What if the secret to pastoral success is to do less ministry? Or maybe it’s more like a two-part secret: do less ministry, develop more people. The typical pastor takes on far too much. Who visits the hospital? Who counsels couples? Who teaches and preaches and disciples? Usually, the pastor. But according to Ephesians 4, a pastor’s true goal should be to equip the so-called ordinary members of their church to take on these pastoral tasks. Micah Fries and Jeremy Maxfield will show you how by: Exposing the dangerous undercurrents that may be holding back your church culture - Teaching you how to narrow your focus in order to multiply your ministry - Walking you through how to delegate, develop leaders, and deploy your members. Yes, the people in those pews expect a lot from you, but learn how you can manage expectations, lead well, and pastor biblically. Not only does this approach drastically reduce the pressure on you, the pastor, it multiplies the effectiveness of your ministry 10, 20, even 100-fold! Praise for Leveling the Church “A study of practical wisdom from two pastoral leaders of God’s flock. This volume avoids the trap of the super-pastor syndrome often found in leadership literature. A book for every pastor and those who care about the health of the church today.” —TIMOTHY GEORGE Research professor at Beeson Divinity School of Samford University General Editor of the 28-volume Reformation Commentary on Scripture “Be still my heart!” Leveling the Church —THIS is the church, body-life done God’s way! Leveling the Church puts us on solid biblical ground and practically builds from there. I am so grateful our Father led Micah and Jeremy to write this much-needed practical manual where we learn God’s plan for “equipping the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:12). —KAY ARTHUR Cofounder, Brand Ambassador Precept Ministries “The call to serve the church as a pastor is a call to equip the church unto service. That’s precisely the message and the methods Micah Fries and Jeremy Maxfield point us to in this book, Leveling the Church . This book is spot-on and will benefit ministers and churches everywhere. I highly encourage you read it.” —JASON ALLEN President of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary “In this book, Micah Fries and Jeremy Maxfield dismantle the idea that the church is a corporation of consumers, served by a professional class. Instead, this book calls us back to an ancient vision of the New Testament: of a clergy called out not to serve in the place of the people but to equip and empower the people for the work of ministry. If we heed the call of this book, we will see a more faithful, more joyful, more purposeful church.” —RUSSELL MOORE President, The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention “Too many pastors fall into the trap of trying to do everything themselves. Not only does it wear them out—it circumvents God’s design for how the church should work. Micah Fries and Jeremy Maxfield challenge pastors to take seriously the biblical charge to “build up the body of Christ” so believers will be equipped and sent into ministry. That’s when true multiplication begins to take place. Micah and Jeremy carefully identify the obstacles that prevent pastors and churches from multiplying themselves and offer practical solutions for clearing those hurdles. I’m grateful for this resource and hope others richly benefit from it.” —KEVIN EZELL President, North American Mission Board, SBC “We live in an era of notorious examples of bad leadership at every important institution of society, including the church. Many practitioners advocate a detached model of leadership that eschews the Bible's rich and consistent metaphor of shepherding. This is why Leveling the Church is such an important resource. Micah and Jeremy help pastors return to the biblical, Ephesians 4 model of “equipping the saints for the work of ministry.” If you want to mobilize your people for ministry, if you want to shepherd well, if you want to see a new generation of God’s people empowered to live on mission, this book is for you. Buy this book and share it with your staff, your key lay volunteers and anyone in a position of influence.” —DANIEL DARLING VP of Communications, ERLC, columnist, and author of several books, including The Dignity Revolution “I like this book a lot. I read it in a single reading! It lays out a faithful, biblical blueprint for how ministers ought to do ministry.” —DANIEL L. AKIN President of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary “What a delightful encouragement to read this refreshing new work from Micah Fries and Jeremy Maxfield! As indicated in the subtitle, this thoughtful book wisely guides readers toward a thoroughly biblical view of church and ministry, encouraging both a rethinking and reframing of what faithful leadership really means in our current context. The authors offer practical counsel and dir