Pastors often feel that their ministry has a split personality. Torn between biblical models of preaching and pastoral care on the one hand, and secular models of administration and leadership on the other, they often feel as though they’re living separate lives. The result is confusion, ineffectiveness, and burnout.

It doesn’t have to be this way, says Jill Crainshaw. Congregational leaders can learn to develop better visions of what their ministry is about. They can draw on the best of biblical tradition and contemporary theory to become more effective and faithful in all aspects of their calling. They can partner with their congregations, bringing their personal sense of vocation and the congregation’s sense of its particular mission into agreement and harmony. Focusing on the ministries of proclamation, formation, and leadership, Crainshaw provides the reader with ways to develop more integrated, holistic, and hence healthy ways of serving God and leading God’s people.