The Unwavering Pastor: Leading the Church with Grace in Divisive Times

This prickly volume by Dodson (Our Good Crisis), pastor of City Life Church in Austin, Tex., offers pastors guidance on leading congregations through disagreement and polarization. Dodson recounts the pain he’s felt when parishioners leave his church and encourages disheartened pastors to take inspiration from Paul, who forgave the betrayals of acquaintances “because there was one person who did not abandon him”: Jesus. The author advises on how to approach congregants with whom one disagrees and entreats pastors to pray for humility and “listen well” to parishioners’ concerns. However, Dodson often comes across as aggrieved when relating incidents with disaffected congregants, such as when he insinuates that those who thought that one of his tweets downplayed the struggle for social justice misunderstood his intentions. He inadvertently confirms his critics when he, pages later, condescendingly calls racial justice activism a “personal passion” that one must “subordinate... to the person of Christ.” The head-scratching continues as he likens critical race theory to QAnon and laments the success of the “gay agenda,” calling into question Dodson’s qualifications for overcoming division. Stony and bitter, this is a tough pill to swallow. (Aug.)