Review: Portraits of a Pastor: The 9 Essential Roles of a Church Leader

Portraits of a Pastor: The 9 Essential Roles of a Church Leader by Jason K. Allen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I realised that these compilation/collaborative essay type of type of theological titles tend to be of very high quality. Because, perhaps for the purposes of brevity, each contribution is essentially a summary that brings out the cream of the subject matter. Often a single author, when given about 200 pages, tend to not be as succinct as when they are given only tens of pages to convey that same message.

While not all volumes were as well written or engaging as the others (possibly because the topic assigned was not their subject specialisation or interest), they were the minority amongst many very well-written essays. As a whole, the essays laid out what is demanded and how daunting the role of the pastor is. And yet strangely at the end of my read, I was encouraged and heartened not because I knew I was able to meet every single criterion, but because I was in awe of the beauty and wonder of how a godly pastor would be like. Furthermore, the propositions and substantive matter were grounded in Scripture (in contrast to airy-fairy opinions) and peppered with illustrations aplenty. Significantly for me also, I'd imagine that other readers who are unsure of their call, would be more clear if they were called to pastoral ministry or not, once having read the job description of a church leader.

I received this book from Moody Publishers for the purposes of providing an unbiased review. All views are my own.

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Review: Autopsy of a Deceased Church: 12 Ways to Keep Yours Alive

Autopsy of a Deceased Church: 12 Ways to Keep Yours Alive by Thom S. Rainer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Rainer packs alot of juicy content into this really tiny book. I thoroughly enjoyed the real life scenarios he used to season the "meatier" parts of the narrative. Rainer identifies various characteristics that a dying church would exhibit - which indeed may not be obvious to the Christians or pastors who have been part of that church community for a prolonged length of time.

While the title may seem offensive to some, I caught a sense that contrary to somebody who hates the "institutionalized Christian religion" (or insert whatever negative label you think fits better here), Rainer has conveyed his heart of love for the church. This is not a book all about gloom and doom and how the church had its better days in the past. Quite the opposite in fact! Rainer doesnt just list the symptoms and observations of a dying church, in the last two chapters he has provided various responses to Christians attending very sick or dying churches.

Because the book's brevity would simply serve to alert one to a church's condition, consultation with more substantive and in depth titles on this topic would be required for one to reflect on further follow up measures. A great companion to this book would be Gary L. McIntosh's excellent Taking Your Church to the Next Level: What Got You Here Won't Get You There would be the first title that I'd heartily recommend.

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Review: There's Hope for Your Church: First Steps to Restoring Health and Growth

There's Hope for Your Church: First Steps to Restoring Health and Growth by Gary L. McIntosh
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I first read this book in May 2015, having borrowed it from my school's library, and I promptly purchased a copy to keep. Now in Aug 2016, because of its amateurish looking cover, I reread it to see if it deserved to stay on my bookshelf (anything less than 5 stars would mean it would be put up for sale to make room). I was pleasantly surprised to rediscover how good it was, and the 5 star rating remains unchanged. Many books that I have read, I felt that the author had no idea what they were talking about. McIntosh writes with the verve of a seasoned veteran who has had thought through and worked on this subject matter extensively.

This practical and uplifting book for the pastor of a "dying" church (or church in need of revitalisation) is like fresh hot rations given to a battle weary soldier on the front line. I appreciated the can-do and positive tone coupled with McIntosh's succinct style of writing. I found that the case studies were always so very insightful, and were an amazing fit with the practical advice presented. They were probably the part of the book that reeled me in the most and that I most enjoyed.

I found the following methodologies highlighted in the book especially helpful:

