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 University and is a pastor in Webster Groves, Missouri (back cover). As he began in ministry, however, he was increasingly restless in the desire to make “an epic difference for God… as fast as possible” (18, 21). In The Imperfect Pastor, Eswine speaks to pastors of that desire to quickly accomplish great things in contrast to the oftentimes ordinary ministry to which God can call a pastor (29).

In this book, Eswine warns pastors of the draw of fame and the temptation to usurp the role of Christ by trying to be everywhere, fix everything, and know everything immediately for everyone. Instead, the author shares of the common places, tasks, and ministries that God calls us to that rest in Him, His timing, and His provision (9-10).

Eswine begins the text with four chapters discussing the pastoral call (table of contents). In chapter one, Eswine shares of the natural desire of pastors to do “great” things for God but notes that Satan can twist that desire into a selfish desire for fame — to do “something great in terms of how large, famous, and fast I could accomplish it” (19, 21). However, he notes that God’s call for greatness could instead reflect things that have true significance, and that can “require you to do small, mostly overlooked things, over a long period of time with him” (26).

In the next two chapters, the author speaks of the pastor himself, first as human with human frailties, faults, and limitations and then as a person who brings their home culture with them, including their home town and family context (36-37, 47). He encourages pastors to embrace and recognize their humanity rather than trying to supplant Christ for everyone, learning to minister within the God-provisioned limits of the body and to others with similar limits and frailties (36-37). The author’s argument is limited here, and his desired point is somewhat lost in his poetic writing style. While it is wise to be aware of our humanity, it is also the case the God uses us within our human limits in miraculous ways to His glory (2 Corinthians 4:7-18). However, his point is well taken that pastors are not Christ, and they must lead their sheep to Christ’s provision rather than try to meet all needs themselves. Eswine has warnings for the pastor to be discerning about their home culture, confronting and turning over to Christ views, prejudices, habits, or assumptions that seemed more acceptable in our earthly home than our heavenly one (52).

In his final chapter on the call of a pastor, he urges pastors to imitate Christ, who shunned fame and publicity and repeatedly told those he helped to not tell anyone. Eswine encourages pastors to continue ministering in relative obscurity (62-63). This element of his argument is weak and falls into the common trap of instructing pastors to imitate Christ’s ministry (or, in this case, a distinct portion of Christ’s ministry) without allowing for the unique divine mission or person of Christ. In particular, this instruction fails to acknowledge the possibility that this description of a phase of Jesus’ ministry is not prescriptive for all pastors, but rather that it reflects the deliberate gradual timing of God for Jesus’ life, ministry, confrontation with authorities, and eventual crucifixion (63-64). Eswine is correct in that pastors should not serve in order to seek fame, but incorrect in that they are not instructed to hide their ministry or try to limit its spread as Christ did in the early portions of His ministry.

Eswine next moves to discuss several pastoral temptations (71). The first temptation he deals with in chapter five is the temptation to be “everywhere for all” (73). This is the desire of pastors to constantly move to new ministries, leaving behind the sheep they are called to shepherd and always looking for bigger and better things (74-75). Instead, he suggests that God calls pastors to a place and a people for them to learn and know, to stay with and minister to (75, 83). He makes a poignant case using the “returning” of the Christmas shepherds to their normal lives and the difficult message of a long-delayed return to Jerusalem from Jeremiah (81, 83). However, he counters a earthly desire to move on to new easier or more interesting ministries with an only slightly less earthly instruction to stay and be satisfied with the ministries they have (82-83). There is relatively little discussion of discerning God’s will to stay or go, which should be the primary deciding factor. Instead, Eswine seems to assume that the pastor is driven mainly by natural desires or that God, by default, always intends them to stay in one place (84). This would be an improved argument if the author balanced his argument to more clearly suggest a lasting satisfaction with the place God has called us to, wherever it may be and for as long as He calls us there (Phil. 4:11-13).

