Foreword

If you had lived two thousand years ago and had the

privilege to meet Jesus face to face, there are a couple

of words I doubt you would use to describe your

experience. Regardless of your theological perspective,

no matter what your spiritual or emotional state, you

would probably never say that Jesus was boring or

irrelevant.

Jesus challenged his friends and angered his foes.

He inspired, healed and loved the people around him,

like no one before or since. Yet many pastors who claim

to be followers of Jesus conduct meetings in his name

that are often boring and irrelevant. What is worse is

that some pastors live their lives without the health

and vitality that characterized the life of Jesus. This

should not be so.

I went to a friend’s wedding a while ago that

reminded me why I quit going to church for several

years as a teenager. The building was beautiful, but

the wedding itself started late and dragged on for an

hour. I couldn’t wait for it to be over.

Another wedding I attended more recently

brought laughter, tears and joy to everyone involved.

A religious service has great power to inspire us when

it is conducted in a relevant, personal way. The same

iv

For Pastors

can be said about the life of a minister. Some Christian

leaders live depressed and frustrated lives. They lack

the wisdom and power of the Holy Spirit. There is a

great need for those who lead God’s people to learn

the wisdom, which can enable them to be fruitful. This

book is filled with Kent Philpott’s practical insights

that helped me when I first met him almost thirty years

ago.

I was a confused twenty-year-old when I met

Kent in May of 1970. His living room in San Rafael,

California was crowded with young people singing

praises and studying the Bible. The “Jesus Movement”

was just starting in Northern California and Kent was

in the center of it.

Kent had opened up his home for Bible studies

and evangelism around the clock. We were drawn

together by curiosity, adventure and the Spirit of God.

Kent had gone to seminary where he had become

grounded in the truth that a whole new generation was

hungry to learn. He led meetings with a guitar in his

hands and preached in a language we could relate to.

Through relevant Bible teaching and counseling

with prayer, Kent helped hundreds of young people

enter the Kingdom of God. He steered us away from

the cults and talked us through our trials.

As the ministry grew, we started numerous Bible

studies, discipleship houses and Christian bookstores.

In 1972, we started a church. By 1976 we had four

churches. These churches grew and began their own

mission outreaches. During those years we went

through numerous struggles and trials. We saw leaders

rise and fall. We made mistakes and learned many

lessons the hard way.

Much of the fruit of those years remains, not in

any one church or organization, but in hundreds of

v

people, now middle aged, who are faithfully serving

the Lord around the country.

As my pastor and friend, Kent helped me to grow

and mature. He gave me training and opportunities,

which prepared me for a lifetime of ministry. Kent

understands the practical steps pastors and ministers

need to take to build a fruitful ministry. His wisdom

and counsel in this book will be a treasure for everyone

who seeks to influence people the way Jesus did.

Mark Buckley, pastor

Living Streams Christian Church,

Phoenix, Arizona