The Secrets of Staying Power
Overview
When the going gets tough.
Every minister faces moments when the pressures of the pastorate seem overwhelming. Discouragement sets in. Is it time to leave this church? Or ministry altogether? How do I keep going?
A pastor wrote LEADERSHIP JOURNAL recently: “How do you deal with yourself, when you suddenly say within, I quit, and yet must keep going as a public leader? The inner resources of enthusiasm, interest, and caring are just not there sometimes.”
The precipitating incidents vary—declining attendance, criticism from key members, family struggles, lack of commitment from volunteers. But the result is the same: cold, hard winds blow across the minister’s soul.
What then? Where can the pastor turn? How can a vigorous ministry be restored?
This book focuses on how to turn weakness in to strength, how to find the power to persevere.
Through real-life stories of ministers who have been through the “slough of despond” and found productive ministry on the other side, each chapter offers both practical guidance and warm encouragement.
Secrets of Staying Power provides tested wisdom for weathering pastoral storms—and building a ministry that lasts.
This is the fourteenth volume of THE LEADERSHIP LIBRARY, a continuing series from LEADERSHIP, the practical journal for church leaders published by Christianity Today, Inc. Other volumes in the series include Well-Intentioned Dragons, Learning to Lead, and Making the Most of Mistakes.
Top Highlights
“‘I had to learn to view the church not as my church but as the Lord’s church. As long as I felt responsible for it—that how it progressed reflected on me and that I had to make it go—I lost a lot of energy. I had to come to the point of saying, ‘It’s his church, and if he doesn’t want it to grow the way I would like it to, I’m willing for him to use it as it is.’ I had to detach myself from the church enough that its ups and downs didn’t totally sap my resources. That was a turning point for me.’” (Pages 64–65)
“Accept the fact that such people not only can, but will, be part of every church.” (Page 84)
“Martin Luther, that towering giant of the Reformation, once confessed, ‘Next to faith this is the highest art—to be content with the calling in which God has placed you. I have not learned it yet.’” (Page 64)
“‘Anything that absolutely must be handled now—you’re not capable of handling anyway.’ That eliminates most emergencies. However, many of us in helping professions are driven primarily by a need for affirmation, and so we accommodate ourselves to everybody. That leads to burnout.’” (Pages 57–58)
“A sense of incompletedness, the feeling that nothing is ever finished, nothing is fully accomplished” (Page 35)
Product Details
- Title: The Secrets of Staying Power
- Author: Kevin A. Miller
- Publisher: CTI
- Publication Date: 1988
- Pages: 208