{Book Review} The Care of Souls: Cultivating a Pastor’s Heart

The Care of Souls: Cultivating a Pastor’s Heart, is a wonderful book written by Lutheran pastor Harold L. Senkbeil and published by Lexham Press. The book’s content and purpose is clearly communicated in the title of the book: cultivating a pastoral heart for the care and cure of the souls (particularly the souls of God’s people, the church).

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The Care of Souls: Cultivating a Pastor’s Heart

I believe that the author did an excellent job in instructing us how to cultivate this kind of heart, or this pastoral habitus, “a pastoral temperament or character worked by the Holy Spirit through his means.” 

After reading the preface and the introduction to The Care of Souls, I knew that I was going to greatly enjoy this book! It doesn’t take long to notice that Senkbeil is a seasoned pastor who has learned and acquired the habitus mentioned above. Senkbeil loves His Savior, and he loves his Savior’s Bride! The love and wisdom were seeping through the pages, and this all before chapter one. 

Senkbeil begins his book by discussing what a pastor is, and defining what the “classical model” of pastoral care is. We see here that pastors have always been spiritual physicians of the soul, tending to Christ’s sheep much like a shepherd would. The remainder of the book is instruction on this classical model and the pastoral craft, the pastoral habitus. 

Senkbeil places a primacy on the Word of God, the Spirit of God, and the sacraments of God (visible words of God) for the task of pastoral care. Chapter two is rightly called “The Word of God: Ministry’s Source and Norm.” 

It was wonderful to read about the role of justification and sanctification in this process as well. Senkbeil allows his theology to be truly applied to his task of pastoral care, as it should be. He really shows us how our theology is so much more than abstract ideas and black ink on white paper. It is practical, powerful, and helpful for all of life and godliness. 

I appreciated Senkbeil’s treatment of holiness and proximity to God, as well as his discussion of spiritual warfare. One of my favorite aspects of Senkbeil’s writing that was weaved throughout the entire book were his farm illustrations. Senkbeil grew up on a farm, and he witnessed a certain kind of habitus that is useful for illustrating in a book on pastoral care. I am grateful for the sharing of his real life examples that were relevant to the discussion on pastoral habitus. 

As a Presbyterian, I did not find Senkbeil’s teaching on baptism to be biblically accurate, but I certainly did appreciate his incorporation of a very important doctrine (baptism) into the topic of care of souls. 

Conclusion

I believe this book should be read by all those in pastoral ministry. Come and sit at the feet of a faithful man who has put his hand to the plow and has not looked back. We can learn much from Harold Senkbeil. I also believe every Christian can benefit from this book even though it is on the topic of pastoral care. One of the great charges given to pastors is to “equip the saints for the work of ministry” (Eph. 4:12). In that sense, all of Christ’s people are to be seeking to lovingly, wisely apply the Word of God to relationships within the church. This book is profitable to that end. 

Disclaimer: My thanks to Lexham Press for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed are my own.