The pages of this book are a product of 26 years of pastoral ministry. Some of the content was produced for a conference conducted for the state of Alabama Church of God ministers. The material is very conversational in style because it is about issues in which there have been many conversations. It is also material that has been taught to aspiring ministers at Mid-America Christian University. The title, "Conversations on Pastoral Survival," really is what the author is convinced can make the difference in surviving or dying pastorally. The focus is on what is believed to be real issues for many serving in ministry, realizing that these are not the only issues.
As concerns have been shared, others have disagreed and said, the problems are in other areas. It goes without saying, there are more problems in regards to ministry than have been dealt with in the pages of this book. However, the issues addressed in this book are generally faced by many pastors in churches of 125 members of less. It is comparable to how the Apostle John ends his gospel concerning all that Jesus did. He said it was not possible to mention all he [Jesus] did and that it would take many books to cover his ministry.
There are in fact, many books written on each of the chapters contained herein. There is no claim to anything original, and if it had not been for the people who have written extensively on the material in this book, there would be no book. Many have given extensive treatment on the issues and some very helpful solutions. This is an attempt to consolidate and condense some of the material that has been gleaned and to encourage you to work on the solutions.