All who are led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons and daughters. 15 You didn’t receive a spirit of slavery to lead you back again into fear, but you received a Spirit that shows you are adopted as his children. With this Spirit, we cry, “ Abba, Father. ” 16 The same Spirit agrees with our spirit, that we are God’s children. 17 But if we are children, we are also heirs. We are God’s heirs and fellow heirs with Christ, if we really suffer with him so that we can also be glorified with him.
Pastors typically emerge from M.Div. programs with only one course under their belts having to do with the practical aspects of pastoral work. Most pastors are simply left to their own devices; the lucky ones learn while serving as an associate pastor of a large church or by finding a wise mentor somewhere else. Most have to figure it out on their own.
This is a practical guide for pastoral ministry offering counsel about a wide range of topics related to a pastor's professional ministry and personal life. Topics include beginning a new ministry, balancing one's personal life and ministry, wrestling with conflict, worrying about church finances, and preaching. This book can function as a textbook for the introduction to ministry course and as a field handbook or desk reference for pastors during their first five years or so of serving congregations.