Author Description

The Road to Renewal gathers the voices of twelve pastors who have led their parishes through change of every kind - visioning, conflict, momentum, loss, growth, and everything that comes with guiding people towards mission. Some write alone, others write with a trusted lay partner. All of them speak out of lived experience. Across fourteen chapters, they invite you inside the real work of leadership in a parish. These chapters trace the actual moments that shape leaders over time: choosing a direction when the path isn’t obvious, staying steady when the pressure rises, listening longer than feels comfortable, calling people higher, and making decisions that don’t please everyone but move the mission forward. Each contributor focuses on a different part of the journey: feeling the weight and the possibility of renewal, believing that God can act here and now, wanting change enough to pay the cost, dreaming and re-dreaming a vision, earning and keeping approval and alignment, speaking clearly and consistently, recruiting and forming a team, leading through growth and resistance, funding and investing in the mission, surrendering to the Holy Spirit, defending what God has begun, taking risks for the sake of the Gospel, and sustaining structures without losing creativity. The result is not a theory or a model, but a set of honest voices from the field—priests and lay leaders who are in it, learning as they go, and willing to share what has helped them keep moving. If you’re trying to lead a parish with courage, honesty, and hope, this book offers voices you can learn from and companions you can trust. Whether you’re a pastor, a member of a parish staff, a diocesan leader, or a lay person who cares deeply about the Church’s future, The Road to Renewal gives you a window into how others are walking this path and an encouragement to keep going on your own.