Solo Pastor

L. McIntosh Gary

Description

Being a pastor is a complex and demanding role, especially for someone leading alone. The majority of pastors find themselves in this position, leading their smaller church with no additional professional assistance. The challenges are many, including loneliness, isolation, self-doubt, overwhelm, feelings of inadequacy, and a constant search for additional resources and volunteers. Where does a solo pastor turn for help and encouragement?With compassion and plenty of proven, practical strategies, church consultant and former solo pastor Gary L. McIntosh steps in to fill the void. In this book he helps the solo pastor· understand the strengths and challenges of the solo-pastor church· develop effective leadership skills· build and maintain vital relationships· manage expectations· spot and neutralize "bullies" who seek to control the church· communicate clearly· make the most of limited resources· establish healthy priorities and boundaries· and more

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie

Informations

• Publié par: Baker Publishing Group
• Date de parution: 31 janvier 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781493437702
• Langue: English

Extrait

Endorsements
Praise for The 10 Key Roles of a Pastor
“I’ve never been one to wear hats. Some say it’s because my head is too big, but that’s another story. However, Dr. Gary McIntosh has helped me realize that to lead more effectively as a pastor I must wear various hats. In this book, hats represent the roles of a pastor, and I’ve never seen them defined so clearly. This book will help you lead better as soon as you engage it. We will be studying the book as a staff, and I encourage you to take a deep dive into the wisdom of my good friend Dr. McIntosh. Now that I think about it, I’ve never tried on a cowboy hat. I wonder if they have one in my size . . .”
Dr. Nelson Searcy , author and founding/teaching pastor, The Journey Church, New York City
“Pastors bearing a heavy load of demands and pressures have just been given a gift! This book simplifies the work of leading a church and is a practical tool for moving into an uncertain future.”
Tom Harper , publisher, BiblicalLeadership.com; author of Servant Leader Strong: Uniting Biblical Wisdom and High-Performance Leadership
“Gary is known as a down-to-earth writer who provides principles that any pastor can use. He does not disappoint in this book. All pastors would agree with the ten key roles he identifies. The illustrations he shares come from his wealth of experience working with churches of all sizes. You will find the information about prioritizing your hats very helpful in implementing the insights provided.”
Dr. Phil Stevenson , district superintendent, PSW Movement
Praise for What Every Pastor Should Know
“I love pastors. I am humbled by the fact that pastors often come to me for advice and wisdom. Now I have a resource that answers so many of their questions. This book is fantastic! There is no doubt that it will be on my shelf as a reference for years to come.”
Thom S. Rainer , founder and CEO of Church Answers
“ What Every Pastor Should Know is an invaluable reference book. Its value lies in being well researched, comprehensive, specific, and practical. It is also user friendly in listing so many guidelines and rules to help church leaders keep on course and not become sidetracked.”
Eddie Gibbs , Donald A. McGavran Professor Emeritus of Church Growth at Fuller Seminary
“A wealth of insights for pastors on the day-to-day issues of leading an effective church.”
Ed Stetzer , Billy Graham Distinguished Chair of Church, Mission, and Evangelism at Wheaton College
Praise for Growing God’s Church
“Gary McIntosh is one of the leaders in research on growing churches. Anyone who is interested in knowing about growing churches should read this book. Everyone who is interested in actually working in a growing church needs to read this book.”
Elmer L. Towns , cofounder and vice president, Liberty University
“A true gift to the kingdom. Every leader with a desire to fulfill the Great Commission should read Growing God’s Church as soon as possible. The takeaways are revolutionary for the way we do outreach today.”
Nelson Searcy , lead pastor of The Journey Church, New York City, founder of www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com, and author of The Renegade Pastor
Title Page
Copyright Page
© 2023 by Gary L. McIntosh
Published by Baker Books
a division of Baker Publishing Group
PO Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.bakerbooks.com
Ebook edition created 2023
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4934-3770-2
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org
Scripture quotations labeled ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2016
Scripture quotations labeled TLB are from The Living Bible, copyright © 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Baker Publishing Group publications use paper produced from sustainable forestry practices and post-consumer waste whenever possible.
Dedication
To Dr. Glen S. Martin September 3, 1953–July 8, 2021 A faithful pastor who inspired me; a loving colleague who supported me; a close friend who encouraged me.
