How to Be a Minister and a Human Being

You live in a fishbowl with an exemplary family who serve as models of perfection for the church and the community at large. If this unreal view of the ministry describes your way of life, you are not alone! Myth or reality, this is exactly how many congregations picture what they want their pastors to be. Viewed through his own experiences and those of colleagues in many denominations, Harold Warlick examines the complex personal and professional problems that beset ministers in today's churches. This sensitive probing into many areas of clergy life indicates that he fully understands the loneliness and frustrations every minister encounters in the struggle to live a normal life-style amid the unusual pressures created by job responsibilities and his or her accountability to the congregation. Warlick explores and offers encouragement for overcoming a broad scope of problems concerned with the minister's self-image, congregational relationships, stresses in family relationships, the need for a balanced circle of friends, the extreme loneliness of living a fishbowl existence, and the development of personal faith. Stripping away the fantasies and illusion, Warlick presents a practical down-to-earth picture of what life is really like when a person answers the call to ministry.