Arizona Southern Baptist Convention

Brad Hoffmann has an "in your face" message for pastors: "you will never reach your community for Christ if you are unhealthy." Speaking August 22 at the Arizona Church Equipping (ACE) Conference, Hoffmann said, "Great ministers don't just happen, and great falls from ministry don't just happen either."

That's why Hoffmann, along with co-author Michael Todd Wilson, wrote Preventing Ministry Failure. Developing a self-care plan to prevent ministry failure was the theme of his two-hour presentation and the book.

Hoffmann and Wilson are co-founders of ShepherdCare, a ministry dedicated to providing ministers with resources to sustain long-term effectiveness in their ministry calling. Hoffmann also serves as senior pastor at Memorial Baptist Church in Baytown, Texas.

Working through the years with hundreds of pastors who had been removed from ministry, Hoffmann said they identified seven common areas of consistent failure. "We asked ourselves, 'If there are seven reasons people fail, is there a way to competency in these seven areas that will provide hope and health?'"

When they answered their own profound question, Hoffmann said they had a self-care plan for a pastor's ministry and family. This self-care plan for pastors "is a comprehensive preventative plan designed not only to prevent ministry failure, but also to give the minister every opportunity for deep satisfaction, significant influence, and long-term effectiveness in ministry."

The seven areas of competency are labeled as foundation stones in the book. The first two stones are about "who you are." The next three stones are about "what you value." The final two foundation stones are about "how you relate."

Foundation Stone #1: INTIMACY

Intimacy is about a deep and personal relationship with someone else, according to Hoffmann. "If you don't have a close friend, you have a foot in failure, and it takes very little to push you to the other side. Those who failed morally -- pornography, extramarital affair, embezzlement: Every man said 'I had no close friend I could talk to.'"

For those who have a close friend, Hoffmann said it's important to get past sharing facts and opinions and move on to sharing deepest desires. "I advocate getting outside the church for your friendships . . . and that's a shame."

"We also need an intimate relationship with God." Hoffmann asked the pastors gathered at the conference, "How many have fallen into the trap of using your devotional time as sermon preparation?" Those Christian leaders who have lost real intimacy with God are the most miserable people in the world, he said.

Foundation Stone #2: CALLING

"There are two kinds of people in ministry: those who are called, and those who were not," said Hoffmann. "The call to ministry is the possession of a knowing initiated and sustained by God and validated by Scripture."

Hoffmann said the call is something that grabs hold of you. It's more than a feeling; it's knowing God spoke, called you aside, and commissioned you for ministry.

"No man calls you to ministry, though he may affirm your ministry," he said. "The calling is from God." It is confidence in that call to ministry that leads to personal fulfillment and allows ongoing passion for ministry.

A minister's calling often gets blurred or bruised because "we have bought into the lie that we have to do everything. When we try, it leads to burnout," Hoffmann lamented.

Foundation Stone #3: STRESS MANAGEMENT

Stress in and of itself "is not a bad thing," said Hoffmann. "The key is how we handle it. When the stress is not adequately dealt with, many find unhealthy ways to de-stress. We need ways to relieve the stress that are healthy and appropriate."

In the book Hoffmann and Wilson go into greater detail (as they do on all the "foundation stones"), about healthy and unhealthy levels of stress. "Too little stress and we'll lack sufficient motivation to accomplish our calling. Too much stress and we'll likely feel overwhelmed, leading to decreased effectiveness." The perfect balance is found in "moderate stress, where we maximize our productivity," according to Hoffmann.

Foundation Stone #4: BOUNDARIES

"The possibility of ministry failure is greatly increased without adequate boundaries." These boundaries should have two purposes, according to Hoffmann. "They keep some things out, and let other things in."

While acknowledging that boundaries are tough and must be negotiated, Hoffmann shared two non-negotiable points. "Church never gets put before family. Church never gets put before God."

Creating the boundaries establishes the opportunity for a long and healthy ministry. These boundaries help us protect "what matters most." To maximize the potential to help pastors and leaders, in the book Hoffmann and Wilson delve into personal boundaries, ministry boundaries, intimate relationship boundaries, and boundaries with God.

For those pastors and leaders whose boundaries have been non-existent or have been badly compromised, Hoffmann offered an immediate solution. "Google 'free pastors retreats,'" with the clear inference that "googling" should lead to a personal or family retreat in the very near future.

Foundation Stone #5: RE-CREATION

Re-creation is about re-creating what has already been expended, according to Hoffmann. The re-creation process is what allows us to be at our best physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, he said. "Those who fail to engage in re-creation usually have only enough energy to cope with the immediate."

It is "putting energy back in us through rest, recess, and renewal." Rest is "the physical repair and rebuilding of the body and mind." Recess is "playful activity to release stress." Renewal is "what reenergizes our spiritual vitality."

"If we don't replenish our spent energy through re-creation, our body may eventually respond with physical ailment or burnout," said Hoffmann. "Or, our congregation or board may respond in the form of ministry removal. Or, the demons crouching at our door will respond with temptations toward moral failure."

Foundation Stone #6: PEOPLE SKILLS

Appropriately managing people, "our most valuable resource," is at the heart of this area of competency. One key to improving people skills that Hoffmann shared is to fight the impulse to demonize those with whom we might be in conflict.

"People aren't the enemy!" he said. "When we experience conflict with others, it's a part of our fallen nature to blame them without first looking inside ourselves to determine the source of conflict." Differences in personality mean that there may be "rocky relationships even with individuals transformed by the Holy Spirit," he said.

In the book, Hoffmann and Wilson include a personality inventory so that pastors and leaders can better understand themselves, as well as others. The inventory drops the confusing labels first applied by Hippocrates: sanguine, choleric, melancholic, and phlegmatic. Instead they use a version called MinistryStyles, with more understandable "toolbox" labels: Powerful Hammer, Versatile Swiss Army Knife, Adaptable Duct Tape, and Precision Tape Measure.

Foundation Stone #7: LEADERSHIP SKILLS

Lack of competency in the first five foundation stones may lead to personal angst, moral failure, and/or burnout. Trouble in these last two, particularly with leadership skills, sets a pastor or leader on the road to forced termination.

There are necessary ingredients for effective leadership, according to Hoffmann. They include "team building and loving the people you serve." Being an effective leader also requires us to be "transformative." Hoffmann defines it as a willingness to "continuously be remade from the inside out by the power and direction of the Holy Spirit."

This is a "stretching" opportunity for pastors and leaders because "each of us has a default leadership style. It's our favorite." But, said Hoffmann, "Churches need leaders who can competently lead in all styles, based on the need or situation.

Hoffmann and Wilson help readers of the book to explore their "leadership quotient," which has three components. "Personality" is who we are as individuals. The "practice of integrity" is the unique way we live out our ministry. The "place of ministry" recognizes that each ministry setting adheres to differing values and impacts how we ought to provide leadership there.

Hoffmann concluded the conference with a final appeal: "read the book." The book was provided free to every pastor in attendance, courtesy of the Arizona Southern Baptist Convention. He also invited pastors and leaders to contact him on Facebook.

Hoffmann's entire presentation may be viewed here.