Joel Engle, The Father I Never Had, Brenham, Tex.: Lucid Books, 2010. $15.
Reading the first chapter of The Father I Never Had before it was published, I initially felt uneasy with the amount of detail that the author Joel Engle gave about himself and his marriage. After reading the rest of the book, however, I realize why Joel is so effective in his ministry. His ministry is about telling others about his God, who works powerfully in his life even through the rough times.
In this book, styled as a memoir, he vividly describes his heartfelt struggles of losing his mother and growing up fatherless, so as to place his readers at those key defining moments, which help him to understand, among many things: that God loves him, that God really does satisfy, and that we can overcome our fears and emptiness by finding ourselves in Christ. Sometimes those lessons come at a high price of emotional turmoil and turbulence, but at every turn, Joel sees Christ as the very equation of life. These are stories that touch and move the soul.
For these past several months, I’ve been a member at the Exchange where Joel is the lead pastor. From the onset, one thing that struck my wife and me was his genuine character, which simply exuded authenticity. He is the same person behind the pulpit as he is out of the pulpit (figuratively speaking, since there is only a table and chair). He is as real as one can get these days. I am delighted to call him my pastor, and believe we need more ministers like him–honest, authentic, driven, and reflective–who continually share the message of hope in Christ, precisely as this book is poised to do.
Jul 26, 2010 at 2:14 pm
I know that full disclosure for a public or lead figure is a impossibility or even undesirable. But where is the line between authenticity and censorship brought on by difference in maturity? I struggle with when to draw lines and when to put them aside…
Jul 26, 2010 at 2:22 pm
Full disclosure is definitely not a good thing, I agree, especially when it would undermine your ability to lead. For instance, I wouldn’t want my pastor telling the congregation each Sunday everything he failed to do in the previous week. The pastor needs to make good use of his time in the pulpit. But generally speaking, I think the pulpit (and the pastor behind it) generally errs towards distancing itself from the congregants.
I have to agree with you that the boundary has to be drawn carefully, and it’s not easy, it takes a great deal of maturity to not only censor but also take the criticisms that may arise.
Most importantly, I think it’s a matter of knowing your flock.
How has your experience been?
Jul 30, 2010 at 11:17 am
I used to think that the ministry method of ‘being friends’ used to be the best way, probably a reaction from being raised in a hierarchical and traditional church structure. But in the short year that I’ve been a youth pastor, I’m slowly seeing the wisdom in distinctions of role boundaries. Pastor is pastor. I guess how we define these roles comes into play?