Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Firestorm by Ron Susek

I have just finished this book for my Managing Church Conflict class, which by the way begins next weekend in Dallas and I still have a paper to write and quite a lot of reading still to do. However, I digress. This has been a fabulous read. I have been struck by so many things and wanted to share at least one.

Susek believes that when a "pastor becomes the focus of legitimate complaints, almost inevitably the problem will be found in one of four areas: truth, relationship, integrity, or mission". He asserts that these are 4 pillars of strength that must stand relatively equal in height to balance the structure of ministry.
He goes further to say, "these pillars are not personality traits; they are responsibilities that must be fulfilled in relatively equal balance. Do you pick and choose between them, stating that one fits your personality while another doesn't? It's easy to insist that you just don't have the gift for the ones you don't like, but that's a lame excuse. God not only calls you to exercise areas in which you feel gifted, but also to develop the craft of ministering to all the needs of his people." Hmmm...

This is certainly a worthy read.

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