By C. E. Moore
GENRE: PRACTICAL MINISTRY
PUBLISHER: BETHANY HOUSE
PUBLICATION DATE: MAY 2010
Charles Stone’s 5 Ministry Killers (And How To Defeat Them) is a great and practical tool for pastors and lay ministers alike. While many ministry leadership books are written from more anecdotal experience, Stone’s title provides a little more backbone with solid research conducted by Lifeway Research and the Barna Research Group. This provides 5 Ministry Killers with a more “across the board” perspective that allows ministry to be painted with broader strokes than might otherwise be expected.
The five “ministry killers” are as follows:
- Head-in-the sand mentality that denies existing problems.
- Emotional investment in the wrong issues.
- Unhealthy responses to ministry frustrations.
- A lone ranger attitude that says, “God and I can handle this.”
- Attitudes and actions that lead to lonely, hurting spouses.
With the exception of the first ministry killer, Stone commits a chapter to exposing each of these problems in the lives of the Christian minister and shows exactly how they present themselves and why they’re destructive. For instance, the first ministry killer explodes the notion that “everything is okay—that everyone always loves the pastor.” Research shows that many pastors are oblivious to problems that exist in their own churches. Meanwhile, the second ministry killer exposes how many pastors get bogged down by such things as organizational leadership, the discipleship health of others, and the relational well-being of his ministry. Stone does not suggest that these are bad things to focus on, rather that they eat up the time of so many ministers who feel it is their need to referee every issue that comes up in the local church. I found this particularly interesting in that many ministry books are about those exact 3 topics.
But, this book isn’t just about “the problem.” It is also a book about the solution. Thankfully, the solutions aren’t clinical. The solution has come from 30 years of ministry that Stone has taken part in. So, in many ways, this book ends up being a nice mentor for the new minister or the pastor on the verge of burnout.
The “across the board” perspective is, in my opinion, what works most for this title. It is silly to deny that rural, urban, suburban, and niche ministry are done in exactly the same manner. One can even look at Scripture and see that Jesus spoke in an agrarian culture, often using earthy illustrations in his parables. However, as thousands of pastors and non-pastors were polled across various spectrums—socio-economic, racial, cultural, etc.—certain “ministry killers” presented themselves in all locales and situations. Thus, I can hand this book to a minister in downtown Detroit as easily as I could hand it to a pastor in the suburbs of Orange County, California. The only potential liability of the book is in the title itself. We live in a world–including within the Christian sub-culture–that gives us so many steps or processes by which we can extricate ourselves from this or that particular difficulty. Effective habits to develop. Pitfalls to avoid. So, as a general rule, if I hadn’t been reviewing the title, I’d have skipped it if I saw it on the shelf among all the other “numbered” books. I freely admit, I’d have missed out on some valuable counsel for doing so. But, from a purely marketing standpoint, I think authors should avoid unintentionally communicating a “step-by-step ‘solution to your problem’ if you purchase my book” mentality. While the title of the book is practical and too the point–not needlessly artistic and nebulous–it could also cause someone who is disillusioned with “paint-by-numbers” leadership books to pass it up.
All told, 5 Ministry Killers (And How To Defeat Them) is a great resource. I believe it should be required reading for seminary students as they work their internships or prepare for full-time pulpit ministry. And, if you are a pastor who is about to throw in the towel on God’s call, let Stone’s seasoned words provide hope that the lion of ministry problems can be slain. This is well worth the time and effort.
Review title provided courtesy of Bethany House Publishers
