A number of years ago, I grew distressed with the number of friends and colleagues who had left ministry amid controversy and scandal. I tried to learn what had gone wrong and how to keep it from repeating. From that study came several books devoted to helping pastors endure, including Faithful Endurance and 12 Faithful Men.

I’m grateful for Paul Tripp’s latest contribution to this cause with his new book, Lead: 12 Gospel Principles for Leadership in the Church (Crossway). This is one of the most bracing but also balanced books you’ll find on church leadership and the particular challenges in our day.

Paul has written specifically for pastors, but this book broadens the lens to consider the whole leadership culture of a church. Because he believes we have major problems. He writes:

How many failed pastors will there be, how many more broken and hurting churches, before we humbly ask questions about how we are leading the church that the Savior has entrusted to our care?

Paul helps church leaders see that when he calls us to ministry, he calls us to suffer. He warns us to expect “dangerous adulation and harsh criticism.” He points us to Jesus, because the unpredictable and uncomfortable world of church leadership is “not a safe place to look for identity and inner security.” 

Listen to Gospelbound as Paul and I discuss our leadership crisis in the church and how we can fight against it in the power of God’s grace.