Good Pastors, Bad Pastors

Good Pastors, Bad Pastors
Author: Dela Quampah
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 245
Release: 2014-08-20
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 162564051X

The emergence of Pentecostalism in Ghana has attracted a massive following and generated institutions that have significantly impacted Christian discourse and national life. The movement has produced prominent leaders who have developed exemplary Christian education programs and generated volumes of Christian literature unprecedented in Ghanaian Christianity. Nevertheless, public opinion often upbraids church leaders for unethical conduct. Despite the concern for high moral standards set by Pentecostal church polity and ministerial ethical codes, reports of Pentecostal ministerial misconduct appear regularly in the media. Although congregation members and perceptive public observers appreciate the constructive moral impact of Pentecostal ministers, instances of promiscuity, power abuse, financial misappropriation, and superstition reveal a gap between ethical ideals and practice. As this research reveals, factors behind unethical ministerial conduct include inadequate training, poor accountability, and a general low level of ethical reflection. Good Pastors, Bad Pastors suggests that a multidimensional approach of responsible reportage, emphatic moral education, appropriate but sympathetic response to moral failure, and peer-review accountability could help uphold a higher standard of ministerial ethics.

Bad Pastors

Bad Pastors
Author: Anson D. Shupe
Publisher: NYU Press
Total Pages: 268
Release: 2000-08
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0814781470

Child-molesting priests, embezzled church treasures, philandering ministers and rabbis, even church-endorsed pyramid schemes that defraud gullible parishioners of millions of dollars: for the past decade, clergy misconduct has seemed continually to be in the news. Is there something about religious organizations that fosters such misbehavior? Bad Pastors presents a range of new perspectives and solidly grounded data on pastoral abuse, investigating sexual misconduct, financial improprieties, and political and personal abuse of authority. Rather than focusing on individuals who misbehave, the volume investigates whether the foundation for clergy malfeasance is inherent in religious organizations themselves, stemming from hierarchies of power in which trusted leaders have the ability to define reality, control behavior, and even offer or withhold the promise of immortality. Arguing that such phenomena arise out of organizational structures, the contributors do not focus on one particular religion, but rather treat these incidents from an interfaith perspective. Bad Pastors moves beyond individual case studies to consider a broad range of issues surrounding clergy misconduct, from violence against women to the role of charisma and abuse of power in new religious movements. Highlighting similarities between other forms of abuse, such as domestic violence, the volume helps us to conceptualize and understand clergy misconduct in new ways.

Good Pastor, Bad Fit

Good Pastor, Bad Fit
Author: Michael W. Palmer
Publisher: WestBow Press
Total Pages: 86
Release: 2023-08-20
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1973699036

Retracing his own spiritual journey while conducting interviews with other pastors, Michael W. Palmer examines the ability of pastors to maintain their pastoral authenticity through resignation and termination in Good Pastor, Bad Fit. The author explores best practices for dealing with internal church conflict and hostility that can lead to pastors quitting or being fi red. Get answers to questions such as: • How does congregational conflict and hostility suppress a pastor’s gifts? • What does it mean to practice authenticity as a pastor? • What lessons can pastors going through a life transition learn from the life of Job? The book emphasizes that it is imperative that pastors understand not only what they are vocationally, but also who they are related to their calling, especially when forced to consider transitioning from a church. The calling to be a pastor is not a simple matter of God “matching” a pastor with a specific congregation. It is about Him carefully placing a pastor within a body of believers where their God-given gifts can make disciples and glorify God.

Crushing

Crushing
Author: T. D. Jakes
Publisher: FaithWords
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2019-04-16
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9781455595372

Follow God's process for growth and learn how you can benefit from life's challenging experiences with this book by bestselling inspirational author T.D. Jakes. In this insightful book, #1 New York Times bestselling author T.D. Jakes wrestles with the age-old questions: Why do the righteous suffer? Where is God in all the injustice? In his most personal offering yet, Bishop Jakes tells crushing stories from his own journey-the painful experience of learning his young teenage daughter was pregnant, the agony of watching his mother succumb to Alzheimer's, and the shock and helplessness he felt when his son had a heart attack. Bishop Jakes wants to encourage you that God uses difficult, crushing experiences to prepare you for unexpected blessings. If you are faithful through suffering, you will be surprised by God's joy, comforted by His peace, and fulfilled with His purpose. Crushing will inspire you to have hope, even in your most difficult moments. If you trust in God and lean on Him during setbacks, He will lead you through.

The Imperfect Pastor

The Imperfect Pastor
Author: Zack Eswine
Publisher: Crossway
Total Pages: 177
Release: 2015-09-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1433549360

Pastors aren’t superheroes—they have fears and limitations just like everyone else. Zack Eswine knows this from personal experience and has a wealth of wisdom to offer those who feel like they don’t measure up. Written in a compelling memoir style, The Imperfect Pastor is full of insightful stories and theological truths that show how God works unexpectedly through flawed people. By talking honestly about the failure, burnout, pain, and complexities that come along with church ministry, Eswine helps pastors accept their human limitations and experience the freedom of trusting God’s plan for their church and life.

