Writing Beyond Our Lives: Phillips Brooks and the Ministry That Outlasts Us
Voices Heard — Phillips Brooks: Writing Beyond Our Lives
Phillips Brooks (1835–1893) believed that preaching was not performance but pastoral care, and that truth only becomes transformative when it passes through a living person.
In this Voices Heard episode, I reflect on Brooks as:
A pastor first, whose preaching was itself a form of care
A voice who spoke in, with, and against the tides of his time
A preacher who understood that writing extends ministry beyond a lifetime
A hymn writer whose theology could be sung, remembered, and prayed
A leader who spoke where the human condition meets the voice of God
At the center is Brooks’s enduring prayer:
Do not pray for easy lives… pray for powers equal to your tasks.
Beyond the paywall, six extended reflections explore how writing becomes a form of leadership, how influence outlives position, and how faithfulness—not ambition—is what gives words their staying power.
This is an invitation to think about what kind of voice you are leaving behind.
Join us: https://tomsims.substack.com/p/writing-beyond-our-lives-phillips
Phillips Brooks (1835–1893) believed that preaching was not performance but pastoral care, and that truth only becomes transformative when it passes through a living person.
In this Voices Heard episode, I reflect on Brooks as:
A pastor first, whose preaching was itself a form of care
A voice who spoke in, with, and against the tides of his time
A preacher who understood that writing extends ministry beyond a lifetime
A hymn writer whose theology could be sung, remembered, and prayed
A leader who spoke where the human condition meets the voice of God
At the center is Brooks’s enduring prayer:
Do not pray for easy lives… pray for powers equal to your tasks.
Beyond the paywall, six extended reflections explore how writing becomes a form of leadership, how influence outlives position, and how faithfulness—not ambition—is what gives words their staying power.
This is an invitation to think about what kind of voice you are leaving behind.
Join us: https://tomsims.substack.com/p/writing-beyond-our-lives-phillips
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