The Eric Trap was written by a group of children's ministry leaders under the leadership of Jim Wideman. The book presents an insightful, engaging and honest look into the daily, real-life experiences, struggles, thoughts and emotions of a children's pastor. This book reveals the reality of what it's like to serve on a church staff and details Pastor Eric Newman's relationships with fellow staff, volunteers and family.
Although Eric is a fictional character, I believe many leaders will relate to his experiences and struggles.
The book was an easy and enjoyable read. The chronicles of Pastor Eric are presented in the form of a story. Integrated into the book are chapters with practical ideas and commentary drawing on principles presented in Eric's story. The end of each chapter contains questions to help readers apply the principles to their current life and ministry situations.
These chapters cover important topics including:
*Relationships with Volunteers - the importance of delegating and equipping others for ministry, allowing them to develop as the people and leaders God desires them to be.
*Relationship with the Senior Pastor - understanding and aligning your visions for ministry, and submitting to the senior pastor's leadership for the benefit of the church as a whole.
*Relationships with Parents - equipping parents to guide their children's spiritual development, since their impact goes much deeper than the one hour or so a week the children spend under our influence at church.
*Relationship with God - abiding in Him and relying on Him, not our own strength in ministry, and measuring our growth and success in His terms.
*Relationships with Family - keeping priorities in line and maintaining balanced and healthy family relationships.
I believe this book is good for current leaders, who can likely relate to Eric's experiences, realize they're not alone, and hopefully find a way out of any traps into which they have fallen. The book can also serve as a warning for future workers of the snares that may be ahead so they can avoid falling into those traps.
Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book as part of The Eric Trap blog tour.