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“There was never any dramatic moment of calling, but rather a gradual sense that God was giving me more and more opportunities and then affirming the ministry in many ways,” Horner said. During college, David worked with youth ministries in church and in a local high school’s Young Life program. He remembers seeing God working in his life and the lives of the youth with whom he was working. Thirty years later, he has written a book about seven of the most common challenges pastors face. A Practical Guide for Life and Ministry awas written with ministry workers in mind, but has thoughts and advice from which any believer can benefit. Four of the seven challenges that David focuses on are things each believer struggles with from time to time: fighting spiritual dryness, cultivating humility, dealing with change and growing through times of trouble or failure in life. “The other sections can also be helpful in that everyone who has been called by God to do something needs to understand a comprehensive vision of God’s plan for their lives and should recognize the value of working with others in a team context,” Horner said. David has been the pastor of Providence since it was a small church plant in October 1978. He remembers the excitement during the first months of the church and the anticipation with each gathering of believers. But like anyone in a new job, there are things Pastor Horner wished he known. “I wish I had known the importance of giving more time and attention to building vision into that initial leadership team and helping them understand the scope of what we were looking for God to do,” Horner said. “Because we focused on reaching out quite a bit, sometimes our efforts to get new folks to come overshadowed the need of those who were already there for more in-depth teaching and mentoring on what God had called us to do.” During this time, David was reading everything he could on biblical models for ministry and putting together the basic principles for ministry that Providence still uses today. As the church has grown, these values helped shape the church and build a foundation that is still used today. Horner has found that other pastors face many of the same problems and challenges. Each month he meets with a group of pastors from churches of all sizes. During this meeting the pastors talk through and about the challenges they and their churches are facing. “The issues are largely the same regardless, because the common factors are the same,” Pastor Horner said. “Dealing with your own heart, struggling to make sense of God’s plans and His will, figuring out how to work with people…The size of the church, the length of time in ministry, even the kind of church does not alter the applications and principles.” When asked what he desires readers to take away from his book, one word comes to mind: hope. “Ministry will always be taxing and demanding and take its toll physically, emotionally, spiritually and even impacting our family life, social network and our ‘on-call’ lifestyle,” Horner said. “I want them to realize that life in Christ cannot be compartmentalized and that we do not have to drown in the work of ministry God has given us.” Pastor Horner encourages everyone to think about who might also benefit from this book. Pass it on to family members who belong to other churches so they can give it to their own pastor as a way to encourage them. “If I can help one pastor or ministry leader avoid some of the mistakes I have made, it will be worth all the work that went into this project,” Horner said. The new book is available in the Providence Online Resource Center at www.providence-sermons.com. When you buy a copy of A Practical Guide for Life and Ministry for $16, you’ll also receive a free copy of Firmly Rooted, Faithfully Growing, also by David. |
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