Contemplative pace and practice of ministry leadership

Masterson, Russ

Includes abstract.

D. Min. Covenant Theological Seminary 2026

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 148-154)

1 online resource (viii, 154 leaves)

Title

Contemplative pace and practice of ministry leadership

Last modified

05/26/2026

Creator

Masterson, Russ

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate how ministry leaders prioritize contemplative pace and practices to foster resilient leadership in themselves and their ministry leadership teams. When most ministry leaders begin their careers, they think they will study and preach, meet and pray with people, and serve the sacraments. Yet, they soon discover that much of their energy is devoted to organizational logistics, managing expectations, financial oversight, long-term planning, creating solutions, pacing change, leading through conflict, ministering to anxious and frustrated people, and handling conflicting interests. These dynamics can easily create a busy, but not fulfilling or resilient, ministry leader. This study utilized a qualitative method using semi-structured interviews with seven senior pastors with extensive experience in ministry leadership. The interviews focused on gaining data with four research questions: 1. How do ministry leaders understand contemplative practices? a. For themselves? b. For the ministry leadership team? 2. What contemplative practices have ministry leaders found helpful? 3. What contemplative team practices have been helpful to the ministry leadership team? 4. How do contemplative practices create resilience? a. The leader? b. The leadership team? The literature review focused on five key areas to understand ministry leadership in this context: 1. Resilience in ministry leadership 2. Biblical analysis of Jesus’ contemplative practices and the Law Gospel Distinction in relationship to contemplative practices 3. Contemplative practices of leaders, namely prayer and solitude 4. Emotional health benefits of contemplative practices 5. Organizational health benefits of contemplative practices The literature review and qualitative research revealed twelve principles of unhurried ministry leadership for a ministry leader to consider for implementation: Principle #1: Our Identity as God’s Beloved Principle #2: We Slow Down to Heal Principle #3: We Slowly Begin the Day Principle #4: We Break from the Week with Sabbath Principle #5: We Retreat from the Busyness\ Principle #6: We Control Our Calendar Principle #7: We Create an Intentional Pace for Sustained Ministry Principle #8: We Host Gatherings and Retreats Principle #9: We Lead Intentional Meetings Principle #10: We Create an Intentional Pace of Ministry for the Church Principle #11: We Structure the Contemplative (HR Policies and Job Descriptions) Principle #12: We Codify the Contemplative (Staff and Leadership Handbooks) This study concluded that contemplative pace and practices create a more resilient ministry leader and ministry leadership team. Contemplative pace and practices create slow, intentional pacing, which allows the leader and team (through relationship with Christ and reflection on events and emotions) to recover from the highs and lows of ministry. This contemplative way of leading, filled with spiritual practices that slow the leader and ministry team down, benefits the church (or ministry) as a system of relationships and an organization that desires to operate in peace with progress.

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