Pastor’s Formation LibraryKraig Kleeman
Cover of When Pastors Stop Being Disciples
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When Pastors Stop Being Disciples

How Ministry Can Quietly Replace Following Jesus

How the pastoral role can quietly stand in for a pastor's own response to Jesus, and how to become an apprentice again.

$12Read online and download as PDF
  • 18 chapters
  • 139-page PDF
  • About 2 hours to read
  • Team discussion guide included

By Kraig Kleeman, founder of The Zoé Life

Read a PreviewSee the team guide ↓

The Core Premise

Receiving a title does not end discipleship.

Why This Matters

A pastor can preach, pray and serve faithfully while his own following quietly stalls. This book traces how Scripture, prayer and obedience become part of the job, what that drift does to a pastor and a church over time, and the way back to pastoring from the life you are actually living.

What You'll Discover

  • Why a title does not end discipleship
  • When Scripture, prayer and obedience become part of the job
  • Living on yesterday's formation
  • Why the congregation learns discipleship by watching its pastor
  • Returning to an apprentice posture with Jesus

From the Book

Receiving a title does not end discipleship.
Guiding is not the same as going.
There is no stage of Christian leadership at which the shepherd no longer needs to be led.

For your team · Included with the book

Read it together

A printable discussion guide for staff teams, elders and pastor cohorts reading When Pastors Stop Being Disciples together. 4 conversations, one for each part of the book. Each one opens with a line from the book, then gives you questions and one practice to carry into the week.

  1. Session 1 · Introduction and Chapters 1–4

    A Role Without a Response

    Receiving a title does not end discipleship.

    4 questions · 1 practice

  2. Session 2 · Chapters 5–9

    When the Practices Become the Job

    Guiding is not the same as going.

    4 questions · 1 practice

  3. Session 3 · Chapters 10–14

    What Drift Does Over Time

    Understanding the command is not the problem; explaining it may have become a respectable way to postpone obeying it.

    5 questions · 1 practice

  4. Session 4 · Chapters 15–18 and Conclusion

    The Way Back

    There is no stage of Christian leadership at which the shepherd no longer needs to be led.

    4 questions · 1 practice

Free sample · The whole first sessionSession 1: A Role Without a ResponsePart One · Introduction and Chapters 1–4Read Session 1

Receiving a title does not end discipleship.

— Chapter 1

For the leader: Say at the start that this group is peers, not supervision. No one reports on their prayer life to a supervisor here, and no one is required to share anything personal.

  1. Chapter 1 · The Pastor Who Is No Longer a Disciple

    Which part of the story in this chapter felt most familiar? When have you had nothing to prepare and felt unsure what to do with God?

  2. Chapter 2 · The Calling Never Replaced the Call to Follow

    When did you last feel like a disciple first and a pastor second? What was different about that season?

  3. Chapter 3 · When Ministry Becomes Proof That You Are Fine

    What do people thank you for that you are tempted to take as proof you are spiritually fine?

  4. Chapter 4 · The Professional Christian

    Where does tending your own life before God still feel like neglecting the people you serve? Why might that be?

Practice for the week

Before the next meeting, spend one morning reading Scripture for yourself only, with nothing to prepare and no one to pass it on to. Next time, share only what you choose about what that was like.

The full guide opens from inside the book after you buy it, and prints straight from the page for each person on your team.

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