Description
How to Remain Joyful about Ministry Despite Inevitable Challenges
Life in ministry is not detached from disappointment. Threats to one's integrity, harmful expectations from celebrity culture, and the tendency toward loneliness, insecurity, and pain can put a strain on ministry leaders. How can they remain faithful to their work for Christ's kingdom without letting bitterness seep in?
Joyful Perseverance encourages ministry leaders to rely on God's grace to find joy, energy, and the freshness to serve well, despite inevitable disappointments. It offers practical ways to combat the negative effects of ministry such as embracing God's joy-giving presence, guarding one's integrity, leaning into one's God-given identity, groaning with God, settling sin issues through repentance and forgiveness, cultivating friends, and more. By adopting a life of thanksgiving, readers will experience abundant joy, resulting in an ongoing passion for ministry.
Written to Pastors, Elders, and Ministry Leaders: Intended to help people joyfully stay in their ministry role despite discouragement and struggle
Empathetic: Written by veteran ministry leader Ajith Fernando, this book addresses the inevitable difficulties presented to ministry leaders
Concise: This short format makes this book practical and accessible for busy leaders
Foreword by Thomas R. Schreiner
Endorsements
"What a lovely little book! I have a few books like this in my library that I return to often, so it is a delight to add to that collection this gentle encouragement to have a refreshing life, or maybe a life that is constantly being refreshed. Ajith Fernando will encourage you with his wisdom, from a lifetime on the front lines. I'm thankful for this gift to weary Christians."
Paul E. Miller, author, A Praying Life; J-Curve; and A Praying Church
"Joyful Perseverance is a gift that beautifully arises out of Ajith Fernando's reflections on over forty years of Christian ministry. As it turns out, our ministries are not sustained by career advancements, titles, or platform opportunities. Rather, we persevere through union with Christ who grants us the deeper gifts of grace and gratitude in the midst of times of sorrow and lamentation. This book is a treasure for those who long for a ministry that is punctuated not by burnout and despair but instead by joyful perseverance in the presence of Christ.”
Timothy C. Tennent, President and Professor of World Christianity, Asbury Theological Seminary
Table of Contents
Foreword by Thomas R. Schreiner
Introduction
Chapter 1: What Do We Mean by Freshness?
Chapter 2: It Is All of Grace
Chapter 3: Strength for Energy-Sapping Ministry
Chapter 4: Thanksgiving and Joy
Chapter 5: Three Reasons for Joy
Chapter 6: When I Don't Feel Joy
Chapter 7: The Reality of Frustration
Chapter 8: Groaning and Lament
Chapter 9: The God Who Groans
Chapter 10: Refreshment through Prayer
Chapter 11: Battling Insecurity
Chapter 12: Guarding Our Integrity
Chapter 13: Conscience: Others' and Ours
Chapter 14: Contentment in a Celebrity Culture
Chapter 15: Innovation, Growth, Excellence, and God's Glory
Chapter 16: Refreshment through Our Call and the Scriptures
Chapter 17: Grace through Friends
Chapter 18: Friends in Times of Need
Conclusion
General Index
Scripture Index
Product Details
Title: Joyful Perseverance: Staying Fresh through the Ups and Downs of Ministry
Author: Ajith Fernando
Publisher: Crossway Publishing
Pages: 176
Binding: Paperback
Size: 21.6 x 13.9 x 1.2 cm
ISBN: 9781433593765