Richard Baxter’s The Reformed Pastor is a book the young pastor should read to know what is in store for him in the future. It is a book the old pastor should read to remind himself that he is a pastor, not a preacher, not an author, not an activist or even a leader of men. He is a pastor, and by God’s grace, he will be a good one.

Hi, my name is Terence, and I’m your host for Reading and Readers, a podcast where I review Christian books for you. Today I review The Reformed Pastor by Richard Baxter, abridged and edited by James M. Houston. 184 pages, published by Regent College Publishing in April 2001. It is available in Logos for USD 23.74, but it is not available on Amazon Kindle or any other electronic format. And if you want to get it as a paperback, you would have to buy it via the sellers on Amazon Marketplace. Amazon itself does not fulfil this order. This is really sad because this book deserves many, many print runs. And I will tell you why.

A Good Book Made Better For Us

The original Baxter book was published in 1655, more than 500 years ago. The title says Reformed, but The Reformed Pastor has nothing to do with Reformed Theology. You can be an Arminian or a staunch anti-Calvinist; as long as you are a Christ-follower, you can profit from this book. The title’s ‘reformed’, small ‘r’ reformed, refers to something more like redeemed, reshaped, or restored. The book goes to the heart of the pastor, and for that reason, this book has been a classic for all pastors for more than 500 years. And if there is any justice in this world, it should continue to revitalise pastors for another 500 years to come.

Now, it’s possible that you have already heard of this book but stayed clear because of prior experience with Puritan books. You might have even tried reading the original text of The Reformed Pastor by Richard Baxter and gave up. The language is too dense. You can’t make head or tail of the issues Baxter speaks so passionately about. And you gained so little that it was not worth the effort. I understand how you feel. Every time I read a Puritan book, I wish someone would just take it and modernise it for everyday readers. We moved away from the King James Version to other translations to make the Bible accessible. Someone should make classic Christian books accessible for the rest of us who don’t speak Puritan.

That is exactly what James M. Houston, the founding pastor of Regent College in Vancouver, Canada, had done with his series, “Classics of Faith and Devotion”. How did this series make the classics accessible? I quote from the series preface:

The principles of editing are as follows. Keep sentences short. Paragraphs are also shortened. Material is abridged where there are digressions or allusions made that are time-binding. Archaic words are altered. Spelling is that of Webster’s Dictionary. Logical linkage may have to be added to abridged material. The identity of theme or argument is kept sharply in mind. Allusions to other authors are given brief explanation. And marginal readings are added to provide concise summaries of each major section.

What Houston has done is a gift to Christians everywhere. This is what we all have been waiting for, whether we know it or not. Without further delay, let us get into today’s review of The Reformed Pastor by Richard Baxter, abridged and edited by James M. Houston.

Personal Pastoral Ministry

The Reformed Pastor consists of three parts. Part I: An Examination of Our Personal Lives, Part II: Looking out for the Flock, and Part III: Some Directions for Preservation of the Fellowship.

In his introductory chapter to the book, Baxter makes three requests to the reader: personal pastoral ministry, church discipline and church unity. I will focus my review on personal pastoral ministry. It’s not that church unity and discipline are unimportant. I just think that our struggle towards church unity and discipline is a struggle that has not fundamentally shifted. We are not so much better off, nor are we so much worse off, that Richard Baxter would not recognise our problems as similar to those of his own time.

But I suspect Baxter would be horrified by how personal pastoral ministry, which was practised, albeit not so well, in his time, is now almost foreign; sacrificed on the altar of efficiency in today’s hyper-charged productivity movement. Also, for me personally, personal pastoral ministry is something I want to improve on, especially after what Baxter writes on good preachers.

Listen to this, I quote:

Make it your great and serious business to teach the fundamentals of the faith to all the members of your congregation by these private tutorials.
For I perceive that the life of work under God lies in the prudent, effectual ministry of searching men’s hearts, and setting there the saving truths of faith. I fear most those ministers who preach well, and who are unsuited to the private nurture of their members. Yet if we ministers do not devote ourselves to such private ministry, it must be left undone. Let us then be up and doing with all our might the task entrusted to us, and the Lord will be with us.

