Wisdom from Pastoral Ministry from Abraham Booth

By Nathan Finn

Abraham Booth (1734–1806) was a longtime London pastor and leader among the British Particular Baptists in the eighteenth century. Among his most famous books were The Reign of Grace, The Death of Legal Hope, and An Apology for the Baptists. You can find these works (and most of Booth’s writings) in the three-volume Select Works of Abraham Booth, which can be purchased at a very affordable price through Reformation Heritage Books. (Unfortunately, this edition is published in flimsy paperbacks.) Particular Baptist Press is issuing a new hardback multi-volume collection of Booth’s works, which is edited by my fellow Credo Magazine contributor Michael Haykin. The first volume has already been published.

In 1784, Booth preached an ordination sermon for a young pastor named Thomas Hopkins. The title was “Pastoral Cautions” and the text was 1 Timothy 4:16, “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee” (KJV).

Booth’s sermon was soon printed and circulated among Baptists all over England. Among the pastors who were positively influenced by the printed sermon were Andrew Fuller, William Carey, John Sutcliff, and John Ryland Jr. These men were instrumental in the evangelical renewal of Particular Baptists in the late eighteenth century and were pivotal in launching the modern mission movement in the English-speaking world.

In the sermon, Booth outlined ten pastoral cautions that are just as applicable to our contemporary context as they were 200 years ago.

1. “Take heed to yourself, then, with regard to the reality of true godliness, and the state of religion in your own soul”
2. “Take heed to yourself, lest you mistake an increase of gifts for a growth in grace”
3. “Take heed that your pastoral office prove not a snare to your soul, lifting you up with pride and self-importance”
4. “Take heed to yourself, respecting your temper and conduct in general”
5. “I will now adopt the words of our Lord, and say, Take heed and beware of covetousness”
6. “Take heed, I will venture to ask, take heed to your Second-Self in the person of your wife”
7. “Take heed to yourself, with regard to the diligent improvement of your talents and opportunities, in the whole course of your ministry”
8. “Take heed to yourself, respecting the motives by which you are influenced in all your endeavours to obtain useful knowledge”
9. “Take heed of yourself, with regard to that success, and those discouragements, which may attend your ministry”
10. “Once more: Take heed that you pay an habitual regard to divine influence; as that without which you cannot either enjoy a holy liberty in your work, or have any reason to expect success”

I would heartily recommend that every pastor, seminarian, and missionary read the full text of this sermon, which is available in Michael & Alison Haykin, eds., The Works of Abraham Booth, Volume 1: Confession of Faith & Sermons (Particular Baptist Press, 2006), pp. 57–84.

Nathan Finn (Ph.D., Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary) is Associate Professor of Historical Theology and Baptist Studies at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and an ordained Southern Baptist minister. Nathan is married to Leah and they are the parents of three children. The Finns are members of the First Baptist Church of Durham, where Nathan teaches theology classes and serves as a deacon. Nathan loves teaching at Southeastern because he enjoys showing students how church history applies to gospel ministry in the 21st century and why our historic Baptist identity is a heritage worth preserving. Nathan has contributed chapters to Calvinism: A Southern Baptist Dialogue (B&H) and Southern Baptist Identity: An Evangelical Denomination Faces the Future (Crossway). He also blogs at OneBaptistPerspective.