too well our own shortcomings. But this is likely also because actions that fall short of godliness reflect a weakness of the will in some way. It may also reflect a defect in our desires or beliefs. In this we’re reminded that the mind, heart, and will cannot and shouldn’t be sharply disconnected in our ministry philosophy or practice. The Fall has not left one facet of our personhood untouched or unbroken. However, redemption does not leave one facet of our personhood unaffected. God’s redemption has invaded this sinful world, and will not be complete until Christ’s second coming and the New Jerusalem descends from above (cf., Rev. 21:9-26).
Until then, pastoral ministry will be forced to address complex problems because we deal in human lives. Therefore, arguably one of the most critical decisions we can make is to decide to never minimize or reduce the complexity of human sinfulness or Christian sanctification. If Christian theologians (and philosophers for that matter) have had difficulty reaching a consensus on the precise nature of personhood, then this is a likely sign that human nature is an intricate web of confusion, possibility, and partial glory. We have been crowned with glory, as Psalm 8 suggests, but we wear these crowns crookedly.
The discerning pastor will pay attention to mind, heart, and will, and recognize that his preaching, teaching, counseling, and other ministries must speak to all three, never privileging one over the rest. There will be inconsistencies in the lives of his flock, just as he himself wrestles with his own inconsistencies. But they must work together to nurture sound thinking, godly desire, and faithful action [3].
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[1] Here I will simply assume that this constellation of terms represents related ideas that collectively call attention to the affective core of human beings.
[2] I am indebted to James K.A. Smith for this effective, albeit vivid, phrase that describes some of the caricatures held by people who focus solely on the cognitive dimensions of personhood.
[3] My thinking has been helpfully stimulated by Leroy Forlines’ “total-personality approach,” as well as James K.A. Smith’s recent work on theological anthropology and spiritual formation.
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