As a media producer and consultant, I work with pastors and church leaders daily, helping them use media to engage today’s culture more effectively. That work is incredibly inspiring, but at the same time, I’m seeing more pastors than ever leave the ministry entirely. That’s why I was so thrilled to see Dean Taylor’s new book, The Healthy Pastor: Stewarding Your Personal Life for Long-Term Ministry. Pastor burnout is real, and it’s destroying our effective witness to the world. If you’re a pastor or ministry leader of any kind, consider this preventive medicine. The principles in this book can change the direction of your life and potentially thousands of lives you touch.
Phil Cooke
Author, Co-Founder and CEO of Cooke Media Group, Los Angeles, California
The Healthy Pastor is a treasure that has the smell of sheep on every page. It is written by a seasoned shepherd whose track record of leading with "skillful hands" and "integrity of heart" is etched across several decades (Ps 78:72). I've known Dean through all his years of ministry and training. His humble pastoral walk has left me with faithful and humble footprints to follow. The ground he covers in this volume is simply astounding. It reads like what it is—Dean's own journal of reflections and research from his decades of local church love and stewardship. No stone has remained unturned, even the jagged rocks that we pastors want to ignore. I wholeheartedly recommend this volume to men considering pastoral ministry, training for ministry, entering the ministry, enduring the ministry, and approaching the sunset of ministry. We are in Dean's debt for his shepherding the shepherds with these words of grace.
Jim Newcomer
Senior Pastor, Calvary Baptist Church, Ypsilanti, Michigan; Adjunct Biblical Counseling Professor
Ministry is a calling, but it can also be a heavy burden. The Healthy Pastor is a must-read for every pastor seeking to lead with wisdom, endurance, and spiritual vitality. In a time when burnout and exhaustion threaten many in ministry, this book provides a refreshing and practical guide to maintaining physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. With wisdom, honesty, and deep biblical insight, Dean Taylor offers practical guidance for maintaining a vibrant faith. Whether you’re a seasoned leader or just starting in ministry, this book will challenge and encourage you to pursue a life of balance and faithfulness. I highly recommend it!
Michael Blackstone
Businessman
Dean Taylor understands the blessings and challenges of pastoral ministry. In The Healthy Pastor, he comes alongside fellow pastors to offer encouragement and practical advice. Personally, this book, although convicting at times, inspired me to keep running the race with endurance and joy. I love how Dean draws from his deep knowledge of Scripture and vast experience to offer wise counsel that will help any pastor navigate the unique challenges of his calling. Each chapter's practical action steps and personal evaluation questions significantly helped me. I plan to read this book again with the elders in my church and gift it to future pastors as a trusted resource for their long-term effectiveness.
Kevin Williams
Senior Pastor, Meadowlands Baptist Church, AB, Canada
Sheep without a shepherd are in danger of wandering away, going hungry, and being attacked. As a camp director for over four decades, I have served our Lord as a sheepdog, pushing the teenage sheep back to their shepherds (pastors) for year-round growth and protection. Dean Taylor shares his experience as a pastor and a professor, emphasizing the essential truths needed to encourage young men to consider pastoral ministry. A healthy pastor is motivated by both a personal love for his Lord, the Chief Shepherd, and a genuine love for the sheep God calls him to lead—an excellent read for pastors, young and old alike.
Rand Hummel
Author; Staff Evangelist; the Wilds Christian Association
Reading The Healthy Pastor was like taking a breath of fresh air. It gave me hope for men who struggle, men who are stressed, and men who are mentoring others for ministry. I entered the ministry at a time when the trend was that ministry was a sacrifice, and I received little instruction on the concept of stewardship. I saw the cost of this firsthand. Many men lost their wives, children, health, and reputation (doctrinal and moral failure). Men left the ministry disillusioned. Dean similarly describes the “ecclesiastical crisis” as a result of the “current dearth of available men” combined with “the number of pastors leaving the ministry.” Pastors and wives tell him, “No one is discussing this problem.”
Dean is God’s man for this hour. His book should be mandatory reading for any man aspiring to pastoral ministry. With a personal mission to be a “friend to men in ministry,” Dean speaks with rare and relevant insight into the life and ministry of a pastor. While rooted in Scripture and diligent research, his writing is rich in personal illustrations from years of pastoral ministry and a heart of genuine concern and compassion for churches and pastors. This book will be clarifying (self-care vs. self-centeredness), compelling, convicting, comforting, and Christ-centered. I highly recommend this book. Deacons should read The Healthy Pastor! Read it. Share it. Give it to others in ministry. Healthy churches need healthy pastors.
Tim Capon
State Representative, Iowa Association of Regular Baptist Churches
As pastors, we are wise to have periodic physical checkups and, in the same vein, pastoral ministry checkups. Sadly, just as we are reluctant to admit a physical need and seek help, we are prone to do the same in pastoral ministry. I have counseled many pastors over the years and served as a senior pastor for 40 years. I can say The Healthy Pastor addresses the heart issues that produce unhealthy pastors and, therefore, unhealthy churches. Dean’s journey in ministry, his mentors, and his educational background enable him to give a cutting-edge diagnosis and remedy that will help pastors be restored to ministry health.
–Dale Cunningham
Associate Pastor, Boones Creek Bible Church; Leader and Founder of D&D Ministries
The Healthy Pastor lifts the rug on a ministry subject that has been swept under it for quite some time. It repeatedly forced me to stop, think, and process. These are signs of a good book! It encouraged thoughts I already had and stimulated thoughts I had never considered. If you are in the ministry, read this book. If you know someone in the ministry, read this book.
–J. Mark Kittrell
President, Pacific Rim Missions International
This is the book that I, as a pastor for 39 years, should have read in the early part of my life and ministry. Now that I have the privilege of reading The Healthy Pastor, without reservation and with complete confidence, I highly recommend Dr. Dean Taylor’s work to my fellow ministers, especially Filipino pastors. Reading this book will definitely revolutionize the life and ministry of a man called a “shepherd after God’s own heart.”
–Jun D. Oguilla
Pastor, Maranatha Baptist Church, Villamonte, Bacolod City, Philippines
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