A Pastoral Identity Crisis
All of us are tempted to believe lies about ourselves.
For many pastors, the lies we’re tempted to believe have to do with our identity: that God has called us to lead a movement, that we must sacrifice our home life for our ministry life, or that our image as holy is more important than our actual pursuit of holiness.
In Lies Pastors Believe, pastor and professor Dayton Hartman takes aim at these and other lies he has faced in his own ministry and seen other pastors struggle with. With a winsome and engaging style, Hartman shows current and future pastors why these lies are so tempting, the damage they can do, and how they can be resisted by believing and applying the truth of the gospel.
Praise for Lies Pastors Believe
Satan tells the same lies to every pastor that he told to Adam in the garden. If you wonder why some of your greatest heroes in the faith stumble and fall, this book will remind you that nobody is exempt from Adam’s sin, but thank God nor do we ever graduate from his gracious solution. Indwelling sin, and the power of Satan, are real. So is God’s greater grace.
—J. D. Greear, pastor, The Summit Church (Raleigh-Durham, NC), author of Gaining by Losing: Why the Future Belongs to Churches that Send
Dayton Hartman shows great maturity in the way he addresses some of the lies that church leaders are tempted to believe whilst wooing our hearts with the compelling beauty of Christ. Read and enjoy. I’m certain you’ll be refreshed, challenged, and encouraged in your work for the Lord.
—Steve Timmis, CEO of Acts 29
I’m convinced that it is not only possible but in many cases probable that a pastor will give his life to a career rather than a calling. When this line is blurred, all sorts of deceptions arise. Dayton addresses some old sins with updated faces, unmasking them with the good news of the gospel, helpfully directing readers back to Jesus, the head of the Church.
—Alex Early, pastor of preaching and theology, Redemption Church (Seattle, WA), author of The Reckless Love of God and The New Believer’s Guide to the Christian Life