Seek the Well-Being of the City
Pastoral Leadership in Community
- Church Leadership & Ministry
- Publisher: Cascade Books (Wipf and Stock)
- Published: 2025
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Publisher's Description
No one lives in a community that couldn't be better. But no one wakes up one day and magically knows exactly how to make the improvement happen. Congregational leaders have unique challenges and opportunities to strengthen and make more vibrant the places that they live. Engaging with the local context, rather than simply with one's congregation, enlarges pastoral imagination and can graft new life into the roots of moribund churches. This book is a guide for congregational leaders - including, (but not only) parish pastors -- who want to know how to learn about, engage, lead, and respond to their communities. There are countless ways to think up new programs for social engagement, or interventions to call attention to social problems. But this book helps leaders identify where their lever to move an obstacle is longest, where the most beauty and verdancy can be brought about to places that need it.
Endorsements (3)
“The authors describe this book—the fruit of a collaborative writing project among seasoned leaders—as a ‘love letter to pastors,’ and so it is! Readers enter into a lively conversation between wise clergy colleagues and mentors, examining the significance and challenges of ministry that at its best is both pastoral and political. In these realistic accounts of pastoral leadership grounded in the church’s call to care for the precious and complicated world that God so loves, new and experienced pastors and lay leaders will encounter surprising resonances, bracing practical wisdom, and a rekindled commitment to community well-being.”
“The truth that pastors need peers is often spoken and difficult to realize. This book is an inspiring how-to guide where seven practitioners-authors tell how they have formed pastor peer groups based on a common purpose—being ‘political pastors’ working for the good of their neighbors. Biblical reflection, practical tools, and stories are mixed in a way that provide something inspiring and challenging for anyone who cares for congregations and those who lead them.”
“Seek the Well-Being of the City is an excellent resource. I’ve never read anything just like it. Seven ecumenical pastors provide collaborative guidance for community building and pastoral care. Including practical and deeply insightful wisdom, the authors address dilemmas and shared congregational challenges. They draw from one another lessons of the past and offer to each other evidence-informed solutions. The authors synthesize their work into a tapestry of guidance, insight, and practice wisdom. Enjoy!”
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