Edwards explores with refreshing honesty the ambivalent and often counter-intuitive realities of doing ministry where what frequently seems to be the right way to do things proves precisely to be the wrong approach. He distills more than 30 years of pastoral experience into 21 succinct paradoxes cleverly couched in memorable phrases, such as: "the harder you try to control a group, the less control you have," "the weakest people in the church tend to wield the most power," "the more you try to help people, the more helpless people become" and "only pastors who are having fun can seriously proclaim the gospel."

As he unpacks these paradoxes in brief essays rich with vivid stories, personal reflections, a dose of systems theory and keen relational insight, the book can become for the reflective reader a helpful mirror to see your own ministry dynamics in some new ways.

You will find here both grace for those ministerial "guilts" that plague the driven leaders among us and challenge in those important areas we too easily undervalue and neglect. Through it all, the deep joy and privilege of ministry is celebrated and reaffirmed.

Where many church leaders are prone to easily zig along with the cultural icons of corporate leadership, Edwards zags and in the process helps us collide creatively with the challenge of a great reversal of leadership in the way of Jesus.

—Brad Russell
Pastor, The Springs Baptist Church
San Antonio

Short chapters here hold great truths, dispensed in a warm, personal style. The 21 paradoxes fly in the face of typical wisdom, but the perspectives are rejuvenating rather than righteous indignation. Buy this book. It should be on the shelf of every pastor and musician doing, or considering a career in ministry.

—Vernon Sanders

The Leadership Labyrinth by Judson Edwards will be a shot of caffeine for your ministry! In short 3-5 page "wisdom bursts" the author helps you make sense of the paradoxes of ministry. Why is it that the busier you are, the less you accomplish? Or -- the issue you are aguing about is not the issue at all? At moments when your ministry is upside down, this book will help you "right the ship."

I know that you might wonder if another leadership book is what you need right now. That is what I thought before I picked up this book. But you will be delighted at the wisdom and insight for weary shepherds.

You will enjoy this one!

—Mark Wagner
Northwest Baptist Seminary

Judson Edwards is a Baptist pastor of at least 30 years who writes with candid experience, expertise, and a sincere intent that “pastors and church leaders who are willing to think paradoxically, will dare to turn the ministerial lug the wrong way and to see what happens.” Ironically, what Edwards means by thinking paradoxically is that clergy must “re-examine their approach to ministry” in relation to the church’s method, and at the same time “realize the wonder of our calling and the privilege that is ours to preach and teach and lead in the name of Christ….” For Edwards, the paradox lies in the incongruity between the pastor’s approach and training and the church’s practices. This incongruity can lead to a lifetime of frustration, conflict, and disappointment for both participants. In 21 short chapters, Edwards masterfully illustrates a variety of contradictions clergy face, such as the “leadership paradox” (the harder you try to control a group, the less control you will have) and the “stewardship paradox” (the more you preach about money, the less you will receive).

Edwards’ thesis is simple, in a profound sort of way: As pastors seek to honor their calling within the context of their role, function, and clerical position in the church, the ideals they carry within meet head-on with the reality of working with people whose principles do not always match their own. Edwards therefore offers some knowledgeable advice (from both personal experience and the counsel of others) for each of these potentially perilous situations. For example, the “leadership paradox” advice he offers is: “As pastor, I have the responsibility to define myself and to proclaim the truth. But leadership is not about dominance…. It is about loving what I do and being playful, honest, and real.” This is a thesis Edwards returns to again and again throughout the book.

In my experience as a pastor of 24 years, Edwards has spoken volumes into my soul through this small offering in ink and paper, volumes that corroborate and confirm what I have already experienced—and continue to—in church ministry. All young, promising pastors need a Judson Edwards to walk alongside and encourage them during times of deep contradiction in their ministry. More often than they wish to admit, clergy feel torn apart, disappointed, and even depressed by the seemingly unbearable impossibilities they face on an almost daily basis in their churches. Fortunately, the hope that Edwards offers in this must-read little text is that pastors can find their way through the labyrinth of paradoxes in ministry by using what he calls unconventional wisdom and unorthodox ministry methods.

I highly recommend this book to every pastor who is out there wondering how to handle the seeming inconsistencies and incongruities of church ministry. This book will lift the spirit and give hope to the soul. It ought to be on the required reading list for every seminary student. Thanks Judson.

—Rev. Dr. R. Wayne Hagerman
First Baptist Church
Prince George, British Columbia, Canada

Judson Edwards, author of six previous books and pastor of Woodland Baptist Church in San Antonio, Texas, has written the leadership book for every pastor who wants to be effective in the 21st century. That’s because the ministry is loaded with paradoxes.

Edwards works with 21 of them. In order they include: leadership, calendar, relationships, anxiety, stewardship, preaching, negotiation, learning, power, issues, decision, influence, controversy, confrontation, intimacy, ministry, helper’s, organization, problems, time and attitude.

He devotes a chapter to each paradox and gives each paradox a descriptive phrase. For the leadership paradox, Edwards says, “the harder you try to control a group, the less control you will have.” For the decision paradox, “people seldom have to choose between right and wrong.” For the helper’s paradox, “the best way to take care of others is to take care of yourself.” For the attitude paradox, “only pastors who are having fun can seriously proclaim the gospel.”

From his opening illustration about changing a flat tire to his closing story about being a high jumper, Edwards is consistently interesting, insightful and helpful. He writes so that you can read fast and have time to apply each paradox to your own ministry and life. And, he adds an original, free verse poem, Memo for a Monday Morning, that sets his tone for enjoying being a pastor- leader.

I recommend that pastors take a chapter a day, for 21 days, and write down the ways that each paradox works in their world. Then, I recommend that pastors buy this book for their pastoral team members and choose a theme for each week’s team meeting based on its timeliness. Also, I recommend pastors use this book as conversation in their peer learning groups with other pastors.

Edwards works like an optometrist who changes the lenses in front of your eyes until you see the letters on the wall clearly. He acts like a coach with a 21-play game plan for your church field. Yet, he’s really a pastor who lives at soul- level. There are books that you want to read and keep for your library. And, there are books that you want to read and us e in your life. You’ll keep using this one.

—Ray Higgins
Coordinator, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Arkansas