About the Book

A friend said, "Preachers who write books are on ego trips." He had my undivided attention.

"The smartest pastor I ever knew,"he said, "never wrote a book. When someoneasked why, he said, 'There's no need. Everything I have to say has already been said by people smarter than me.'"

I knew the preacherhe was referencing and told him I disagreed. I mentioned several reasons.

I'm not saying ego is not a factorin writing a book, as it is in almosteverything we do. I admit it gives me a good feeling to hold the completed book in my hand.

But I wish that pastor (who had refusedto write a book) had given us his unique slant on theministry, on scripture, on biblical stories, and on the churches he pastored. I knew him fairly well and treasured his service to our Lord.

Two of the churchesthis good brotherserved mistreated him. I'd love to have his account, as only he could have told it.

The next generation of church leaders benefit from knowing how God's preachers dealt with issues they faced. Paul's First Epistle to theCorinthians is exactly that. If no problems had existed in the churchat Corinth, no epistle would have been written to deal with them. Think how much poorer we would be.

I try to write the occasional book. Having been in the Lord's work for over six decades, I have seen a few things during those years, carry scarsfrom several encounters with church people, and have learned some lessonsalong the way. If nothingelse, the scars qualify me to record my story. As Second Corinthians 11 records Paul's account of his scars, wounds, hardships, among other things these enhanced his authority in addressing God's churches.

Ego trip? I certainly hope it's more than that. Some of these books will travel to distant states and even foreign lands, places where I will never venture. And some, I hope, will journey into the future and speak to future generations. Any pastor would love for that to happen.

A line in the Psalms puts it as well as anything I know... This will be written for the generation to come, That a people yet to be created may praise the Lord. (Psalm102:18)

I encourage my pastor friends to write. Write your memoirs, tell us what you have learned, give us your insights into Scripture, share what's bugging you, and by all means, explain what thrills and excites you about ministering in Jesus' name. You have so much to share.

The pastor who writes only about all the glowing successes he has had along the way will soon discover no one wants to read it. The simple fact is it's boring. It's the struggles, the hardships, the trials, the challenges-the conflict! -that makes it so interesting and so helpful. So, pastorswill find a ready audiencewhen they talk about the hardest churchthey pastored, the worst sermon they preached, the most difficult business meeting they moderated, the poorest relationships they experienced in the ministry.

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This book is neither an account of my failures or successes, but rather a collection of memorable stories, biblical insights, helpful suggestions and lasting reminders I'd like to leave with those our Lord has called into the pastorate.