Letters to a Young Pastor

Speaking out of twenty-seven years of pastoral ministry, Ian Stackhouse writes a series of letters to a young pastor just starting out. Responding to the various challenges his young charge faces in the first few years of congregational leadership, Letters to a Young Pastor is something of a spiritual reflection on leadership in the context of Christian ministry. To say that the letters are addressed to a fictitious pastor is not to say that the issues are unreal. Letters to a Young Pastor addresses matters that anyone in leadership eventually has to face. It seeks to offer encouragement and practical wisdom, but also an insight into the inner world of a person wrestling with the demands of a vocational life. In this sense, Letters to a Young Pastor has relevance to anyone who is seeking to remain faithful to a calling, whether ecclesial or not, in a world dominated by consumerism, formulas, and success.
""Wisdom infused with love fills Ian's book of letters to a young minister, and there is no doubt that leaders of every kind of Christian church will find it profoundly helpful. Personally, I hope everyone will read it. So warm, so honest, so constructively flexible.""
--Adrian Plass, author of The Sacred Diaries of Adrian Plass
""I love this book, as much for its form as its content. Casting mature wisdom in the form of a series of letters makes it warm, personal, and utterly digestible. Here is a splendid and realistic exploration of what it means to minister in today's world. Enjoy it.""
--Nigel G. Wright, Principal Emeritus, Spurgeon's College London, and author of How to be a Church Minister
""Ian Stackhouse makes clear that he is a pastor's pastor. Letter after letter is filled with incisive wisdom and gentle humor. As a new pastor in my mid-twenties, I needed a voice like Ian's to smooth my leadership path and to help me frame my learning, and I wish I'd had the benefit of his mentoring at that time. I therefore commend wholeheartedly this book to other pastors: you need this book in your library and I shall be telling my students the same!""
--Chloe Lynch, Lecturer in Practical Theology, London School of Theology
""This jewel of a book is a veritable cornucopia of wisdom and helpful insights into one of the most challenging vocational ministries that any human being can be called into. You will not find any formulas for success or quick wins in this book. What you will find are piercing questions that require ruthless self-examination, eye-opening perspectives that have taken a lifetime in ministry to learn, plus survival techniques that will serve you well in times of testing and troubled waters. Young and more experiences pastors would do well to make it a must read.""
--Eddie Lyle, President of Open Doors UK and Ireland
Ian Stackhouse is Senior Minister of Millmead, Guildford Baptist Church, UK. His PhD thesis, The Gospel-Driven Church (2004), is now used as a textbook in theological faculties and seminaries. His most recent publication is Praying Psalms: A Personal Journey through the Psalter (2018).