Let me say it candidly: Bolz-Weber has no business being a pastor and, therefore, no business writing as a pastor. She proves this on nearly every page of her book. Time and again she shows that she is woefully lacking in godly character. Her stories, her word choice, her interactions with her parishioners, her temper, her endlessly foul mouth, her novel interpretations of Scripture—they lead to the alarming and disturbing picture of a person who does not take the office seriously enough to ask if she is qualified to it.

I read it because it was on the New York Timeslist of bestsellers. That is not only a significant accomplishment for an author but an indication that her work resonates with a wide audience. So I read the book. And, oh my.

Nadia Bolz-Weber is founding pastor of a Lutheran congregation in Denver called House for All Sinners and Saints. Accidental Saints: Finding God in All the Wrong People is the follow-up to her memoir, Pastrix, also a bestseller. A tremendously gifted writer, Bolz-Weber is known for her storytelling, transparency, irreverence, and excessive profanity. In this new book she describes some of her encounters with grace and she does so largely by sharing anecdotes related to her pastoral and speaking ministries.

For the purposes of this review, let’s leave aside the issue of whether the Bible permits a woman to serve as a pastor—something that has long been a matter of debate among Christians. We can leave it aside for now because whether or not the Bible reserves the office of pastor for men, it undoubtedly reserves it for those who meet certain qualifications—qualifications that are laid out in the New Testament. Here is an example: “The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer [synonymous with “elder” or “pastor”], he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be…” (1 Timothy 3:1-2). What follows is a list of character traits (above reproach, respectable, hospitable, and so on). We find these lists in 1 Timothy, in Titus, and in 1 Peter, and when we put them together we have a description of the kind of person God calls to the pastorate. He makes it clear: The office of pastor is reserved for those who are qualified by their character.

Let me say it candidly: Bolz-Weber has no business being a pastor and, therefore, no business writing as a pastor. She proves this on nearly every page of her book. Time and again she shows that she is woefully lacking in godly character. Her stories, her word choice, her interactions with her parishioners, her temper, her endlessly foul mouth, her novel interpretations of Scripture—they lead to the alarming and disturbing picture of a person who does not take the office seriously enough to ask if she is qualified to it.

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