Sustainable Ministry
How to Lead (and When to Nap)
$61.83
- Paperback
176 pages
- Release Date
9 July 2026
Summary
If you’re a pastoral leader, you’re likely finding ministry tougher now than ever. The old way of doing church no longer works. Numbers continue to go down. You don’t know what to do to move forward. You want a sense of satisfaction in your life and work. Instead, you struggle with an overwhelming sense of failure and loss.
Sustainable Ministry: How to Lead (and When to Nap) will help you develop a more vibrant, more effective relationship with your work, with other church le…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9798216378006 |
|---|---|
| Author: | Margaret J. Marcuson |
| Publisher: | Bloomsbury Publishing Plc |
| Imprint: | ABC-CLIO |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 176 |
| Release Date: | 9 July 2026 |
| Weight: | 240g |
| Dimensions: | 12mm x 138mm x 214mm |
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Critics Review
With prose as patient as it is clear, Margaret Marcuson guides clergy to envision and experience ministry that enlivens rather than leaving them dry as dust, with no one and everyone—including God—to blame. Learn and live more lightly and alive. – Kirk Byron Jones * author of Rest in the Storm: Self Care Strategies for Clergy and Other Caregivers *
Sustainable ministry requires striking a healthy balance between one’s own gifts and calling and the intricate dynamics of congregational partnerships. Effective ministers are reflective about their work and think systems. Marcuson’s Sustainable Ministry will become the go-to text for pastoral education and leadership development. – Rev. Jay Wittemeyer * Executive Director, Lombard Mennonite Peace Center. *
I always recommend Margaret Marcuson’s timely and practical books to our clients. “Sustainable Ministry” is the perfect addition to the clergy toolkit for self-care and wellbeing. – Rev. Margaret E. Lewis * Executive Director, The Center for Career Development and Ministry *
Margaret Marcuson guides readers toward practical ways to lead more effectively and sustainably. Drawing on years of experience as a minister and consultant, she shows how to nurture your congregation—and yourself—without burning out.
Marcuson knows the hidden costs of “always on” leadership, and she writes with the clarity of someone who has been there. Marcuson reframes sustainability as a spiritual and practical discipline. With grounded wisdom, through personal and real-world stories, Sustainable Ministry helps clergy find the freedom to lead with clarity, manage anxiety in the system, and regain the joy of serving God’s people. This is a book for anyone who loves their work but refuses to sacrifice their life to it.
If you read this book, you will discover a menagerie of ways to become more sustainable as a minister which will make your ministry more sustainable as well. – Dr. C. Jeff Woods * Associate General Secretary, American Baptist Churches USA, author, Designing Religious Research Studies *
Margaret J. Marcuson
Margaret J. Marcuson helps clergy get lighter and less burdened by their ministry so they can have more influence with less stress. She works with leaders from over 20 denominations across North America as teacher and coach.
Margaret is the author of Leaders Who Last and Money and Your Ministry. She has taught since 1999 in Leadership in Ministry, a family systems workshop for clergy.
An American Baptist minister, she served as pastor at First Baptist Church in Gardner, Massachusetts, USA for 13 years. Margaret lives in Portland, Oregon, USA, where she sings in two choirs.
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