Resilient Ministry: What Pastors Told us About Surviving and Thriving is an awesome book that impacted me. I would say that of all the books that I’ve read in seminary, it is the most practical and relevant one. It has changed the way I view “surviving” and “thriving” in ministry. In the introduction the authors tell us the five types of readers that they hope will read the book. First is pastors who they hope will share it with their wives (this is a constant theme throughout the book, the concern for the pastor’s spouse). Second, they desire vocational ministry staff members and other church leaders to find the book helpful. Next is ministry board members and last they cover all in the body of Christ by saying, church members should …show more content…
They are professors and pastors and each one has been involved in ministry for years. Their hope is that the book will leave the reader, “embracing the gospel of Jesus Christ more deeply, loving others more richly and serving our Lord more joyfully. The authors also encourage the read to reflect on the quotes being presented in the book. Chapter one begins with a quote from a pastor, “I don’t have anybody that I open up to about my life, my family or my ministry. I feel like a guy who is driving over the speed limit on a narrow mountain road without barriers. It’s the grace of God I haven’t driven off.” The authors desire to minister to pastors and leaders. The authors state, “From our research, we have found those words to be true for most pastors. People in ministry rarely feel understood and seldom have anyone with whom they can openly talk about their experience.” The authors present the facts and issues facing us. They discuss the numbers of pastors that are leaving the ministry. Pastors who are disillusioned are mentioned. Others who say that they cannot subject their wives and families to this much longer. The authors next discuss a project that was conducted that focused on pastoral resiliency. They selected pastors who demonstrated excellence in ministry. Judging what was ‘excellent’ was challenging. They did not chose the size of their congregations, money their churches were