The Shepherd's Covenant for Pastors

by H.B. London Jr., Neil B. Wiseman

This book is about grace. Its theme is grace; its heartbeat is grace. As a pastor, you've probably preached on grace from time to time, but have you ever considered the role of grace in your life and ministry? Your calling depends upon it-both humbly accepting grace from God and giving it away to others. Without grace, there is emptiness and the potential for that hole to be filled by the dangers lurking around you-often the lure of popularity, prestige and power. Like having a serious conversation with a mentor or coach in the ministry, The Shepherd's Covenant for Pastors offers the equipping you need to maintain your commitment to live your life and ministry with authenticity and integrity. Pledge with God and over 50,000 other pastors who have signed the Shepherd's Covenant to maintain a life of holiness and righteousness by committing to five basic principles built on the acrostic G.R.A.C.E. Learn how to maintain balance in your call that adequately reflects your contribution and God's grace at the same time. Build on a foundation that will stand strong when the call to serve man and God collides, when the responsibilities of the church take precedence over family, or when a change in direction is needed when the work of the church becomes more alluring than intimacy with the Lord. By God's grace and with the help of The Shepherd's Covenant for Pastors, you can commit today to a lifestyle more pleasing to the Lord, your congregation, your family and yourself.

Genres: Leadership

217 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2005

Reviews

[Josh Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing book and one that should be read by all pastors or those considering ministry. Should be required reading by all Bible college students.

The book is divided into five sections that comprise an acrostic of GRACE. They are as follows:

Genuine Accountability
Right Relationships
A Servant-Shepherd's Heart
Constant Safeguards
Embrace God Intimately

I believe the first point alone would have kept many pastors from falling into some great sin if they would apply it to their own lives. It was not a principle I ever heard taught in Bible college.

Too many pastors think of themselves more highly than they ought and hence pride deceives them. They then think they are stronger than they really are until it is too late.

One of my favorite paragraphs in the book was found in the chapter entitled, "Embrace God Intimately:"

"At some point, every pastor must decide what or who his source will be. Will your source be ordination, authority, education, family, reputation, experience, church or Christ Himself? You have to decide whether you'll be a minister of Christ or a minister of the church. Anyone can be a minister of the church without Christ, but no one can be a genuine minister of Christ without authentically having an impact on the church."
p. 195

[Severo Carneiro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book for pastors and church leaders. The authors touch on very important and current issues that need to be addressed today.