A lot of churches and youth ministries have given up on the idea of small groups, writing them off as too tedious, too difficult to manage, too hard to find volunteers for, too expensive to provide materials or curriculum for, or any other number of reasons. In A Volunteer Youth Worker's Guide to Leading a Small Group, Mark Oestreicher argues a different perspective. Marko insists that small groups promote safe spaces to grow, consistency in teenagers' emotionally tumultuous lives, and repetition that instills in them the importance of trust and tradition. The Guide to Leading a Small Group is perfect for anyone feeling disenchanted with the concept of small groups, and after Marko succeeds in changing your mind in the first few pages, he'll use the rest of the book to help you restructure and rethink your small-group programming so you don't get burned out again. Marko is leading the charge in reviving small groups, and you can join him today.

The tyranny of the urgent is a by-product of our fast-paced world. It affects many people, but when it impacts pastors they are often tempted to ignore the critical needs of the pastoral disciplines that ensure the effectiveness of ministry.

In Thinking, Listening, and Being: Wesleyan Pastoral Disciplines, Jeren Rowell offers theological reflections on what it means to live and work as a pastor. He examines different aspects of

pastoral thinking, practice, and work, and challenges pastors to continually pursue prayer, the study of Scriptures, and theological reflection. "Working in this way," he writes, "could not only be a gift of love for the church but also an important model for parish pastors who are tempted to surrender first things to the urgencies and temptations of contemporary life."