Scazzero, Peter. The Emotionally Healthy Leader: How Transforming Your Inner Life Will Deeply Transform Your Church, Team, and the World. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2015. “We lead more out of who we are than out of what we do,” writes Peter Scazzero, author of The Emotionally Healthy Leader (48). Scazzero is the founding pastor and now a pastor at large of New Life Fellowship Church in New York City (22-23). [&hellip

Ash, Christopher. Zeal Without Burnout: Seven Keys to a Lifelong Ministry of Sustainable Sacrifice. The Good Book Company, 2016. As of 2014, it was estimated that burnout, moral failure, or conflict was leading to 1500 pastors a month leaving the ministry. Burnout was already a factor for one-thirds of pastors five years into their ministry, and “almost a half of pastors and their wives say they have experienced depression or [&hellip

Eswine, Zachary W. The Imperfect Pastor: Discovering Joy in Our Limitations through a Daily Apprenticeship with Jesus. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2015. Many pastors dream of the big things God will do through them when they are going into the ministry. They envision large churches, popular books, cities redeemed, accolades from peers, or movements spurred on by their leadership, drive, ideas, and preaching (18). Zack Eswine has a Ph.D. from Regent [&hellip

As the American culture continues to become more and more secular in its views, growing numbers of couples are accepting and practicing the worldly wisdom of living together before marriage (34). Pastors of the local church are faced with the difficult challenge of balancing the clear standards of the Word of God with pressure from couples, and often from within their church, to “gloss over” the couple’s cohabitation and move [&hellip

The Main Idea: Simple Church presents and defends the premise that churches should establish a simple process for maturing believers and model every aspect of their ministries after that process. The Good: A solid book that gives good insight and practical ideas for streamlining a church to have the greatest effect on lives for Christ. The Bad: Research-based books are always dangerous in that they can take bits and pieces [&hellip

The Main Idea: The ministries of the church must partner with and equip families for discipleship within the family. Here are clearly defined and simple principles and processes, called Legacy Milestones, that Bryan Haynes implemented in his home and church to accomplish that goal. The Good: This book is concise, clear, thorough, and practical in laying out a strategy for the church to equip and encourage parents for family ministry. [&hellip

McManus, Erwin Raphael. An Unstoppable Force: Daring to Become the Church God Had In Mind. Loveland, CO: Group Publishing, 2001. Erwin McManus is the Lead Pastor of Mosaic, a growing and innovating church in Los Angeles. When he came as Pastor to the church, it was known as “The Church on Brady” and, while it had been growing for a time, it had plateaued and begun to decline (6). In [&hellip

Thom Rainer’s Breakout Churches is the result of an extended research study into churches that have experienced significant and extended evangelistic growth after a period of plateau or decline. After surveying, contacting, gathering information, and comparing, Rainer examined 50,000 churches for the book (13-14). His selection process required that churches retain the same pastor through both the decline and the growth, that they have had at least 26 conversions annually [&hellip

The Main Idea: In Think Orange, Joiner makes the case for churches and families to join together to lead their children spiritually, then continues in the text to give various methodologies and strategies for forming an “Orange” merger of the church with the family for a more powerful ministry to kids (10-11). The Good: This book headlines the current drive in churches to prioritize encouraging and equipping families for ministry. [&hellip