Jad Khalaf Writings

"Study to shew thyself approved unto God,
a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth."
II Timothy 2:15

AN ANALYSIS OF THE PASTORAL MINISTRY OF GEORGE A. BUTTRICK

BY DR. JAD J. KHALAF

    Life and Times:

    George Arthur Buttrick was born in 1892 to Tom and Jessie Buttrick. He grew up in Seaham
Harbour, Northumberland, England. Victoria University in Manchester, England, was the school
in which Buttrick attended. In 1915, Buttrick graduated from Victoria University and earned a
degree from Lancaster Independent Theological College in Manchester. Also in 1915, he was
ordained to the ministry of Christ in the Congregational Church U.S.A. After being ordained,
Buttrick became the minister of the First Union Congregational Church in Quincy, Illinois (Gill, To
God Be the Glory, 9).

    On June 27, 1916, Buttrick married Agnes Gardner. Buttrick and his wife had three sons. The
sons’ names were John Arthur, George Robert, and David Gardner (9).

    Pastorates and Pastoral Work:

    Buttrick went to the First Congregational Church of Rutland, Vermont. From there he went to
the First Presbyterian Church of Buffalo, New York. In 1927, Madison Avenue Presbyterian
Church (MAPC) in New York City, New York, called Buttrick as pastor (9-10).

    Buttrick loved to associate himself with people and to tell jokes to them. Just about every
week he went to the weekly ministers’ luncheon conferences. While at the weekly conferences,
Buttrick would tell about a joke or some funny experience that happened to him. Buttrick would
also sit around at the conferences, smoke his good cigars, and mingle with the people (MAPC’s
McFadden, 23).

    Buttrick’s preaching attracted people to MAPC. People would come every Sunday to hear
Buttrick’s sermons. During the week, people would attend MAPC’s activities and associations.
Each age group had separate activities. Men and women had their own associations. The Boy
Scouts held their meetings at MAPC. Every day, something was going on or being held at MAPC.
MAPC’s attendance, during Buttrick’s leadership, reached 2900 members. Thus, MAPC was the
largest Presbyterian church in New York City (Talbot, “A History of The Madison Avenue
Presbyterian Church”).

    Buttrick was one of the most important and prominent Reformed theologians of his day. He
was also a leading Protestant preacher, teacher, and writer of New York (Ibid.). In the 1920s and
1930s, New York City had many churches and church goers. The preachers during that time were
influential through their sermons. People were interested in hearing preachers preach as well
as reading their sermons in printed form. Buttrick’s preaching and sermons became very
popular. Soon, he was the leading preacher in New York City. Each Monday, his sermons were
printed in the paper. People could pick up the Monday edition of the local paper and read his
Sunday sermon (“A Preaching Church”, 22-23).

    Not only did Buttrick preach the Bible but he also lived out his faith. While the Great
Depression was affecting the city, Buttrick led MAPC to develop food resources, provide
clothing, provide housing, and provide jobs for hundreds of families that were affected by the
Great Depression. All of this was done while MAPC’s budget was cut down by a third (Talbot).

    Buttrick did not just preach, but he also voiced his opinions on political and social issues. He
was not shy nor afraid to openly discuss these issues. For instance, in 1932 Buttrick pointed out
that around ten percent of the people in America controlled and owned ninety-five percent of the
country’s money and wealth. He noted that this was “irreconcilable with Christianity” (Ibid.).

    While Buttrick was pastoring MAPC, he was elected president of the Federal Council of
Churches. In addition, he taught classes at Union Theological Seminary, toured and preached at
colleges, universities, and seminaries around the world, and became involved in social issues.
In 1931, Buttrick began writing books. The Parables of Jesus; Jesus Came Preaching; The
Christian Fact and Modern Doubt; Prayer; Christ and Man’s Dilemma; So We Believe, So We Pray;
Faith and Education; The Interpreter’s Bible; Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible; Sermons
Preached at a University Church; Christ and History; God, Pain, and Evil; The Beatitudes; and The
Power of Prayer Today are books by Buttrick (Gill, 10-11).

    Buttrick served as pastor of MAPC for twenty-seven years. In 1954, he left MAPC and in 1955
Buttrick went to the Mermorial Church at Harvard University. At Harvard University he became
the Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and the Preacher to the University (9-11).

    Later, Buttrick retired from the Memorial Church at Harvard. His retirement consisted of the
following: “seriatim appointment as Henry Emerson Fosdick Visiting Professor at Union
Theological Seminary in New York City; lecturer in homiletics at Garret Theological Seminary in
Evangston, Illinois; visiting professor of religion at Davidson College, Davidson, North Carolina;
distinguished professor at Vanderbilt Divinity School in Nashville, Tennessee; first occupan of
the new professorial Chair of Ecumenical Christianity sponsored by the Baptist, Roman Catholic,
and Presbyterian seminaries in Louisville, Kentucky” (9-11).

