Calvin Miller - Letters to a Young Pastor

What people are saying about

Letters to a Young Pastor

Young pastors today crave direction in their calling, looking to older pastors for sage advice and asking, What do you know now that you wish you knew when you first began your ministry? As a young pastor, I was delighted when I heard about this book. When the experience of a seasoned pastor intersects with the potential of a young pastor, it is good soil for healthy fruit to flourish. Spending a week with Calvin Miller would be ideal; reading this book is the next best thing.

J. R. Briggs, blogger, pastor and cultural cultivator of The Renew Community (Lansdale, Pennsylvania), and founder of The Epic Fail Pastors Conference

Calvin Miller is passionate about ministry, and in Letters to a Young Pastor , he is transparent as he offers wisdom born out of experience: the struggles, frustrations, times he wanted to quit, joys, victories, failures. Laced with his wonderful sense of the ridiculouseven in himselfhis authenticity comes through loud and clear. This book is a treasure of practical wisdom and insight and should be read by anyone in ministry: young or old, experienced or novice, man or woman, pastor or layperson.

Ruth Bell Graham, speaker, founder of Ruth Graham & Friends, and author of In Every Pew Sits a Broken Heart

We need more mentors who are weathered, not jaded, by the journey of ministry. Calvin Miller honors the centuries-old model of an experienced Paul speaking to a pastoral profession teeming with Timothys. Burnout, denominationalism, sexual integrity, the pressure of preaching, difficult peopleCalvin speaks openly to it all! He offers proof that one can both survive as a pastor and thrive as a child of God.

Deron Spoo, lead pastor of First Baptist Church of Tulsa

Calvins new book is a gift to a generation of young leaders who are palpitating with zeal and are absolutely desperate for knowledge. This book is earthy, practical, and filled with the kind of transcendent wisdom that is only earned in the trenches. Calvin Miller is a sage, and his Letters to a Young Pastor is must-reading for anyone with a ministerial call.

Johnnie Moore, vice president and campus pastor at Liberty University and author of Honestly: Really Living What We Say We Believe

Calvin Miller is a gift to the church, and in this book, he gives a gift to young pastors. This collection of letters will make you smile and challenge your heart. Its a great read from a great thinker, bringing decades of experience to those who need it most.

Ed Stetzer, www.edstetzer.com

In a day and age when consumer ideology, business language, and competitive ambition are prevalent in the church, this book is an important defense and an invaluable help in the shaping of a biblical pastoral imagination. Calvin Miller sends a clarion call to keep the church centered on Jesus in both message and practice. My hope is that Iand every pastor young and oldheed his sage advice.

Aaron Stern, college and twentysomethings pastor at New Life Church, founder of the LEAD Network, and author of Whats Your Secret?

There is something in this book to offend almost everyone, from John Piper to Brian McLaren. But there is also a lot of gospel truth and hard-won wisdom from a pastor-professor who loves Jesus and His church with all his heart. This is the irrepressible Calvin Miller at his best.

Timothy George, founding dean of Beeson Divinity School of Samford University and general editor of the Reformation Commentary on Scripture

There are only a handful of literary stylists writing in Christian circles today. Calvin Miller stands at the top of that list. This little book is destined to become a classic, not just required reading for every pastor, but a devotional classic for the priesthood of all believers. Once youve read it, you cant imagine life without it.

Leonard Sweet, Drew Theological School, George Fox Evangelical Seminary, sermons.com

My age, wrote Shakespeare, is as a lusty winter / Frosty, but kindly. Old, echoes Calvin Miller, is good, and very self-protective. To his renowned gifts of eloquence and intellect, Calvin Miller now adds a new element: the old mans curmudgeonly privilege of saying exactly what he thinks! Here the reader will find pulpit clarity devoid of political correctness and ruthless honesty that fears neither deacons nor denominations. Miller skewers the foibles of the faithful even as he undergirds his tough lessons with a tougher love. His honesty with his calling and with himself both alarm and disarm his fellow pilgrims through ministrys slough of despond. His humor is not a punch line tacked on for entertainment but a lifeline tied on for survival. In these pages, young pastors will find instant experience, and veteran pastors will find a voice for their own frustrations. It is Richard Baxter with a sense of humor, fastball theology with a knuckleball delivery.

Dr. Doug Jackson, assistant professor of spiritual formation and director of programming for the Corpus Christi, Texas, campus of Logsdon Seminary

Those who have read Pagan Christianity? may be wondering how I could endorse a book that tries to help pastors survive the modern pastorate. My answer is twofold. First, even though countless pastors will leave the modern pastor system out of personal conscience (or for some other reason), many will not. It is to the many in this group that I heartily commend this book because I believe it will help them. Second, Calvin Miller is one of the greatest writers this century has produced. So not only is it an honor to endorse a book of his, but more, the writing alone makes this work a pleasure to read.

Frank Viola, author of Revise Us Again , From Eternity to Here , and Reimagining Church , www.frankviola.org

These letters from Calvin Miller to young pastors grab my attention because three out of four new seminary graduates seeking a pastorate find themselves in town and country churches. Young rural pastors: These letters are like having a seasoned veteran sit beside you, discussing your new life and ministry with youcandid, unvarnished, transparent yet folksy and laced with humor. Read slowly and digest carefully!

Dr. Ron Klassen, speaker, executive director of Rural Home Missionary Association, and author of No Little Places

Letters to a Young Pastor is warm advice from a preacher come clean. Miller distills fifty years of pastoral experience into a collection of letters that addresses topics from the hallowed halls of anticipation to the dusty pews of realization. As a storytelling genius, Miller avoids flat prosaic propositions and offers instead a glimpse into a lifetime of ministry disappointments and triumphs. Finally, a book on pastoral theology and leadership for the rest of us.

Tony Celelli, Bill McGregor Professor of Pastoral Ministry and Leadership and president of The South Texas School of Christian Studies

Every young pastor needs a mentor. Calvin Miller becomes a wise and experienced guide to all who will read his thought-provoking letters at the beginning of their pastoral journey.

David W. Hull, pastor of First Baptist Church , Huntsville, Alabama

Calvin Miller writes letters of encouragement, wise counsel, and hard-earned advice to young or newly graduated ministers. Each letter develops a theme important to young pastors trying to find their way through the challenges of leading congregations. Calvin offers insights about ministry from small rural churches to megachurches, from traditional to emergent. In the Miller style we have come to know and enjoy, he creatively synthesizes stories, quotations, and personal vignettes to introduce and illustrate the point of each letter. Millers use of images and metaphors provides a model of creative communication. Every minister will find nuggets of gold for leading their people in a closer walk with Jesus.