The authors combine clinical psychology and spiritual direction to create a practical model of spirituality that integrates theology, psychology, and an understanding of individual frailties in a new way. Spiritual Wholeness draws on counseling experience with more than 400 clergy and pinpoints the human problems, traps, and temptations awaiting those who choose the clergy role. Clergy will learn to develop and maintain a psychologically healthy spirituality...

Pastors say goodbye to congregations. Sometimes their goodbyes are timely and sweet; sometimes they are jarring and painful. But as they leave, they face a unique journey of grief, one shaped by their role. They face both the outward grief of leaving people behind and the inward grief of leaving an identity behind. In “The Graceful Exit”, Lutheran pastor Mary Lindberg shares insights from her experience of ending her service to a congregation,...

Pope John Paul II - Tear down your wall of sins. A Spider Trap, the sequel to Don't Holler at Me, I Didn't Write the Bible, gives a vivid crisis of the problems that are embedded throughout the Christian Bible that dove-tail precisely with the problems that are embed in the clergy within the Roman Catholic Church, as well as all denominations of religion established that are of the Christian faith. Don't Holler at Me, I Didn't Write the Bible first...

As increasing numbers of young women are discerning a call to ministry, entering seminary, graduating, and searching for the call to a parish or other ministry setting, they need to be aware of the realities that face them. “The Girlfriends' Clergy Companion” is about the nitty gritty of ministry for young female clergy-how to maintain a sense of personal style, what it's really like to be a solo pastor, how to date, what to do when they're ready...

Twenty years after “Critical Moment of Ministry” was first published, Loren Mead returns to his groundbreaking work on one of the most important times in a congregation's life-the time between one pastor's leaving and another's arrival. In this edition of “A Change of Pastors”, Mead shares the wisdom he gained from 35 years of studying congregations, wisdom that he hopes will allow congregations to take full advantage of this "extraordinarily...

Fulfilling the demands of clergy persons when a member dies is both diverse and challenging. Presumptions are made as to your expertise and prior experience with similar circumstances. But what happens when expectations are higher than your preparation, who can you turn to for support? I offer the Ringmaster as a tool to help you navigate the waters. This book is an intimate look at actual death and grief events and examples of the care provided...

Asking parishioners for money is very different from creating congregations of generous people. In this provocative book, stewardship consultant Michael Durall argues convincingly that annual pledge drives inadvertently perpetuate low-level and same-level giving in congregations. Written with the voice of experience, this book will help clergy and lay leaders initiate and sustain effective stewardship programs. Durall believes that asking for money...

Rev. Anne Barber takes an in-depth look at a difficult subject for Christians to talk about. Since the first Christian flocks were formed, the cause of Christ has been hurt by predatory shepherds. Much media attention is given to the fallen pastor when his sins are exposed, but what becomes of the sheep that he seduced and morally abused? Pastor Anne offers words of compassion, understanding, and healing to help these sheep regain a sense of self-value...

Many professional ministers struggle at some point with the desire to pursue another career. For those at such a place on their journey, this book poses questions, offers practical suggestions gathered from other ministers who have traveled this path, and shares insights from the authors' own experiences of career change. The authors emphasize two principles. First, entertaining the possibility of leaving professional ministry is not to be condemned...

"A new Gilead novel that tells the story of John Ames Boughton, the beloved, erratic, and grieved-over prodigal son of a Presbyterian minister from Gilead, Iowa"--