Anabaptistica
Southwestern Journal of Theology
Volume 56, No. 2 – Spring 2014
Managing Editor: Terry L. Wilder
By Gordon MacDonald. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2011. 250 pages. Paperback. $10.48.
The title of this work conveys the image of building a foundation that will support a life amidst the storms of ministry. With the wisdom of experience and the honesty of lessons learned through failure, Gordon MacDonald has written a timely work on timeless principles necessary for success in ministry.
With his normal ease-of-reading style and compelling illustrations, MacDonald brings the readers into his life and we look over his shoulder as he journals life-lessons. Some of the material, especially the chapter on the Root of Leadership, comes from some earlier writings by MacDonald, but fit within the scope of this work.
In one sense, this work can only have been written after a lifetime of ministry credentials. Knowledge learned from study is not the same as understanding gleaned from experience. In another sense, one imagines that this book was both a joy and struggle to write. MacDonald has chronicled many of the keys that have guided his ministry; but, he has also recounted some of the painful failures of his life.
The book is very generally comprised of two sections: the inner life of a leader and the outer life of a leader; though the sections tend to overlap much like these two aspects converge in the life of the minister. Each of the twenty-four chapters contains insights related to issues important for every servant of the Lord. The author deals with character issues, such as calling, character, motivation for ministry, integrity, compassion, prayer, temptation, and forgiveness; details of ministry, including late-night phone calls, dealing with difficult people, church growth, and church conflict; and leadership lessons on building trust, dealing with difficult issues, how to finish well, and how to leave effectively.
The two most compelling chapters in the book (“DNF: Did Not Finish,” and “Pastor’s Progress”) address the darkest moments of the author’s life and what God taught him through them. MacDonald is transparent about his own failures, expresses appropriate safeguards necessary for ministers, and is a testimony of the grace of the Lord. A follow-up section or chapter on how to help ministers who have failed to recover might have accentuated the value of these chapters.
This is not a book to be read through quickly. It needs to be digested slowly. These are safeguards. They are words to the wise; to those who have ears to hear. The goal is to allow others to learn from his experiences. The lessons are well-taught. I hope they are well-received.
