The Unhurried Pastor

What Brian Croft and Ronnie Martin have accomplished for ministers here is astounding—a deeply personal work that sensitively reaches into the humanity of pastoral ministry while remaining rooted in the supernaturalizing ministry of the gospel. Slow down, read it prayerfully, and have your heart strengthened by grace. | This book is much more than a compendium of tips to slow down your life and ministry. It is an invitation to minister not just at the pace of Jesus but also in the presence of Jesus. Written from a trial-and-error perspective, Ronnie and Brian honestly examine how the practices of contemplation, prayer, and silence can work against our ingrained habits of speed and productivity in order to take us deeper into the wisdom of God. More importantly, they repeatedly draw out insight from Scripture to recalibrate our hearts to hum with grace. I hope you’ll read this book and pray as insights land on you in each chapter, so you can be formed on the spot by God’s beautifying word. | The Unhurried Pastor provides a practical and biblical prescription for a healthy and productive pastoral ministry in the face of a discouraging diagnosis and pathetic prognosis of pastoral ministry. With their weathered honesty, authors Brian Croft and Ronnie Martin urge pastors to be about their Father’s business in an unhurried manner. Their work offers fresh, new ways for traditional and nontraditional pastors to reclaim spiritual disciplines that prioritize being over doing while encouraging sustainable pastoral journeys. | The Unhurried Pastor is a helpful and needed foundational guide for assisting pastors in structuring their life and work as a pastor. Brian Croft and Ronnie Martin’s wisdom offers a practical road map for forming a rule of life for pastors that will prevent pastoral burnout while fostering a truly Christ-centered human approach to pastoral ministry that has staying power and presence. This book is an essential read for young pastors and a needed refresher for pastors with years of ministry. | Brian is the former Senior Pastor of Auburndale Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky and is the Founder of Practical Shepherding. He is also Senior Fellow for the Mathena Center for Church Revitalization and an Adjunct Professor at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has served in pastoral ministry for over twenty-five years, spending seventeen of those years as Senior Pastor of Auburndale Baptist Church. He and his wife Cara have four children.