- Identification of the signs of trouble in the church (Chapter 3) - low morale, downward momentum or plateauing growth, survival mode, passive attitudes, consolidated power, lack of vision, toleration of known sin and unproductive ministries
- Inclusion of a diagram (Page 75) that illustrates that God's Vision is an intersection of the pastor's leadership passion, passion/gifts of the congregation and the community needs
- Building a successful dominant coalition (Chapter 6) requires the right people (by approaching individuals personally rather than over the pulpit), who respect you, who are willing to receive the biblical training and replace disagreeable leaders
- After evaluating the church morale (Chapter 7), seek to lift it by being positive yourself, finding the silver lining (every situation no matter how dire, has its good aspects to highlight; eg. thank people who are overworked), celebrate all victories, require people who highlight problems to come back with three possible solutions, recruit encouragers, highlight heroes, stay close to the people, focus on the right people (Focus on the Very Important People, then the Very Trainable People, then the Very Nice People, and then the Very Draining People)
- Do not delay in confronting problem people (Page 112) who are: disloyal (on surface appear to be with you but speak against you when you are not present), belligerent (verbally or physically attack others), belittle (put others down to make themselves look better), undermine (who seek to draw others away to another church)
- Accept resignations immediately and do not allow them to change their minds (some influential staff or board members threaten resignations often to get their ways; Page 112)
- Evaluate and refocus on the core ministry (Chapter 9) and outreach/evangelism (because theological equipping of people does not always result in them desiring to bring in new people)
- In reference to church members being equipped for change (Chapter 10), I can relate personally that radicals arent a great source of feedback as they always bring a positive report; they are great for starting new things with great excitement and energy but burn out too quickly (Page 136)
- Watch out and deal with these 5 kinds of losses (Chapter 11): of identity (with the roles/positions/places they occupy in church), of control, of meaning (in places, programs and patterns of life), of belonging (when they are overwhelmed by numbers of newcomers they do not know), of a future (as people hope for a stable future and struggle with the idea that it is changing)
- Stay the course (Chapter 12)
- Church revitalisation chart and checklist (Pages 164-5)
- That 9 out of 10 church mergers fail (Appendix B)
- When church mergers work best (Pages 182-183): occurs because of mission and outreach rather than need to survive; consist of churches with common theology, philosophy of ministry, values, and corporate culture; both congregations sell their buildings and move into a new one; a single or new pastor is called to lead the congregation; when three churches merge and none is dominant (often when two churches merge, one feels shut out and loses its sense of identity); time is given to developing solid communication about a possible merger and addressing concerns; significant time for courtship is allowed to take place

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Review: Discerning Your Call to Ministry: How to Know for Sure and What to Do about It

Discerning Your Call to Ministry: How to Know for Sure and What to Do about It by Jason K. Allen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Allen has given us a most outstanding, engaging, practical and useful book, especially if you feel called to full time paid ministry in Christ's service, and yet you feel a little bit unsure of taking the big leap. The book was pregnant with wise nuggets of truth and character piercing propositions/questions/thoughts that assisted in my evaluation and discerning of where I stood in reality.

And yet for a book that I feel is almost invaluable, it is truly a pity that I cannot give it the 6 stars (yep more than 5 stars!) it so truly deserves. But if perhaps you would find the read so much more enjoyable if your theological position (like Allen) is that of a partial Cessationist ("the office of apostle and prophet as reserved for the first century, ceasing to exist with the death of the apostles and the completion of the New Testament," p21), and an extreme Complementarian ("the office and function of the pastor/elder are biblically reserved for qualified men," p37).

For those who are curious, I too hold a partial Cessationist and a partial Complementarian view. However I found that I had to keep reminding myself to look above my horror (at Allen's lack of Eccumenicalism) and try to savour and digest the larger message he was attempting to convey. That was indeed quite a challenge and I so very much wished Allen did not alienate so many readers from the get go - in very first two chapters!

In my opinion, these are secondary theological issues, but after reading how Allen was inspired by Spurgeon's unwavering stance in the downgrade controversy (Chapter 9), I understood that he too was a man who stood by and would defend his convictions strongly - which necessitated that he did what he did - Allen would not have been at peace with himself if he did not pen down what he believed in. And for that, I respect his decision - an author who advocated complete inclusion of everyone and anyone would come up with a useless piece of literature with impotent advice. Nevertheless, I still affirm that the book would be of immense value even if you hold a Continuationist (that the office of the Apostle/Prophet, miracles and speaking of tongues have not ceased) or an Egalitarian (that women can take on any office, even the senior pastor role) position.

A title more theologically neutral - yet equally Scripturally faithful and perhaps even more inspirational- I would recommend would be Edmund Clowney's Called to the Ministry; these two titles would be great companions both distinct and overlapping fields of discussion. A quick search on amazon pulled up a handful of books on this same topic; I'll update this review again in future when I have evaluated a couple of the counterparts to find out the most useful.

I received this book from the Moody Publishers Newsroom program for the purposes of providing an unbiased review. All views are my own.

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