{"product_id":"the-art-of-pastoring-ministry-without-all-the-answers-revised-9780830841042","title":"The Art of Pastoring: Ministry Without All the Answers (Revised)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNamed one of the Top Ten Books by the Academy of Parish Clergy\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHundreds of books, tapes, workshops and seminars promise to answer these impossible questions. Some offer a set of practical guidelines; others suggest a system or pattern to follow. Some stress various ministry functions; others feature case studies as models of success or failure. Some are helpful. Others are not. But in \u003ci\u003eThe Art of Pastoring, \u003c\/i\u003e David Hansen turns pastoral self-help programs on their heads. He tackles the perennial questions from within his own experience.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom the Inside Out\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHansen's fresh, bold narrative grows from nearly a decade of ministry. He draws you into his life and into the lives of Florence-Victor Parish in the mountains of Montana, including unforgettable encounters with unforgettable people--a stubborn pioneer woman who still chops her own firewood though she's blind and 90 years old, a championship rodeo cowboy who was baptized in his boots, and many more.Hansen's goal is to help you discover \"that pastoral ministry is a life, not a technology . . . [that] life as a pastor is far more than the sum of the tasks I carry out. It is a call from God that involves my whole life.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom Calling to Living Parable\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEvery pastor has encountered those who struggle to hear God's voice in a hospital room, who reach for Jesus in the sacraments. No systematic answers can meet their deep, eternal needs. What can touch them, Hansen contends, is a life itself, a life lived as a parable of Jesus. \"As a parable of Jesus Christ,\" Hansen writes, \"I deliver something to the parishioner that I am not, and in the process I deliver the parishioner into the hands of God.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt is this knack for getting to the heart of things that makes \u003ci\u003eThe Art of Pastoring\u003c\/i\u003e valuable for pastors in any setting--rural, suburban or urban. Parachurch workers, missionaries, church leaders and ministry volunteers will also find inspiration here.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn this significantly revised new edition, Hansen includes new insights into his view of pastorate as parable and adds a new postlude in which he comes clean on his \"constant attempts to leave the ministry.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eDavid Hansen\u003c\/b\u003e is pastor of Heritage Community Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. He has also pastored in Montana, the setting for many of the stories in this book. He has been a contributing editor for \u003ci\u003eLeadership Journal, \u003c\/i\u003e and is a frequent speaker at pastoral conferences.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"IVP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50492177776914,"sku":"9780830841042","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_2ef27580-5153-4ccf-b5c7-94e26b3295f1.jpg?v=1730575064","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-art-of-pastoring-ministry-without-all-the-answers-revised-9780830841042","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}