E. Glenn Wagner, Escape from Church, Inc.: The Return of the Pastor-Shepherd, Zondervan, 1999.
Referenced in: Pastoral Care
LifeandLeadership.com Summary
Wagner skillfully demonstrates the shift of churches away from the community model toward the corporate model, and the shift of ministerial roles from pastor to CEO. He suggests a revival in which pastors return to being shepherds who follow the Chief Shepherd. He builds on the prophetic call of Jeremiah and Ezekiel to be “shepherds after God’s heart, who will lead with knowledge and understanding” (Jeremiah 3:15). This is followed by a theology of pastoring, a defense of the call of God, and a vision of the unique and glorious opportunity of shepherds. A helpful section at the end, “But Does it Work?” includes text interviews with prominent ministers who have made this shift in theology and practice, namely Glenn Blossom, David Fisher, Rick Kingham, John Piper, Russ Rosser, and Joseph Stowell.
From the Publisher
A call for pastors to return to their biblical calling as shepherds.
Escape from Church, Inc. calls pastor-leaders away from the business executive model of doing church and back to the model of a caring shepherd who tends his sheep.
Wagner offers a practical and biblically sound view of how pastors can become all God intended them to be and guides them into new vision, new values, and a new way of pastoring that begins not with doing, but with seeing and being.
About the Author
E. Glenn Wagner (D.Min.He has served as vice president for Promise Keepers. His books include Escape from Church, Inc., Your Pastor’s Heart, Strategies for a Successful Marriage, Seven Promises of a Promise Keeper, The Awesome Power of Shared Beliefs, and The Heart of a Godly Man.
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