Description
In Thoughts on Preaching and Pastoral Ministry, James M. Garretson provides a detailed narrative of James W. Alexander’s life in order to better understand his approach to gospel labors. Garretson draws deeply from Alexander’s correspondence, tracking the spiritual development of his life as it shaped his practice of pastoral ministry. In addition, assessments of Alexander’s sermons, books, and especially reviews provide valuable personal statements that shed light on his character and convictions.
Throughout, Alexander is allowed to speak for himself so that the reader may enter into the spiritual pulse that animated his life and actions. Bracing, heartening, and at times frustrating, Alexander’s growth as a Christian and development as a minister is the story of a man subdued by God’s grace and a life marked by a growing conformity to the likeness of Christ. For those whose privilege it is to serve as ministers of the gospel, Alexander’s life and instruction provide inspiration and wisdom for how to do pastoral ministry well and with all of one’s heart.
Table of Contents:
Early Years: 1804–1821
Seminary Student: 1822–1824
Tutor at the College of New Jersey: 1824–1825
Licentiate: 1825–1827
Charlotte Court-House: 1827–1828
Trenton: 1829–1832
Editor: 1833
Professor of Rhetoric & Belles Lettres: 1833–1844
Duane Street Church: 1844–1849
Seminary Professor: 1849–1851
European Voyage: May—October 1851
Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church: 1851–1857
Europe Again: May–October 1857
The Final Years: 1857–1859
God My Exceeding Joy
Author: James M. Garretson serves as ministry director for the Christian Union at Harvard Law School and is the author of several books, including An Able and Faithful Ministry: Samuel Miller and the Pastoral Office.
Throughout, Alexander is allowed to speak for himself so that the reader may enter into the spiritual pulse that animated his life and actions. Bracing, heartening, and at times frustrating, Alexander’s growth as a Christian and development as a minister is the story of a man subdued by God’s grace and a life marked by a growing conformity to the likeness of Christ. For those whose privilege it is to serve as ministers of the gospel, Alexander’s life and instruction provide inspiration and wisdom for how to do pastoral ministry well and with all of one’s heart.
Table of Contents:
Early Years: 1804–1821
Seminary Student: 1822–1824
Tutor at the College of New Jersey: 1824–1825
Licentiate: 1825–1827
Charlotte Court-House: 1827–1828
Trenton: 1829–1832
Editor: 1833
Professor of Rhetoric & Belles Lettres: 1833–1844
Duane Street Church: 1844–1849
Seminary Professor: 1849–1851
European Voyage: May—October 1851
Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church: 1851–1857
Europe Again: May–October 1857
The Final Years: 1857–1859
God My Exceeding Joy
Author: James M. Garretson serves as ministry director for the Christian Union at Harvard Law School and is the author of several books, including An Able and Faithful Ministry: Samuel Miller and the Pastoral Office.
