MINISTER TURNOVER — The average tenure of preachers in American churches is 2-3 years. This disreputable turnover is sometimes the fault of preachers and sometimes the fault of church leaders. A 20-year study reveals that about one U.S. minister in four has either been fired or forced to resign. Most were dislodged by a small faction of “about 10 people” and the church was not told the truth about it two-thirds of the time. Many other preachers resign for wrong reasons — to avoid any discomfort or to climb the professional ladder. In his newest book, PASTORAL POLITICS: WHY MINISTERS RESIGN (AMG Publishers, 2002, xxii + 234 pages), gifted Christian author, theologian and seminary professor John Gilmore, himself a pastor for 36 years in two denominations, uses Scripture, church history, current research and immense spiritual insight to describe and diagnose this shameful waste of personal and financial resources and to offer a wealth of practical wisdom on how it can be prevented. In my opinion, every preacher and every church leader should read and digest this important book. To order, contact the author at or see the publisher’s website at http://amg.gospelcom.net/amg .

August 2003