Start to Finish, by pastor and speaker Mark Dance, focuses on helping pastors build resilience in life and ministry. In his introductory chapter, Dance warns that a pastor’s lack of resilience causes painful collateral damage. His perspective connects a pastor’s lifestyle with their leadership. For guidance on living and leading, Dance points ministry leaders to the great commandments of Mark 12:29–31.
The book is structured in two parts: the first section focuses on Deuteronomy 6:5, the Shema (“ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength’ ”), and the second section on “ ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ ” (Mark 12:31). Across twelve chapters, Dance presents the case that great-commandment ministers make the best Great Commission ministry leaders.
The book addresses the problem of ministry burnout, exploring how prioritizing ministry over one’s relationship with God leads to decreased resilience and increased relational damage, negatively affecting the pastor’s marriage, family, and friends.
In my own experience, I can testify that recovery from severe burnout comes by realigning one’s life to Jesus above all. In the author’s words, “There is not one thing you will do today more important than walk with God. For that matter, there is not one thing you will do in your home or church this week more important than loving and worshipping God” (33). Chapters 3 to 6 warn pastors to never let church growth outpace their growing love for God.
While the concept of life-to-ministry overflow in the book’s first section is acceptable and understandable, the application of the second great commandment presents some challenges in the last half. The book offers practical truths, but readers should be aware of the hierarchical assertions on marriage and family. For example, in chapter 9, the author suggests that after prioritizing God comes the minister’s spouse, followed by children and family. In chapter 10, the author continues with best practices for the friendship life of a pastor, making a strong case that pastors can become friends with members. Chapter 11 closes the discussion with appeals to live out the Great Commission for global neighbors.
The book’s hierarchy raises a problem. The hierarchy in Mark 12 is not between people; rather, it is about God first and then my neighbors—be it close loved ones or global strangers—equal to myself. In my own grandparents’ lifetime, missionaries lived out the Great Commission and great commandments when they left the comforts of home to share the gospel of Jesus among my Pasifika people. What blessings would my people have missed if Christians prioritized themselves and their families before others? The author is correct in the first section of the book: resilience comes from putting Christ first. However, prioritizing Jesus will place others equally with, not above or below, oneself.
While critical engagement with its hierarchical framework is necessary, Start to Finish provides value for ministers seeking insights on how to prevent burnout by growing resilience in life and ministry.
