Pastoral Theology Vol 1: The Man of God, His Calling and Godly Life (Albert N. Martin)

Pastoral Theology Vol 1

The Man of God: His Calling and Godly Life

From 1978 to 1998, Pastor A.N. Martin taught Pastoral Theology in the Trinity Ministerial Academy, a church-based ministerial training institution. Every Friday throughout the academic year, all the students would gather for two hours of teaching presented in a four-year cycle. Subsequently various series of the audiotapes were widely circulated.

Many expressed their desire to see these lectures printed. As an intermediate step in responding to that desire, the Trinity Baptist Church eldership decided to encourage Pastor Martin to rework the original lectures and deliver them one final time, while professionally recording them. This project was begun in 2007 and completed in 2012 with Pastor Martin teaching his entire Pastoral Theology course “one more time” to 25 to 30 men. The transcriptions of these DVD lectures constituted the basis for the first draft of these edited lectures. 

Within these lectures there are very few issues faced by the ordinary pastor that are not addressed in one way or another. It is the author’s prayer that when all the volumes are nestled on the bookshelf of any pastor, that whatever his concern may be in conjunction with his pastoral labors, that he can expect that most likely, there is something in these volumes that would be of help to him. It is also the author’s prayer that even the most experienced pastor will find in these pages much that will provoke him to pursue greater personal godliness, increased preaching effectiveness, and expanded pastoral usefulness.

This is Volume 1 of what is projected to be three volumes totaling more than 2000 pages. Every effort is being made to bring the subsequent volumes into print in a timely fashion.  

Dr. Joel Beeke Endorsement

“When I was a young minister, I came across a series of audio recordings by Al Martin that proved to be a gold mine of wisdom. Opening the Holy Scriptures and leaning on the solid teaching of classic writers, these Pastoral Theology lectures both clarified God’s calling and motivated God’s servants to preach God’s Word and shepherd His flock in accord with the whole counsel of God.

About a decade later, when called upon to teach several courses in pastoral theology in the newly begun Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan, I listened to most of these lectures again and found them even more beneficial the second time through. It is, therefore, a great joy for me that Pastor Martin has reworked this material in his senior years. Now these highly esteemed lectures are finally appearing in book form.” —Dr. Joel R. Beeke, President, Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, Grand Rapids, Michigan