Contents
Cover
Endorsements 1
Title Page 3
Copyright Page 4
Dedication 5
Take Lessons First 9
PART 1 The Solo Pastor Learns to Fly 15
1. Go Solo 17
2. Understand Solo Churches 29
3. Explore Solo Leadership 41
PART 2 The Solo Pastor Meets the People 51
4. Build Relationships 53
5. Stop Playing Fetch 66
6. Check Bullies 77
PART 3 The Solo Pastor Takes Charge 91
7. Communicate Well 93
8. Establish Direction 104
9. Manage Resources 117
PART 4 The Solo Pastor Stays Healthy 127
10. Set Priorities 129
11. Conquer Fear 141
12. Redeem Stress 153
Take Flight 169
Notes 183
About the Author 185
Back Ads 187
Back Cover 192
Take Lessons First
If you want to fly an airplane, take lessons first.
—Anonymous
S o, you want to learn to fly? Let me tell you a little secret that most pilots won’t tell you. It’s really easy to fly an airplane. It takes training, of course, but with about twenty hours of instruction, you’ll know the basics and be ready to take off on your own. It takes many more hours and a lot more practice to master flying an airplane, but committing to a few steps will get you a private pilot’s license. A few more hours and you’ll have your instrument rating, and with even more hours you’ll have a commercial pilot’s license.
One of the steps in obtaining a private pilot’s license is flying solo. After hours of reading manuals, listening to class lectures, and sitting alongside an instructor, the novice flyer must demonstrate their ability by flying the plane alone. It’s called going solo or sometimes simply soloing. It means to do something alone, without an instructor.
The day a novice flyer solos is always an exciting one. While fledgling flyers are always a bit nervous, they anticipate being in the air controlling the plane alone. For most, soloing goes smoothly. They take off, fly their route, and return to the airport with little problem. For one of my friends, it was, well, more than exciting. His solo flight went just as planned until he tried to land at the airport. He touched down on the grass just short of the paved runway. Unfortunately, the grass was soggy from a recent rain and the tires dug deeply into the turf, causing the plane to flip over on its top. He found himself hanging upside down, supported only by his seat belt harness. Airport firefighters came to his rescue, and he was helped out of the plane with no injuries, except of course to his pride!
You may not desire to fly an airplane, but people other than pilots fly solo. Salespeople go out alone to call on clients, entrepreneurs start new businesses by themselves, and pastors lead churches without other pastoral (professional) help. And just like with flying an airplane, if you want to pastor a church solo, it’s best to take lessons first.
Pastoral training comes in many forms. An aspiring pastor often attends school—Bible school, college, university, seminary—to learn the basics of Bible study, sermon preparation, pastoral care, and other aspects of pastoral ministry. The tradition of learning lessons in a class setting has a long history going back to Elijah and his school of prophets. Throughout the centuries, training has gone through numerous iterations and is commonly required for entry into pastoral ministry in denominations and associations of churches. While some church groups require pastors to have an academic degree, others are happy to appoint or call those who demonstrate just a clear call to ministry, with training taking place on the job or through mentoring by more experienced pastors. It’s common for pastors in such groups to experience a call to ministry and jump in with no training (or very little). In any case, no person is ever trained to be a pastor by getting a degree. Pastoral training is an ongoing process that happens through practice and life experience.
Whatever level of training a potential pastor obtains, it never seems to be enough. Allow me to use myself as an example. I look back at my ministry experience beginning in high school. As the student leader of my church’s youth group, I had the opportunity to teach, preach, and guide the group. In college I served as a youth pastor in two different churches and worked for a year as a pastoral assistant in another church before graduating with a BA in biblical studies. While in seminary, I served four years as a Christian education pastor. After graduating with my MDiv, I felt I was ready to be the lead pastor of a church. There weren’t many job opportunities that year for recent seminary graduates, but a friend recommended me to a congregation who called me to be their pastor. Since I had no other offers, I decided it would be a good place to start, since I’d be preaching and teaching on a regular basis. I assumed my years of experience in church ministry were sufficient for me to lead the church, even though I was the solo pastor.
It took just a few months for me to realize I was in trouble. While seminary provided a fine education (I was doing my own translation from the Greek for my sermons like my professors had taught me), it didn’t prepare me for pastoring alone. The church was influenced by two families who comprised one-third of the cong