In previous generations, ministers often enjoyed high job satisfaction. They could be clear about who they were and what they were for. Today, they are increasingly anxious about role confusion, overload and burnout. Drawing on his abundant experience in hands-on ministry and ministry education, Gordon Oliver speaks directly, with faith and with hopefulness to these realities. He explores the covenant that exists between ministers and their churches and provides a clear evaluation of the structures, constraints and freedoms of ministry. With real-life stories and insightful questions for reflection, his thought-provoking guide helps ministers, and those who support them, work together to fulfill ministers' true calling.

Gordon Oliver, born in 1939, lives in Cape Town, South Africa. He holds a master’s degree in Religious Studies from the University of Cape Town. He was ordained in the ministry of the Unitarian Church in Cape Town in 2002 and was elected President of International Council of Unitarians and Universalists from 2003 to 2007. Most of his professional life was in Human Resources Management and during this time, he was an elected councillor on the Cape Town City Council, serving for fifteen years. He was Mayor of Cape Town from 1989 to 1991 and had the privilege of welcoming Nelson Mandela to the Cape Town City Hall on the day he was released from prison.

The author tells his story of being born under the Gemini star sign, living a life defined by an unremitting struggle between the conflicting twins of “Yes, I can” and “No, you can’t!” It describes a struggle of early childhood uncertainty, being hidden as a child, of unanswered questions and preferring to be in the background during his childhood through to his middle years.

Generally surrendering to the opinions of others, while holding back on his own views, was the hallmark of his being. Hesitating to take on challenges was a familiar pattern, as was the likelihood of yielding to mediocracy, the easy way out. Tilting the balance away from “No you can’t” to “Yes, I can … and I will” was the major factor in the author’s life towards holding leadership positions in every sphere of his adult public life, from committee secretary early in his professional career to becoming Cape Town’s first citizen.

From the mayoralty to ministry, standing up for justice and the dignity of life and being able to make a difference was the path he chose; mediocracy simply was not good enough.

Pitched into the maelstrom of air fighting in the summer of 1940, twenty-four-year-old Gordon Olive barely lived to tell this extraordinary tale of courage and endurance. As Britain fought alone for its survival, 'the Few' of RAF Fighter Command took to the air grievously outnumbered, many reaching breaking point, exhausted physically and mentally by unrelenting, intense combat. Gordon Olive flew the iconic Spitfire for over 125 missions above London and the south-east in the white heat of the aerial battle for supremacy of the skies. One of the most heavily engaged pilots of the Battle, he claimed ten enemy aircraft destroyed in those frantic months. This is his story of what it was like to dogfight with Messerschmitts at speeds of 400 mph, experiencing G forces close to blackout, at one moment to be drenched in sweat with exertion, the next to be freezing at 25,000 feet, to smell the cordite of your own fighter's machine guns and feel cannon shells explode against the back of your armoured seat. Illustrated in colour with forty unique paintings of the aerial battle of summer 1940 by the author.