Books

The Pastor as Gardener: A Renewed Vision for Ministry

Matt’s book, The Pastor as Gardener: A Renewed Vision for Ministry, will be published with Eerdmans Publishing is available here.

When you subscribe to Matt’s Substack, complete the contact form here to receive a pastoral ministry reflection resource and a discussion guide for the book.

“This is so good that if you are a pastor you need this book. If you are involved in church life, care about pastors, know anybody in ministry, you should buy this for them. If you happen to be in a collegial pastors group, this would be a great book to read together.”

Byron Borger, Hearts and Minds Books

In times of confusion and chaos, people often find that their path to wholeness runs through a garden. Tending plants and tilling soil are timeless, restorative acts that can renew our sense of identity and purpose. In The Pastor as Gardener, Matthew Erickson taps into this truth and applies it to the work of pastoral ministry.

Writing for clergy who question whether meaningful ministry is possible in our current cultural context, Erickson encourages pastors to reframe their vocation as the work of a gardener. Bringing together Scripture and practical theology, he shows how gardening metaphors offer new ways of thinking about critical issues in pastoral work: effectiveness, humility, hospitality, and more. Readers will come away with a deeper appreciation for their ministry environment, a better understanding of the stages of growth in the pastoral life, and an increased ability to persevere in ministry even when fruit is not immediately apparent.

Nuanced and insightful, The Pastor as Gardener will appeal to readers who appreciate the pastoral wisdom of Eugene Peterson and the agrarian sensibilities of Wendell Berry. For ministers seeking a sense of vocation that is deeply rooted but also dynamic, this book is essential reading.

“We kneel with our hands in the soil of pastoral ministry, finding connection with those who have done this work before us and those who will do it after we are gone. We learn from Jesus, who is simultaneously the seed, the vine, and the gardener.”