The Pastor's Kid

The Pastor's Kid
Author: Barnabas Piper
Publisher: The Good Book Company
Total Pages: 128
Release: 2020-01-06
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1784985252

Advice on how to care for pastors' kids and allow them to find their own faith and identity. Pastors' kids are often burdened by others' expectations, but there is a wonderful solution, both at home and in the church: grace. In this revised, refreshed version of Barnabas Piper's best-known book, the author candidly shares his own experiences as son of pastor and bestselling author John Piper, offering a challenge to our churches and to the families at their very heart: how to care for pastors' kids and allow them to find their own faith and identity. Foreword by John Piper.

Pastors in the Classics

Pastors in the Classics
Author: Leland Ryken
Publisher: Baker Books
Total Pages: 192
Release: 2012-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1441235884

Throughout the history of English literature, church ministers have figured prominently in novels, plays, morality tales, and even poetry. Pastors in the Classics is a unique, unprecedented collection of relevant literary masterpieces in which the pastor's experience is a major part of the story. Part 1 is a reader's guide to twelve important classics written over four centuries and covering seven different nationalities. Each chapter not only describes and interprets the work in question, it also highlights a specific feature of pastoral ministry explored in the work. Part 2 is a handbook that defines the canon of literary masterpieces that deal with the pastor's experience, offering reading suggestions for both ministers and lovers of literature. From the familiar (The Canterbury Tales; Cry, the Beloved Country; and The Scarlet Letter) to the lesser-known (Silence, Witch Wood) to the surprising (A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man), this collection uncovers the good, the bad, and the ugly ways in which pastors have been presented to the reading public for the past half millennium.

Calvin's Company of Pastors

Calvin's Company of Pastors
Author: Scott M. Manetsch
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 445
Release: 2015
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0190224479

In Calvin's Company of Pastors, Scott Manetsch examines the pastoral theology and practical ministry activities of Geneva's reformed ministers from the time of Calvin's arrival in Geneva until the beginning of the seventeenth century. During these seven decades, more than 130 men were enrolled in Geneva's Venerable Company of Pastors (as it was called), including notable reformed leaders such as Pierre Viret, Theodore Beza, Simon Goulart, Lambert Daneau, and Jean Diodati. Aside from these better-known epigones, Geneva's pastors from this period remain hidden from view, cloaked in Calvin's long shadow, even though they played a strategic role in preserving and reshaping Calvin's pastoral legacy. Making extensive use of archival materials, published sermons, catechisms, prayer books, personal correspondence, and theological writings, Manetsch offers an engaging and vivid portrait of pastoral life in sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century Geneva, exploring the manner in which Geneva's ministers conceived of their pastoral office and performed their daily responsibilities of preaching, public worship, moral discipline, catechesis, administering the sacraments, and pastoral care. Manetsch demonstrates that Calvin and his colleagues were much more than ivory tower theologians or "quasi-agents of the state," concerned primarily with dispensing theological information to their congregations or enforcing magisterial authority. Rather, they saw themselves as spiritual shepherds of Christ's Church, and this self-understanding shaped to a significant degree their daily work as pastors and preachers.

The Ultimate Guide to Christian Singleness

The Ultimate Guide to Christian Singleness
Author: Mark Ballenger
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Total Pages: 190
Release: 2017-11-03
Genre:
ISBN: 9781979126663

The Ultimate Guide to Christian Singleness covers a wide range of common questions Christians singles often have. Why am I still single? Is God calling me to a life of singleness? How can I use this season for God's glory? Is God punishing me with singleness because of my past sins? How can I find a godly spouse? This book is divided into four sections which cover the common phases of Christian singleness. It has 30 short chapters, each with three reflection questions meant for small group Bible studies or individual use.

The Heart of a Great Pastor

The Heart of a Great Pastor
Author: H. B. Jr. London
Publisher: Baker Books
Total Pages: 331
Release: 2006-09-05
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1441224068

The Heart of a Great Pastor salutes pastors everywhere--those wanting to take a fresh look at their ministries, as well as those just starting out. As the baton is passed to the "new breed of pastors," there is a great need to help them count the cost of serving Christ and equip them with the tools, wisdom, and encouragement from those who have gone before them. H.B. London, Jr., and Neil B.Wiseman bring their experiences and heart to pastors for such a task. To the "new breed," they ask: Do you have a mentor? Have you examined your unique call and place in society? Do you have buy-in from your spouse and children? Do you spend as much time in the Word and study as you do in the entrepreneurial pursuits of your ministry? Do you genuinely love people? Do you really understand how invested God is in you and how important it is for you to make it? Here is help for young pastors and their mentors to stay strong personally while taking churches to the edge of creative, imaginative newness for Christ while remaining safely anchored to the abiding and adventuresome gospel.