Chapters six and seven address the pastor’s tendency to try to supplant Christ by trying to “fix it all” or “know it all,” acting as if they are omnipotent or omniscient (89, 103). Pastors are often driven to try to fix every problem that they encounter immediately, ultimately blaming their failure on those struggling as Job’s friends did. Instead, Eswine teaches the pastor must sometimes sit with those who struggle and persevere together under problems that he cannot solve, learning patience and to trust Christ and His timing (92-94, 99, 102). Likewise, the author reveals that pastors often are too quick to speak and too slow to listen and offer grace, becoming the one puffed up with knowledge but without love as Paul speaks of (1 Cor 8:1-2, 104-106). Pastors must live with patience and with grace in addition to knowledge, demonstrating the patience and grace of Christ (112, 114). In chapter eight, Eswine deals with the final item in his list of pastoral temptations: immediacy (117). He notes the dizzying pace of ministry and expectations that develops so naturally in churches, and the frustrating reaction of congregants leaving when their expectations are not met quickly enough (117-118, 120). Pastors must adopt the marathon imagery of Paul for their ministry, working with graceful patience for their ministries and for their congregants (123, 126-127).

Eswine then begins a portion of the book oriented towards “reshaping our inner life,” in which he starts by speaking in chapter nine of the new ambitions that pastors must adopt to replace their initial desires to “fix it all, know it all, be everywhere for all as fast and famously as possible” (133, 135). He notes that this starts by learning to embrace silence, leaving room for God to speak to oneself and to others without interrupting (138-139, 143). As pastors learn to quiet themselves, they are able to behold God personally in His Word, through His Spirit, and in His Word, as well as see how God is working in the people he ministers to and in the places he ministers in (152, 156, 158, 160). Resting in God in this way also allows pastors to slow down the pace of ministry, daily turning over burdens to Christ and persevering through a rhythm of grace and renewal, work and struggle, play and hospitality, and rest and solitude (172, 180, 184).

In the final section of the text, Eswine writes of how this new ambition reshapes our ministries (155). His prescription of a patient pace and quieter ministry pairs well with his instructions to care for the sick, taking time to minister to them simply in their struggles in the body, praying for the sick, and grieving with them as loved ones depart for heaven (190-191, 193, 194). In chapter thirteen, he tackles church discipline and caring for sinners as he advises pastors to handle sinners wisely but graciously (208-211). He encourages pastors to press and pray for repentance, forgiveness, and restoration, recognizing that the repentant sinner brings a powerful testimony of God’s grace (203-204, 206). The author goes on in chapter fourteen to share of the cultural learning process that pastors and churches go through together at the introduction of a new pastor, urging patience as each adjusts their visions and expectations to this new relationship (217-218, 220-221). In chapter fifteen, Eswine gives an example of how this new attitude will impact the leadership culture of a church, specifically detailing its impact on his church’s call of elders and decision making process. In a process that it undoubtedly effective but would frustrate many, he gives an example of deliberately slowing down the monthly elder’s meeting, sacrificing efficiency in order to practice unhurried listening and patience together (232). This chapter is a good practical insight into an application of the text, but suffers because of the author’s unique church leadership culture that is difficult to translate into other leadership situations.

Eswine concludes the book with a chapter called “Romantic Realism” (245). In it, he compares two pastoral realities – the pastor who still harbors romantic views of great ministerial successes and fame versus the pastor who is resigned to a spiritually stagnant obscure ministry (246-248). He contends that “Jesus calls us to a romantic realism,” one in which God is accomplishing extraordinary things in ordinary people, moments, and ministry (248-249).

In The Imperfect Pastor, Zack Eswine reminds pastors that they are not Christ. It is not their calling to immediately be everywhere, fixing and knowing it all. Despite the cultural expectations, a quick rise to fame is not the goal. Instead, God calls pastors to a people and a place to shepherd and limits the pastor in time and in human frailty. Their ministries take place in obscure places and in ordinary moments, while change takes place a little at a time. However, Eswine reminds us that God is at work in those moments—changing hearts and redeeming souls—and that there is a sweetness to life as a shepherd among his sheep.

Stylistically, Eswine’s writing is beautiful and almost poetic, with lots of narrative and no small amount of nostalgia. The narrative style can sometimes mask his meaning, making it difficult for the reader to follow his point in the greater argument. The nostalgia can make the reader suspicious – after all, the Israelites were nostalgic for Egypt while they were in the wilderness. Eswine, however, uses his nostalgia for emotional reinforcement to a point that is already made. The Imperfect Pastor is a biographical text, which always runs the risk of making one man’s experience normative for the whole audience. There are times and moments that the text suffers from this impression, but he is careful in places to fairly acknowledge that not every instance is the case for every pastor. While not every argument and example are universally applicable or appropriate for every pastor or church, Eswine ultimately supports his thesis well and pastors will do well to take it to heart.