EMQ » Oct – Dec 2024 » Volume 60 Issue 4
Start to Finish: A Pastor’s Guide to Leading a Resilient Life and Ministry
By Mark Dance
B&H, 2023
175 pages
US$14.99
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Reviewed by Jonathan K. Dodson, theologian-in-residence in Dallas, Texas, and author of various books including The Unwavering Pastor and Here in Spirit.
There have been many reports about pastors leaving the ministry, but are they true? A Barna survey reported that 42 percent of pastors considered quitting ministry in 2022. However, Mark Dance helpfully points to a LifeWay survey that indicates only a 1.5 percent attrition in 2022. Then what’s all the burnout fuss about? Statistics don’t tell the whole story.
While some pastors fruitfully persevere in their call, others may live in fear. Those who remain in ministry while unhealthy often misuse their power, neglect their families, and offer poor spiritual leadership. Just because ministers keep their jobs doesn’t mean they are finishing well.
Experienced pastor and church planter Mark Dance wants to help pastors not only begin but also finish their ministries well. His book explores how pastors can practically fulfill their call by devoting themselves to Jesus’ “Greatest Commandments” (Mark 12:28–31): loving God and one’s neighbor.
The book helpfully describes “loving God first and foremost” with the four categories of Jesus: heart, soul, mind, and strength. In the heart category, Dance asks four penetrating questions worthy of reflection: Is my heart too hard? Is my heart too shallow? Is my heart too cluttered? Is my heart healthy?
These are the kinds of questions all pastors should regularly ask themselves. It would be wise to develop a rhythm of exploring these questions with church staff or with trusted friends so that all spiritual leaders can maintain a pulse on their health and cultivate a more life-giving love for God and his people. Similar practical questions and exercises are applied to the other ways we are called to love God and his church.
While Dance transparently describes his bout with clinical depression, it would have been helpful if he shared his struggles in greater detail. The book would have benefitted from more stories showing the struggle to cultivate health and how his principles have helped him and other ministers. Of course, spiritual health is not simply technique and story. It is spiritual health.
As an aspiring church planter, I was one time listening to Marty McGinn. About five minutes into his talk, he paused to lift a document from a stack of papers in front of him. The paper read, “Church planting is spiritual warfare.” He proceeded to give us insight into church planting, and then held up another sheet of paper that read, “Church planting is spiritual warfare.” He repeated this several times.
Pastoral ministry is also spiritual warfare. Dance helpfully brings this important observation into focus, but not in a simplistic or hyper-spiritual way. Instead, he practically, personally, and biblically encourages us to love the Lord above things that threaten to unseat this love. He rightfully emphasizes the importance of loving the Lord, but it would have been wonderful to see an equal emphasis on God’s love for us in Christ.
For Further Reading
A Burning in My Bones: The Authorized Biography of Eugene H. Peterson, Translator of The Message by Winn Collier (WaterBrook, 2021)
On the Brink: Grace for the Burned Out Pastor by Clay Werner (P&R, 2014)
EMQ, Volume 60, Issue 4. Copyright © 2024 by Missio Nexus. All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced or copied in any form without written permission from Missio Nexus. Email: EMQ@MissioNexus.org.
