“…if a pastor is not in touch with joy, it would be difficult to teach or preach convincingly that the news is good. If you do not convey joy in your demeanor and gestures and speech, you will not be an authentic witness for Jesus Christ. Delight in what God is doing is essential in all our work” (Eugene Peterson, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, p.197).

This quote from the book is something Peterson himself quoted that comes from a friend of his who is a dean of a theological seminary. The dean spoke this phrase to a student he knew who didn’t show much joy – the dean was asking the student to reconsider the call to ministry, to re-think it, to make sure it was right before they continued on.