    The twentieth century consisted of numerous preachers and pastors. However Buttrick stood
out above most of them. “In a recent survey Dr. Buttrick was named the third most influential
preacher in 20th century America, after Billy Graham and Martin Luther King, Jr” (Talbot).

    Philosophy of Pastoral Ministry:

    Buttrick’s ministry was built upon faith. Faith must be believed in and not seen (Buttrick, Faith
and Education, 7-9). Buttrick’s pastoral ministry consisted of believing that God could and would
use him if he had faith. MAPC’s growth is an example of how Buttrick faithfully preached the
Word of God, faithfully befriended those around him, and faithfully relied upon God to bring in
the people.

    Buttrick’s pastoral ministry consisted of “the diction of the preacher is that of the historian
and dramatist, not that of the philosopher...” (Buttrick, Sermons Preached in a University Church,
7). According to Buttrick, a sermon was not supposed to be preached to people in general nor to
a large crowd of people. However, a sermon was intended to be preached to a specific church
or to a specific individual group of people. Buttrick stated, “For preaching appeals by the history-
drama of the Event of Christ to the willed drama of men’s daily history” (Ibid.).

    Buttrick believed that pastoral ministry included ministering in times of crisis (Ibid., 8).
Congregation members consist of different individuals. Each person, at one time or another,
encounters times of crisis. One of the roles of pastors is that of a counselor. A pastor can
counsel his people through sermons. These “crisis” sermons can minister to different members
of a congregation.

    Prayer was an important part of Buttrick’s life and ministry. He described prayer as “friendship
with God” (Buttrick, Prayer, 254). To Buttrick, private and quiet prayer was to be done behind a
closed door and away from any distractions. He said that prayer could be done at any time.
However, Buttrick acknowledged that the morning time, the day’s happenings, and the night time
were “three times during the day [that] have especial purpose” (Ibid., 255-259).

    As a pastor, he wanted his sermons to reflect his pastoral ministry. Buttrick felt “that a
preacher must challenge his congregation” (“A Preaching Church”, 22). One individual said the
following about Buttrick and his preaching: “[Buttrick] can cut through complacency or sham and
expose their folly (But) there are others who have turned to him in trouble and they have found
in him a warm and sympathetic friend” (Ibid.).” Though he was straight-to-the-point in his
preaching, he was kind and gentle in his pastoral ministry.

    Buttrick’s long-term pastorate at MAPC was another reflection of his pastoral ministry. Henry
Sloane Coffin was the pastor of MAPC prior to Buttrick. Coffin served for twenty-two years as
pastor of MAPC. Buttrick was chosen as pastor right after Coffin left. Buttrick knew that Coffin
had served for many years in one church. He too wanted to plant his ministry in one location
until God told spoke otherwise. For twenty-seven years, Buttrick’s pastoral ministry touched the
lives of hundreds and even thousands of people. The Harvard University Gazette wrote, “What
made people pay attention to this little man with the whiney voice and assertive opinion was the
indelible impression over time that he had in some real and compelling way come to terms with
faith in an age of great doubt” (Ibid., 23).

    Contributions to Pastoral Theology and Philosophy:

    Buttrick was a preacher who wanted his sermons and ideas to be written down. For example,
he gave lectures at different places. He would lecture for a time and latter he would gather a
collection of lectures and print them in a book. Buttrick’s book God, Pain, and Evil serves as one
such example. He lectured in Berkeley, California; Atlanta, Georgia; and Boston, Massachusetts
on the subject of God and Suffering. Years later, Buttrick printed his lectures into book format
(Buttrick, God, Pain, and Evil, 7-9). The lectures that were turned into books contribute to
pastoral theology and philosophy because readers throughout the years have had the
opportunity to read and study Buttrick’s ideas and thoughts. In so doing, Buttrick’s legacy still
lives on through his book lectures.

    Buttrick served as MAPC’s pastor for twenty-seven years. Today, many pastors do not stay at
one church very long. In a sense, today’s pastors church-hop. Church-hop refers to pastors
changing from one church to another church every few years. Buttrick did not church-hop. He is
an example of an effective long-term pastor. His contribution to pastoral theology and
philosophy can be seen in the amount of years he pastored MAPC. His long-term pastorate can
serve as an encouragement and challenge that long-term pastorate at one church can be
accomplished as well as effective.

    Buttrick was a pastor who lived out his faith. His church ministered to people who were going
through difficult situations. For example, during the Great Depression MAPC helped struggling
families by giving them necessary items.   Buttrick did not only preach his faith but he lived out
his faith. In so doing, Buttrick led his church to be Christ’s hands and feet. MAPC reached many
people for the Gospel. Buttrick’s contribution to pastoral theology and philosophy is the idea
that a pastor and his church should live out their faith in their community. A community can be
touched and reached through a church being Christ’s hands and feet.

    Prayer, ministering to others, and faith are three qualities Buttrick contributed to pastoral
theology and philosophy. All three of these qualities were evident in his life and ministry. Today’
s pastors, in following in Buttrick’s steps, should have all three of these qualities in their
personal lives and ministries.

Dr. Jad Khalaf

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