Ancient Wisdom, Living Mission
Preparing Ministers of the Gospel for Word and Work Through the Pastoral Training Model
- Church Leadership & Ministry
- Publisher: Wipf and Stock
- Published: 2026
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Publisher's Description
Pastoral burnout and dropout have reached crisis levels across the church. Ancient Wisdom, Living Mission presents a grant-funded, research-based response to this challenge. Supported by the Lilly Endowment through the D. James Kennedy Institute of Reformed Leadership, Michael A. Milton introduces the Pastoral Training Model—a comprehensive, post-seminary framework grounded in biblical theology, historical wisdom, and peer-reviewed research. Integrating apprenticeship, scholarly reflection, pastoral family care, peer support, and local church formation, the model offers a practical pathway for sustaining pastors and strengthening congregational health. Written for pastors, church leaders, and theological educators, this book provides a hopeful vision for shepherding the shepherds for lifelong ministry.
Endorsements (4)
“Most ideas fail at the implementation stage. They lack the steps to turn ideas into action. In this work we find the Pastoral Training Model and the steps and stages that a pastor, and those he leads, can move through across the stages of a pastoral career to they grow and thrive as shepherds. As pastors continue to burn out at alarming rates, Michael Milton offers a compelling and comprehensive solution that is fully implementable.”
“I am delighted to see this valuable work from Dr. Milton published! We have been colleagues in the academy and the army for over twenty-five years, and I had the joy of serving on his doctoral committee at Erskine. His deep concern for guiding seminary students and young ministers fills a gap in theological training, bringing academy and church together as partners ‘to shepherd the shepherds who will shepherd the sheep.’”
“The calling, dreams, and hard work of becoming a faithful pastor too often end in a painful demise. This we know. Dr. Milton gives us a hopeful answer and shows us how to defeat burnout by leaning into ancient truth while incorporating objective data driven strategies of success.”
“Dr. Milton has done the church a genuine and needed service. Ancient Wisdom, Living Mission names a crisis every pastor knows—the gap between what seminary teaches and ministry demands. Here’s a remedy rooted in Scripture and tested in practice that we should all heed. Its relevance reaches from those just beginning the great adventure of ministry to those responsible for raising up the next generation of pastors.”
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