Why Should I Believe You?: Rediscovering Clergy Credibility

by Thomas G. Bandy

From the days of the New Testament to the present, the church has proceeded on the basis of a central That the church’s mission, not its institutional survival, should dictate the functions of church leadership. Fundamentally, the crisis of clergy credibility today is a result of centuries of denial or indifference to this basic assumption. People of every demographic and lifestyle segment have come to disrespect both the church and its leadership because they have consistently opted for institutional convenience, and failed to adapt to the changing needs of the mission field. For centuries, the western church has been in denial that there even was a "mission field" … or they assumed that the "mission field" was far away. In this hard-hitting new book, Tom Bandy locates the real reasons for the crisis in clergy credibility, and suggests ways that congregational leaders can become people who matter to a culture that desperately needs Jesus, but doubt they need the church.

152 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 2006