Don't Blow Up Your Ministry - by Michael MacKenzie (Paperback)

About the Book

There's a ticking time bomb in your ministry. Is it you? With vivid pictures of both self-destructive patterns and reconstructive grace, counselor Michael MacKenzie helps pastors avert moral failures and repair shipwrecked ministries. Addressing issues like shame, burnout, sexual misconduct, and more, this resource will help you become both the pastor and the person God intends you to be.

Book Synopsis

There's a ticking time bomb in your ministry. Is it you?

The pressures of pastoring are endless, leading many to burnout and depression, sexual misconduct, or substance abuse. But moral failures can be averted and shipwrecked ministries can be repaired. Counselor Michael MacKenzie, a longtime expert in helping pastors at risk, deals with the issues beneath the issues, such as shame, fear, and pain. If we don't address our own weakness and brokenness, we will hurt ourselves and those around us.

With vivid pictures of both self-destructive patterns and reconstructive grace, MacKenzie shows how to lay the groundwork for restored identity and service. God can use those exact areas of vulnerability as a catalyst to you becoming the pastor and person he intends you to be.

Defuse the bomb before it goes off. Find hope for healing and recovery.

Review Quotes

"Every pastor needs to read this book. Why? Because every minister is vulnerable. If you think you aren't--you're especially at risk. Don't Blow Up Your Ministry is grounded in biblical wisdom and practical experience. It's chock-full of real-life applications. If you are a leader in ministry, don't miss out on Michael MacKenzie's life-giving message."

--Les and Leslie Parrott, authors of Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts

"Serving and leading in the local church places pastors and church leaders at a difficult intersection. The pressure to perform coupled with awareness (or denial) of our own sin, brokenness, and fragility leave us dangerously vulnerable to a wide variety of potential pitfalls. In this book, Michael MacKenzie offers us a sobering reality check right alongside immense hope. Out of our shame, fear, and pain, God can still bring about surprising good, and Don't Blow Up Your Ministry presents a compelling first word in a critically important ongoing conversation."

--Jay Y. Kim, pastor and author of Analog Church

"This book is not just for pastors but a guide for each of us, from the professionally trained to those who volunteer. Why? Because we all started with a passion, a calling, a felt ministry for those we came alongside. It contributed to our sense of significance, developed compassion, and created feelings of belonging while caring for others. Yet this sense of serving and sacrifice can get us into trouble, wear us out, and make us hate what we used to love! Though Don't Blow Up Your Ministry focuses on pastors, the concepts are applicable to all who serve, both in a vocation or as a volunteer. Don't destroy what you love doing most. Be proactive, drawing on the safeguards and practices laid out in Don't Blow Up Your Ministry, and looking back you will be grateful for the long-lasting, immense satisfaction of your calling."

--Dave Carder, licensed marriage and family therapist, author of Anatomy of an Affair

About the Author

Michael MacKenzie is a licensed professional counselor, ordained pastor, and hospital chaplain. He has served for ten years as the clinical director of Marble Retreat, a Colorado retreat center that specializes in ministering to pastors and ministry leaders in crisis. He studied marriage and family counseling at Denver Seminary and has a DMin in pastor care from Lincoln Christian University. Michael and his wife, Kari, have two sons and live in Florida.