Escape from Church, Inc. [Hardcover]

E. Glenn Wagner (Author), Steve Halliday (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1999

Glenn Wagner asserts that pastors have lost their sense of identity and calling as a shepherd. He calls for a return to the words Jesus himself spoke about his flock -- now who should care for it?

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

This book was born out of a passion for the church -- and for you, one of its pastors. If you struggle with burnout and disillusionment, if something within you keeps insisting, "This isn't what it's supposed to be about!" then Pastor Glenn Wagner offers a model for pastoring that can radically reshape how you relate to your congregation. Wagner guides you into new vision, new values, and a new way of pastoring that begins not with doing, but with seeing and being. "I believe the one problem underlying all the others is that we have moved both pastors and churches from a community model to a corporation model," says Wagner. "If we go back to the very beginning, back to the Lord's bedrock idea for his people, what do we find? We find shepherds and sheep." Escape from Church, Inc. offers hope to the weary and water to the thirsty. Find out for yourself, in both biblical and practical terms, how the model of the shepherd is best suited to growing a healthy, effective church -- and discover deep satisfaction and joy in your role as pastor.

About the Author

Dr. E. Glenn Wagner (Ph.D., Oxford Graduate School and D.Min., Northwest Graduate School of the Ministry) is senior pastor of Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. Glenn is the author of Escape From Church, Inc., The Heart of a Godly Man, Strategies for a Successful Marriage, The Awesome Power of Shared Beliefs; he co-authored Your Pastor’s Heart; and is a contributor to We Stand Together: Men of Color in Reconciliation, and Seven Promises of a Promise Keeper. Glenn and his wife, Susan, have two children.;Steve is president of Crown Media, Ltd., a literary enterprise that specializes in book editing and collaboration. Steve has co-written books with Luis Palau, Dave & Jan Dravecky, and many others, and is the author of three books himself. Steve formerly was a senior editor with Multnomah Press and Questar Publishers, and before that was a reporter for two newspapers in southern Wisconsin. He holds a Master of Divinity degree from Western Conservative Baptist Seminary in Portland and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Spanish from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Steve and his wife, Lisa, are active at Sunset Presbyterian Church in Portland, Oregon. The Hallidays live in Hillsboro, Oregon.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan (October 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310228883
• ISBN-13: 978-0310228882
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #665,039 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

E. Glenn Wagner (DMin, Northwest Graduate School of the Ministry) is the former pastor of Calvary Church (www.calvarychurch.com) in Charlotte, North Carolina. He has served as vice president for Promise Keepers. His books include Escape from Church, Inc., Your Pastor's Heart, Strategies for a Successful Marriage, Seven Promises of a Promise Keeper, The Awesome Power of Shared Beliefs, and The Heart of a Godly Man.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wagner Hits Home with Biblical Insights, April 20, 2000

By 

Christopher Moellering (Central New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Escape from Church, Inc. (Hardcover)

If you've read Fresh Faith by Cymbala and felt something stir in your pastor's heart, if you agreed with his assessment of church consultants and experts, then this book should be next on your "to read" list.

Wagner challenges the last 20+ years of pastoral training and modeling. He claims that the CEO/leadership model is not the biblical model of pastoring, and backs up his claim convincingly. Nowhere in the scriptures does God use the metaphor of king, ruler or leader for pastors. He repeatedly uses the metaphor of shepherd. Wagner sees significance in the repeated use of this term, event to Peter, who would have related to a fishing metaphor better.

I highly recommend this book to all pastors, seminary students and professors and those who are otherwise closely involved with ministry. It may challenge you, it may cast serious doubts on your current methodolgy and theology of the pastorate. If nothing else, it will cause you to examine your own pastoral theology and decide whether it is of this world or of God's design.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Escape from Church, Inc., April 5, 2000

By 

Rev. C. Norman Moran (Oneonta, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Escape from Church, Inc. (Hardcover)

Glen Wagner articulately challenges the current CEO model of pastoral leadership that has dominated the church scene for the past two decades. He calls for a return to the pastor-shepherd model set forth in Scripture and practiced for centuries by men of God who have a heart for God and a heart for His people. He sees the shepherd model in the Great Shepherd and sensibly argues that it is the high calling of God; it is the pulse, the heartbeat of our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ who gave His life for the sheep. Glen writes with passion and purpose urging a return to a servant shepherding, compassionate caring, and relationally connecting ministry. It is the need most needed to be met in the church of Jesus Christ to restore the church to a model of ministry that is wholistic, and more than adequate to the task of effectively fulfilling God's Great Commission purposes. The book is a refreshing and enjoyable read giving a historical, Biblical but contemporary approach to effective ministry in our mixed bag of a modern/post modern world.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Book Hits Home With A Punch!, March 8, 2004

By 

R. Kirkham "jrkirkham" (Rushville, Illinois USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Escape from Church, Inc. (Paperback)

One day, about 4 years ago, a pastor friend called me with a broken voice. He had been crying. He was trying to tell me about this new book he just read, "Escape From Church, Inc." Short time later he spent more money than he could afford to purchase copies for all of his pastor friends that he thought would be interested. I do not know how many copies he gave out, but one of them came to me.

This book is fascinating! It is true that Wagner is so passionate he tips the scale a bit too far in the other direction. Yet, so many people bought into the CEO mindset, that he needed to make his voice loud and passionate.

Give this book a try.