Vital Churches: Elder Responsibility for Their Pastors and Congregational Planning

“If we pay the minister that much, it won't be a calling any more. It will be a profession.”
That comment, which I heard during a discussion on the minister's salary in a congregational meeting, encapsulates the attitudes of many Christians, namely that professional standards ought not to apply in the church. The comment expresses more than the infamous prayer: "Lord, you keep him humble and we'll keep him poor." It reflects the attitude that what applies as good practice in the "real" or natural world, does not apply in the spiritual world. Careful analysis, good planning, and diligent follow-through are at odds with trusting the Lord.
The tendency to contrast decision-making in the natural world with that in the church is what Dr. Wendell McBurney confronts in this very helpful book. But he moves beyond simply challenging this form of thinking to showing congregations and particularly elders how they can go about good, effective planning, particularly for the personal and professional lives of ministers. And I do not know anyone who could do a better job of writing such a book than Wendell McBurney.

— W. Robert GodfreyChairman of The Board, Ligonier Ministries President Emeritus, Westminster Seminary California