I put a high premium on preaching. I believe with all my heart that declaring the Word of God is the key, solution, cure, to the world’s fallen condition. So when I read, “I fear most these ministers who preach well, and who are unsuited to the private nurture of their members”, I shudder. My aim is to preach well. But behind my absolute confidence in preaching as central, part of me wonders whether good preaching is enough to make a change.

Baxter tells us:

As a careful shepherd looks after every individual sheep, or as a good schoolmaster looks after every individual student, or as a good doctor knows each of his patients—in these ways we should know them. Christ Himself, the great and good Shepherd, takes care of every individual.

Preaching So Efficient. Meeting People, No.

The problem with preaching is it works so well at scale. It is so efficient. Preaching to ten people takes as much effort as preaching to ten thousand. But meeting people individually? Getting to know people individually? That takes up so much time and effort. Is it really worth the effort?

In Chapter VII: Reasons for Pastoral Instruction, Baxter tells us why it is imperative for us to do so. The editor, James Houston makes a note here:

“The personal catechizing” and instructing “every one in your parishes or congregation” that Baxter advocated with great personal success in his own parish of Kidderminster may not be possible to imitate today. But much that he says is still relevant to modern pastoral visitation and the need for more personal contacts. Baxter sums up the benefits with twenty points on this issue.

We are very fortunate to have a good teacher and editor in James Houston. He guides us so that we can hear what Baxter says and learn to apply it to our own context. There are many good chapters in this book, but if I only had one chapter to rip out, a chapter to take out of my pocket to make sure I am on the right track, it would be this chapter.

Baxter’s first point is that pastors should not meet individuals just to resolve problems. They should meet for regular spiritual instruction. My contention is not that pastors don’t do this. The resurgence of discipleship is proof that pastors do care for individuals and desire to bring individuals to a closer relationship with Christ. The novelty of reading a 500-year-old book is that it is not couched in trendy catchphrases or the mood of the era. And discipleship programmes, as good as they are, sometimes give everyone the impression that all is well as long as we do the prescribed steps. If we take the pastor and the church members out of the discipleship programmes, the fundamental question is: “Does the pastor know the individual seated in front of him, his struggles and his progress in his spiritual walk with Christ?”

Also, if you, like me, believe that preaching is of utmost importance, then consider Baxter’s third point. He writes:

Preaching is better understood when you have also taught privately. Such personal teaching will make our public preaching so much better understood and regarded.

A feedback I get from my preaching is: “Your sermons are good, but I don’t know how to apply them.” I confess this is a weakness of my sermons, not because I can’t think of applications, but because the applications are limitless. The same Scripture text, preached well, can help a young child dealing with sibling rivalry, help a teenager with addiction, help adults on the job, help senior citizens age gracefully, and so on. There are just so many applications, and while I do work hard to bridge the gap between theology and practice, I also wish that the people learn how to apply sermons in their own lives. And here, in this 500-year-old book, Baxter gives the oh-so-simple solution: Instead of trying to apply the sermon to each individual church member, just meet them to bring the Scripture to bear in each individual’s life circumstance.

Baxter tells us:

… when a minister does not know his own people, he is not able to really minister to them.

Don’t Be Lazy. Build Relationships.

Baxter gives us twenty benefits of pastoral ministry but, as a pastor himself, he is all too aware of the challenges. He then lists the many difficulties pastors face: they tend to please men; they are shy; they fear losing their income; they are weak in faith, unskilled, and unfit for the work; not to mention, they may have a difficult congregation. Here, Baxter makes a bit of a throwaway remark, which I think says more about myself than about pastors in general. He notes:

For in ourselves, we have much laziness and indifference.

