Studies reveal that many pastors are stressed out, discouraged, and tempted to leave the ministry. Giving practical advice and often drawing on examples from his own experience, Lowell O. Erdahl offers support and wise counsel for new and experience clergy alike. Erdahl shows that to provide life-giving ministries, pastors must develop ten key habits, including:
bonding with their people
having something to say and saying it well
becoming lifelong learners
picking their battles wisely and fighting them fairly
exercising gift-evoking leadership, and
respecting boundaries
"We are called in Christ to be life-giving pastors — proclaiming, bearing, and sharing in attitude, words, and action the new abundant, full 'Life,' with a capital L, that Christ came to give."