J. Philip Wogaman offers candid reflections on his service as Senior Minister at Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington, D.C. This unexpected journey began for Wogaman at the age of sixty, following a full career as an ethics professor.

Wogaman chronicles the tasks he faced as a new pastor, tasks with which every pastor deals:

effective and faithful preaching
balancing pastoral and prophetic roles
presenting the church to the pubic media
dealing with prominent church members
addressing stewardship

He also discusses the challenges of succeeding a long-loved pastor who departed under a cloud, the responsibilities of pastoring to a president, and his efforts to balance the roles of a pastor against such a dramatic backdrop. Identifying his own successes and mistakes, Wogaman provides fresh insights on parish ministry that are sure to become guideposts for all pastors.

J. Philip Wogaman is Professor Emeritus of Christian Ethics at Wesley Theological Seminary, past President of the American Theological Society, past President of the Society of Christian Ethics, and past President of the Interfaith Alliance. He is the former Senior Pastor at Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington, DC, and is the author of many books, including Moral Dilemmas: An Introduction to Christian Ethics and What Christians Can Learn from Other Religions.