To do what Baxter calls pastors to do takes up time. It takes time to meet up with individuals, to know what is going on in their lives and to follow up with them in the long term. The relationship he speaks of is not transactional. I have a problem; I go to someone to fix it. He fixes it. I pay him. If the problem is plumbing, I get a plumber. If psychological, I get a psychologist. If physical, I get a physical trainer. If spiritual, I get a pastor. Once the problem is solved, I say bye-bye to the plumber, psychologist, physical trainer and pastor. I think many church members and even pastors subconsciously see this as a good thing. There is enough distance between one another. No meddling. No wasting time. No relationship.

But the church is not transactional; it’s worse, it’s covenantal. There is a bond between God and Man, a covenant bond declared by God, “I am your God, and you are my people.” There is a bond between members of the body: one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism and one God and Father of all (Ephesians 4:4-6).

Yet, in the oneness there are many unique individuals. In Part III, Baxter has a section on effective teaching. The last point he makes, Point 11, is to treat each one as a unique person. He writes:

To the dull and the obstinate, be blunt and earnest. To the tenderhearted and the fearful, be gentle, and insist on the need of their spiritual direction. To the young, lay more stress on the enticements of sensual pleasures and of the great need to have control over their passions. To the old, prepare them for death and for the need to withdraw from the foolish ways of this present world. To the young, be free; and to the old, be respectful. To the rich, preach self-denial and the deceitfulness of prosperity. To the poor, show the glory of the Gospel.

In these words, I see the church. If these individuals cannot get or cannot appreciate the pastor’s personal care, they may shop around for life coaches, spiritual gurus, or A.I. Richard Baxter’s words of wisdom spoken 500 years ago still ring true today. Pastors would be foolish to ignore his words and risk losing the entire flock entrusted to them by the Lord Jesus. Pastors must know and shepherd their flock.

For Pastors Who Want to Be Pastors

This is the book’s central appeal: this is a book for pastors who want to be pastors. It’s not a book for pastors who want a social media platform, book tours, speaking conferences, or a seat at the table of very important men discussing very important matters. It is a book for the simple village pastor who just wants to take care of his sheep as best he can.

And I think there is something precious in that desire that should be nurtured. I love books on preaching. I love books on theology. I love books that push me to the limits of my understanding of the Bible. But I thank God that I can see in Richard Baxter’s tiny book, a book that pushes me, that pushes pastors to truly know the people under their care.

I Would Buy Every Book in the Series

In the Editor’s Note, James Houston quotes Philip Doddridge, a pastor in the 1700s who thought “the practical instructions of the book should be reread every three or four years.” That sounds about right.

If you think about it, isn’t it surprising that a 500-year-old book can speak so well on our church problems today? What can a Puritan pastor possibly say to help Christians and pastors dealing with the YouTube church, A.I. therapy and the modern loneliness epidemic? And yet, on the other hand, why should we be surprised that a book that guided pastors through the Enlightenment, Industrial Revolution, Age of Imperialism, World War I, World War II and the Digital Revolution continues to guide pastors today and in the future?

I do have one problem with, not the book, but the series. I finished this book with a hunger for more. And I am frustrated that the other books in the series, which include classics written by William Wilberforce, Blaise Pascal, John Owen, Charles Simeon, and Jonathan Edwards, are not accessible in electronic copy. Some of you may ask, “What is the problem? Just get the paperback.” If you were attentive in the beginning, you would have noted that Amazon does not directly fulfil the orders. We have to buy the paperbacks through third-party sellers, and to me this is a sign that not enough people realise what a treasure this series is. If the other books in the series are anything like the book I just read, then I strongly believe that the publishers or copyright owners- I don’t know who the right person is to talk to about this- should fix the accessibility problem. James M. Houston has already done the hard work of making it easier for us to read these classics. It is a great pity that his works are not widely known and made widely available to all.

I also note that James Houston passed away in May of this year, 2026. He lived to 103 years old and was still actively writing up to his death. Richard Baxter would approve of him, for James Houston was not a lazy or indifferent man. And through his work, by making this book more accessible to all, by God’s grace, we would have fewer lazy and indifferent pastors in the world.

This is a review of The Reformed Pastor by Richard Baxter, edited and abridged by James M. Houston. Thank you for listening. Bye-bye.