Book Review: “Lasting Leadership - 13 Keys to Standing Strong in Marriage, Family and Ministry” by Rick A. Fiechter

How did I get this book?

My brother Ben, attended Pastor Rick’s church for a few years in St. Cloud. He told me that Rick had written a book with some research on leaders as part of his Ph.D. In Leadership Studies. In December, at my sisters wedding, I reconnected with Pastor Rick during the reception and in our conversation remembered that he had written this book. I asked him about it, and he graciously sent me a copy to read.

What’s it about?

In his research, Rick was interested in finding out what keys he could discern from studying the lives of evangelical church planters who had thriving ministries, happy marriages, children that remained Christians, and were still going strong physically and emotionally in the last half of their lives.

He cast the net wide and was able to find four men (and their wives and families and associates) that were willing to talk with him.

This book describes the habits and disciplines and attributes and characteristics that shaped their lives and ministries allowing them to enjoy these enviable benefits later in life. There’s 13 keys. He describes what their “Golden Hour” (devotions, quiet time) looked like. From there he talks about how extensively and broadly they read and how they built a habit of physical exercise. This of course, leads to how they managed their time, their marriages, families, suppertime, fun times, vacation and their posture emotionally with the church.

He starts and ends the book talking about his own father and a couple of trees that they had on the farm. It’s all very informative and inspiring.

What did I think?

I love reading academic work from people I’ve known. And, I think Pastor Rick is really on to something here. This kind of research is really helpful in building a model of what successful pastoral ministry could look like. It doesn’t have to burn pastors or their families out.

The section on physical exercise was the most surprising for me. I’ve known for years what a difference a regular physical routine can make in sustaining energy for ministry. It was good to see the whole being, spirit, soul and body addressed here.

The parts about the family and suppertime and scheduling in fun times and vacation was the most informative and encouraging to me personally. The stories were helpful to read. Pastor Rick’s chapter on the seasons of parenting are worth the price of the book. I hope he expands that content into something that’s accessible to more parents.

This is not a large book. It’s easily read and referenced. It’s not super-spiritual, inaccessible, or intimidating. It’s not dated, describing the life of some world changer in a previous generation. It’s practicable, relatable and actionable. And, it’s refreshing how it addresses the whole being and the family.

I think this would be super helpful for any pastor, associate pastor whether they are starting out, or years in and need a refresher. It would also be helpful to any involved Board Members that want to help support their pastor and their family. This would give them instruction and ideas to help shape the environment so that a pastor and his family would thrive over decades.

Well done Pastor Rick! Thanks for doing this research and then formatting it in a way that guys like me can benefit.