Pastoral transitions can be fraught with pitfalls, yet there "is" advice that can help ministers and congregations avoid those dangers. Lawrence Farris, a pastor who himself has left three churches, here gives ten wise, thoughtful commandments for shepherds leaving their flock. Far from heavy-handed dictums, these "commandments" are more gospel than law, laying out helpful strategies in such areas as recognizing when to depart, patching broken relationships, and enabling the next pastor to make a clean start. While many may dream of a comfortable, long-term pastorate, today's transient congregational realities make the wisdom in this book relevant for pastors in churches big and small, liberal, moderate, and conservative. Perfect for pastors soon to depart and for those happy to stay put for now, "Ten Commandments for Pastors Leaving a Congregation" provides welcome guidance to both pastors and parishioners facing this hopeful and challenging transition.

Packed with new research, new interviews, and practical solutions, this updated and expanded edition of Next will equip pastors, ministry teams, and Christian organizations to navigate leadership changes with wisdom and grace. While there is no simple, one-size-fits-all solution to the puzzle of planning for a seamless pastoral succession, Next offers church leaders and pastors a guide to asking the right questions in order to plan for the future. Vanderbloemen, founder of a leading pastoral search firm, and Bird, an award-winning writer and researcher, share insider stories of succession failures and successes in dozens of churches, including some of the nation's most influential. The authors demystify successful pastoral succession and help you prepare for an even brighter future for your ministry. Includes a foreword by John Ortberg and an introduction by Eric Geiger and Kenton Beshore.

This book on church administration is a tool for all pastors and leaders in all churches. It provides ideas, methods, guidelines, and styles of administering and supervising modern day congregations and religious organizations in an easy to follow language. It can be used for any clergy or lay training, retreat, spiritual formation workshops, and seminars. Theological or Bible institutions or universities which offer courses in church administration will find this book most helpful. Individuals can use it for their personal spiritual development. It also carries a devotional and motivational aspect which every spiritual leader cannot afford to miss.

The opening months of a new pastorate are decisive for how that ministry will unfold, so great care should be taken to begin wisely and well. Simply transplanting programs and habits that worked elsewhere, ignoring the specific dynamics of the new congregation and its people, making too few significant changes, or making too many insignificant changes will create problems for the new pastor that may never be overcome. Ten Commandments for Pastors New to a Congregation offers specific, down-to-earth principles and guidance on how to make a good beginning, one that will lay the foundation for years of fruitful ministry. Drawing on twenty-five years of parish ministry, during which he has mentored many new and transitioning pastors, Lawrence Farris here provides ten guidelines, illustrated with relevant examples, that identify potential pitfalls and show how to avoid them. Such areas as preaching, pastoral care, self-care, community and denominational commitments, and role clarity are addressed with an emphasis on practical approaches to ministry in a new setting. Farris also gives clear advice on how to learn the new congregation and its setting, how to set appropriate personal and professional boundaries, and how to stay focused on what matters most in a new ministry. Lively, practical, and brief enough for the new pastor to have time to actually read it, Ten Commandments for Pastors New to a Congregation is a must-read both for pastors on the move and for individuals preparing for first-time ministry.

In Clergy Retirement: Every Ending a New Beginning for Clergy, Their Families, and Congregants, retirement is likened to a death experience, but much more. Besides saying goodbye to congregants, colleagues, and a career, it is equally important, as in any other loss, to take time to grieve aernd then to discover new meaning in life through which to reinvent oneself and grow to new heights. This book is a manual for transition into a new world as one approaches retirement. It not only encourages the retiree to think through the process of making new meaning, but offers practical suggestions of how to do so.

This one-of-a-kind resource in professional ethics helps today's Christian leaders maintain a high moral character and lifestyle and sharpen their personal and professional decision-making skills. Two experienced teachers and pastors address both current and perennial ethical issues and offer guidance for developing a personal code of ethics to maintain integrity in the work of ministry. The authors address the nature of ethical decision making as well as practical areas where integrity can be compromised, including issues raised by the use of smartphones and social media. Appendixes include codes of ethics from various denominations.

My journey as a pastor had quite a few ups and downs. Although there were many aspects of serving in full-time ministry that I loved, there were more things that happened along the way that made a negative impact on both myself and my family. After I resigned from the pastorate, it took several years of forgiving and getting plugged in to a healthy church before I really began to heal from the hurt. Whether you've spent your entire career as a pastor or if you have recently thrown in the towel, Why Pastors Quit is an easy-to-read book that will encourage you and make you ask the question: What can I do to help change the statistics?

Much has been written on the subject of leadership. For the most part the discussion has been on the principles of leadership i.e. how to be an effective leader while in office. This book is about the leader leaving office and how his/her departure affects him/her, the incoming leader and the members of the faith community or organization. A change of leader can be a very stressful experience for a congregation, particularly if the transition from one leader to another is poorly managed. This book examines the nature of leadership transitions primarily, though not exclusively, in the church, and provides ideas and suggestions for effectively managing these transitions for the benefit of all the stakeholders.

When Harry Potter first boards the Hogwarts Express, he journeys to a world which Rowling says has alchemy as its "internal logic." The Philosopher's Stone, known for its power to transform base metals into gold and to give immortality to its maker, is the subject of the conflict between Harry and Voldemort in the first book of the series. But alchemy is not about money or eternal life, it is much more about the transformations of desire, of power and of people--through love. Harry's equally remarkable and ordinary power to love leads to his desire to find but not use the Philosopher's Stone at the start of the series and his wish to end the destructive power of the Elder Wand at the end. This collection of essays on alchemical symbolism and transformations in Rowling's series demonstrates how Harry's work with magical objects, people, and creatures transfigure desire, power, and identity. As Harry's leaden existence on Privet Drive is transformed in the company of his friends and teachers, the Harry Potter novels have transformed millions of readers, inspiring us to find the gold in our ordinary lives.

New from the Best-Selling Author of Women of the Word Christianity isn't about following rules, it's about a relationship. The rise in popularity of this phrase coincides with a growing disinterest and misunderstanding regarding the role of God's life-giving, perfect law in the Christian life. Rather than the source of joy it was intended to be, the law is viewed as an angry god's restrictions for a rebellious people. In Ten Words to Live By, Jen Wilkin presents a fresh biblical look at the Ten Commandments, showing how they come to bear on our lives today as we seek to love God and others, to live in joyful freedom, and to long for that future day when God will be rightly worshiped for eternity. Learn to see the law of God as a feast for your famished soul, open to anyone who calls on the name of the Lord.