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Resilient: Key Factors in a Long and Successful Pastorate
This book is written to help shepherds of the church of Jesus Christ increase their resilience in ministry. John Miller takes you on his own journey of pastoral ministry, providing proven principles for a long and successful pastorate.
170 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2018
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July 8, 2019John Miller recently retired from a long and productive ministry as a Senior Pastor in Tucson. The wake of his ministry: those I know who sat under his preaching and shepherding were all blessed and positively impacted. I only know John as an acquaintance, but was grateful to receive his book from a friend who sat under his shepherding.
Resilient grew out of Miller’s Doctor of Ministry work where he studied factors from several dozen long-tenured pastors across America and mined what were the primary factors for their resilience. “The pastorate is not for the faint of heart,” Miller says, and we are served in knowing how to best be faithful God has laid on our lives. That resilience pays off in spades: Barna reports that “A typical pastor has his greatest ministry impact at a church in years 5 through 14 of his pastorate; unfortunately, the average pastor lasts only five years at a church.”
Miller says that his research uncovered nine shared predictors for resilience. Those are:
1) Calling
2) Shepherd’s heart: “You can preach your heart out, but unless your listeners believe you have a heart for them, you will likely fall well short of your intended goal.”
3) A fervent pursuit of God: “Longevity in ministry and a passionate heart for God go hand in hand,” and again, “The godliest people I know don’t seem to be in a hurry.”
4) Accountable relationships
5) Capacity to forgive wrongs suffered: “Godly pastors are those who fully own their misdeeds and humbly confess to whomever they offended.”
6) A passion to preach God’s Word
7) A supportive spouse: A survey from Pastoral Care Inc reports that “95% of pastors do not regularly pray with their spouses.”
8) Family before ministry
9) Congregational support
Miller closes with reflections on hard-earned nuggets of wisdom through his own pastoral ministry. He shares that “The secure pastor will not obsess on the success of other churches over his own.”
As Miller reflects on planting Northwest Bible Church he says, “I found out a great team of godly and sincere leaders can have incompatible visions.” He encourages pastors to “Take your time building a core leadership group.”
Miller feels regret for not cultivating his staff and he now believes he should have. He says, “Your staff needs regular affirmation and feedback.” He continues, “When we as lead pastors neglect our staff, we unwittingly foster an environment ripe for misinformation and disinformation. Before we know it, relationships become strained or even estranged.”
Miller offers advice in handling criticism: “The following statements need to be challenged: ‘People have said…’ ‘People are talking…’… Serious accusations need witnesses.”
Finally, Miller reminds us: “One of the greatest displays of the Spirit-filled life is when we show unconditional love to the difficult people in our life. It is not natural to love those who wrong you or mistreat you.”
Thank you, John, for your faithful ministry to so many and for offering your wisdom.
For more reviews see www.thebeehive.live.
Resilient grew out of Miller’s Doctor of Ministry work where he studied factors from several dozen long-tenured pastors across America and mined what were the primary factors for their resilience. “The pastorate is not for the faint of heart,” Miller says, and we are served in knowing how to best be faithful God has laid on our lives. That resilience pays off in spades: Barna reports that “A typical pastor has his greatest ministry impact at a church in years 5 through 14 of his pastorate; unfortunately, the average pastor lasts only five years at a church.”
Miller says that his research uncovered nine shared predictors for resilience. Those are:
1) Calling
2) Shepherd’s heart: “You can preach your heart out, but unless your listeners believe you have a heart for them, you will likely fall well short of your intended goal.”
3) A fervent pursuit of God: “Longevity in ministry and a passionate heart for God go hand in hand,” and again, “The godliest people I know don’t seem to be in a hurry.”
4) Accountable relationships
5) Capacity to forgive wrongs suffered: “Godly pastors are those who fully own their misdeeds and humbly confess to whomever they offended.”
6) A passion to preach God’s Word
7) A supportive spouse: A survey from Pastoral Care Inc reports that “95% of pastors do not regularly pray with their spouses.”
8) Family before ministry
9) Congregational support
Miller closes with reflections on hard-earned nuggets of wisdom through his own pastoral ministry. He shares that “The secure pastor will not obsess on the success of other churches over his own.”
As Miller reflects on planting Northwest Bible Church he says, “I found out a great team of godly and sincere leaders can have incompatible visions.” He encourages pastors to “Take your time building a core leadership group.”
Miller feels regret for not cultivating his staff and he now believes he should have. He says, “Your staff needs regular affirmation and feedback.” He continues, “When we as lead pastors neglect our staff, we unwittingly foster an environment ripe for misinformation and disinformation. Before we know it, relationships become strained or even estranged.”
Miller offers advice in handling criticism: “The following statements need to be challenged: ‘People have said…’ ‘People are talking…’… Serious accusations need witnesses.”
Finally, Miller reminds us: “One of the greatest displays of the Spirit-filled life is when we show unconditional love to the difficult people in our life. It is not natural to love those who wrong you or mistreat you.”
Thank you, John, for your faithful ministry to so many and for offering your wisdom.
For more reviews see www.thebeehive.live.
Displaying 1 of 1 review