Working the Angles: The Shape of Pastoral Integrity Book

This was my first time to read Peterson, and while it would have been impossible for this book to live up to the hype I've heard about his writing, I really did enjoy it. It's targeted at a very specific audience to which I no longer belong - the professional pastor. However, having served in some form of that capacity for close to a decade, I was very easily able to relate to his "angle", as it were.

The book is divided into three basic sections which examine foundations of the pastoral vocation: prayer, Scripture, and spiritual direction. While he emphasizes the reason why that these historically have been the foundations of pastoral ministry, there is an obvious case for all Christians to be rooted in the particulars of orthopraxy.

Having said that, the weakness I felt most keenly in Peterson's perspective is that he keeps a very firm line between clergy and laity, a line which I feel is not warranted by any scriptural precedence. Nonetheless, he accurately critiques some of the issues that come up when practicing that kind of dichotomy. For that reason, I would recommend this to anyone who has worked before or is currently working in the ministry profession. For those outside of the profession, it can serve as a good window into the workings of the pastoral mind and help cultivate mindfulness that pastors are people too.