Patti Gibbons reviews "Inside the Mind of Youth Pastors"

Patti Gibbons over at YMX has reviewed Inside the Mind of Youth Pastors.

Here's a bit of what she had to say.

Chapter 10, "Before You Say Yes: A Chapter for Youth Pastors", is specifically written for youth pastors. It provides brief discussion of two principles to consider before accepting any church's offer. First, "A healthy church isn't in a hurry to hire a youth pastor"; and second, "You don't want to be someone else's rushed decision." The chapter concludes with a list of questions for a youth pastor candidate to ask of him/herself before accepting the offer.

Section 2 of Inside the Mind, "Getting into Your Youth Pastor's Head", contains some pointed management discussion aimed directly at senior pastors and offering advice for communications, mentoring, loyalty on the ministry team, and other issues that the author's work as a consultant for churches has consistently unearthed. While written for senior pastors, this section reveals systemic issues existing on many church staff teams, and would be a useful read and discussion for anyone in church leadership.

This book is a catalyst rather than a formula, and its danger would be that church leaders might stop the process when the questions got difficult or uncomfortable, leaving the youth pastor, and the youth of the church, in the rubble. I found Inside the Mind of Youth Pastors to be a quick and thought-provoking read from which church leadership and youth pastors alike can benefit, especially if read in an environment of on-going conversation about change

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