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The following is the preface from Pastor Mike Minter’s book, Stay the Course: A Pastor’s Guide to Navigating the Restless Waters of Ministry.

I once read Open, the autobiography of the legendary tennis player, Andre Agassi.

I don’t play tennis, so why would I read his story? Well, because it took me into a world I never knew existed. I learned about string tension, the difference between hard courts and grass courts, and the mental anguish that comes before each tournament. It was all fascinating to me. The experience was palpable. I could practically feel the sweat trickling down my face as I was moments away from hoisting the Wimbledon trophy before thousands of adoring fans. Agassi had me step into his life and feel every throbbing heartbeat of match point.

After that, I read The Accidental President by A. J. Baime, a very different book that threw me into the world of Harry S. Truman and the messy universe of politics. It was almost overwhelming to comprehend the apprehension that President Truman felt before giving the green light to bomb Japan with a nuclear device.

Good books, whether fiction or nonfiction, bring readers into unfamiliar environments. What string tension will he use on a grass court? What matrix will be employed to tip the scales in favor of dropping a bomb that will eradicate thousands of lives?

This is a book about pastoral ministry and the local church. It is written for pastors, but not exclusively. I hope it proves valuable for anyone who wishes to peek behind the curtain of ministry, as I did with tennis and politics. It is a book for anyone who has a heart for the local church or is concerned about the lack of unity in the body of Christ. There are wonderful things taking place in the global Church, particularly outside of the United States, but there is also plenty of room for growth. Division is rampant, and the debates that rage among Christians often make Democrats and Republicans look like buddies. It’s tragic, really. And it may seem that Christ’s prayer that “all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you” (John 17:21) is not even close to being realized.

It is easy to be discouraged as wars are fought among fellow believers. I want pastors to stay the course and be the generation that will be the answer to the Lord’s prayer that we would be one.