Dave Kraft brings over forty years of ministry insight together with his work in eight different churches and para church organizations to give us a good little book on mistakes that leaders, especially pastors, often make in their ministries. He tells the story of one fictitious church and it's multiple ministry staff. Each staff member has a different mistake that they fall into and either overcome that mistake through prayer and Godly intervention or they fail and their ministry pays the price.
Some of the mistakes are allowing ministry and pride replace Jesus as the main point of our life. It may look good to be so heavily involved in ministry, but at what cost?
Another mistake is comparing yourself and your ministry to others and always trying to improve so that you can be "just like" or "better than" the other ministry. Instead Kraft points out our need to be humble and be content in our assignment from the Lord and to do our best to bring Honor and Glory to God instead of trying to "one up" some other ministry.
Other mistake is when we allow harmony amongst our body of believers and the staff to replace the real task of addressing conflict, addressing errors and at times making the hard decisions that might mean letting a staff person go or asking and Elder to step down. Why do we so often try to sweep issues under the rug instead of dealing with them? Usually everybody sees the "Elephant" on the table, so why not just address it.
This book is filled with practical ideas, practical solutions and down right honest writing that for some of us pastors may hit a little bit too close to home for our comfort. I know that it left me asking myself about my motives, my work, my work ethic and most importantly my relationship with Jesus.
I would highly recommend this quick read for any Pastor or Elder, especially recommended for those in Seminary who are preparing to enter into ministry, this book may help you keep from stumbling out of the gate when your race starts.
Enjoy!
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