The Unhurried Pastor: Redefining Productivity for a More Sustainable Ministry

by Brian Croft, Ronnie Martin

Overview

Being a pastor is not a regular 9-to-5 job. There is an unending list of important things to do as you seek to serve others sacrificially. The demands of ministry make it difficult to find a healthy rhythm of life and work, and can leave you running on empty. How can we develop a sustainable pattern of ministry that both honors the Lord and the people we care for and that will also protect us from burnout?

Ronnie Martin and Brian Croft have each spent decades pastoring churches and supporting ministry leaders. Here they encourage fellow shepherds to embrace a more present-focused, unhurried approach to ministry. They show how this starts with accepting their humanity, pursuing humility and remembering the hope they have in Christ. They also exhort pastors to fuel their ministry with self-awareness, prayer and contemplation of Jesus. 

After giving a framework for this approach to ministry, the authors offer lots of practical advice regarding prioritisation, managing schedules and cultivating supportive friendships. 

Read this book to deepen your joy, help yourself to serve others more effectively and continue serving God in ministry for many years to come. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781784989576
Publisher:	The Good Book Company
Publication date:	05/01/2024
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	5.31(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.51(d)

About the Author

Brian is the former Senior Pastor of Auburndale Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky and is the Founder of Practical Shepherding. He is also Senior Fellow for the Mathena Center for Church Revitalization and an Adjunct Professor at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has served in pastoral ministry for over twenty-five years, spending seventeen of those years as Senior Pastor of Auburndale Baptist Church. He and his wife Cara have four children.

Ronnie Martin is founder and lead pastor of Substance Church (EFCA) in Ashland, Ohio. Before pastoral ministry, Ronnie was an internationally known recording artist, producing and releasing over 15 albums for the Tooth and Nail Records label. In addition to pastoring Substance, Ronnie is also the Director of Leader Renewal for Harbor Network, a church planting collective based out of Louisville, Kentucky. He has authored 6 books, including The God Who Is With Us, and regularly speaks at conferences for pastors and church planters. Ronnie and his wife, Melissa, live in Ashland, Ohio, and have a daughter, Beth.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Part 1: Preparation

Chapter 1: Humanity

Chapter 2: Humility

Chapter 3: Hopefulness

Part 2: Power

Chapter 4: Self-Awareness

Chapter 5: Contemplation

Chapter 6: Prayer

Part 3: Pursuit

Chapter 7: Schedule

Chapter 8: Self-Care

Chapter 9: Silence

Chapter 10: Empathy

Chapter 11: Expectation

Chapter 12: Friendship

Conclusion

 

Editorial Reviews

The Unhurried Pastor provides a practical and biblical prescription for a healthy and productive pastoral ministry in the face of a discouraging diagnosis and pathetic prognosis of pastoral ministry. With their weathered honesty, authors Brian Croft and Ronnie Martin urge pastors to be about their Father’s business in an unhurried manner. Their work offers fresh, new ways for traditional and nontraditional pastors to reclaim spiritual disciplines that prioritize being over doing while encouraging sustainable pastoral journeys.

Robert Smith Jr (Charles T. Carter Baptist Chair of Divinity

This book is much more than a compendium of tips to slow down your life and ministry. It is an invitation to minister not just at the pace of Jesus but also in the presence of Jesus. Written from a trial-and-error perspective, Ronnie and Brian honestly examine how the practices of contemplation, prayer, and silence can work against our ingrained habits of speed and productivity in order to take us deeper into the wisdom of God. More importantly, they repeatedly draw out insight from Scripture to recalibrate our hearts to hum with grace. I hope you’ll read this book and pray as insights land on you in each chapter, so you can be formed on the spot by God’s beautifying word.

Jonathan K. Dodson (Author)

What Brian Croft and Ronnie Martin have accomplished for ministers here is astounding—a deeply personal work that sensitively reaches into the humanity of pastoral ministry while remaining rooted in the supernaturalizing ministry of the gospel. Slow down, read it prayerfully, and have your heart strengthened by grace.

Jared C. Wilson (Assistant professor of pastoral ministry

The Unhurried Pastor is a helpful and needed foundational guide for assisting pastors in structuring their life and work as a pastor. Brian Croft and Ronnie Martin’s wisdom offers a practical road map for forming a rule of life for pastors that will prevent pastoral burnout while fostering a truly Christ-centered human approach to pastoral ministry that has staying power and presence. This book is an essential read for young pastors and a needed refresher for pastors with years of ministry.

Richard Plass (Founder

This book is much more than a compendium of tips to slow down your life and ministry. It is an invitation to minister not just at the pace of Jesus but also in the presence of Jesus. Written from a trial-and-error perspective, Ronnie and Brian honestly examine how the practices of contemplation, prayer, and silence can work against our ingrained habits of speed and productivity in order to take us deeper into the wisdom of God. More importantly, they repeatedly draw out insight from Scripture to recalibrate our hearts to hum with grace. I hope you’ll read this book and pray as insights land on you in each chapter, so you can be formed on the spot by God’s beautifying word.

Jonathan Dodson (Author)

This book is much more than a compendium of tips to slow down your life and ministry. It is an invitation to minister not just at the pace of Jesus but also in the presence of Jesus. Written from a trial-and-error perspective, Ronnie and Brian honestly examine how the practices of contemplation, prayer, and silence can work against our ingrained habits of speed and productivity in order to take us deeper into the wisdom of God. More importantly, they repeatedly draw out insight from Scripture to recalibrate our hearts to hum with grace. I hope you’ll read this book and pray as insights land on you in each chapter, so you can be formed on the spot by God’s beautifying word.

Jonathan K. Dodson (Author

What Brian Croft and Ronnie Martin have accomplished for ministers here is astounding—a deeply personal work that sensitively reaches into the humanity of pastoral ministry while remaining rooted in the supernaturalizing ministry of the gospel. Slow down, read it prayerfully, and have your heart strengthened by grace.

Jared C. Wilson