London, H.B., Jr., and Neil B Wiseman. The Heart of a Great Pastor: How to Grow Strong and Thrive Wherever God Has Planted You. Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 2006, 258 pgs.
Though the page number might make this seem like a longer book, it is actually a rather quick read. The premise of the entire book is rather simple: Every assignment is holy ground. Based on this premise, London and Wiseman give pastors a pretty big challenge: "Pastors must commit to stay in an assignment until God gives them a genuine spiritual breakthrough or a clear-cut release." (31)
I think of that as a pretty bold statement. We live in a current church culture where pastors stay for about 3 year, maybe 5 if you're lucky, and then they move on, hoping that their next church includes a bigger salary. Part of why I feel blessed to be on the Kansas City district is that there are so many pastors who are committed to having extended pastoral tenures. In my time here at Drexel, I have set a big hairy audacious goal (bhag) that I want to reach during my pastoral tenure here. So far, I have only shared this bhag with my wife and my mother; my church board knows that it exists, but I haven't told them what it is yet, and my commitment is simple. There are only two circumstances under which I would leave this assignment at Drexel: reaching the bhag, and giving me a since that my time there has concluded, or God clearly calling me to go somewhere else. Until one of those two things happen, I will do my best to bloom where God has planted me.
Though there is much more in the book than just the main point, there isn't a ton of new things that London and Wiseman's book says. They quote a lot of other people rather often, but I would still recommend it to other pastors, particularly if you are in a rut concerning your current assignment. The book will remind you that God can and will use you exactly where He has called you, if you will let Him.
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