THE PASTOR AS MIDWIFE LIFE-GIVING LEADERSHIP FOR THE HEALING OF THE CHURCH
June 2, 2026 RELIGION / Christian Ministry / Pastoral Resources 978-1-5140-1244-4, 152 Pages, PBK, 6 x 9 inches, $24.99
Christian Ministry Lessons from Midwives for Pastoral Leadership In The Pastor as Midwif e, Shawna Songer Gaines brings her pastoral experience alongside her research on the vocation and practices of midwifery to explore a vision of pastoral leadership that is shaped by the wisdom of those who walk alongside expectant mothers. Learning to pastor like a midwife helps us embrace what God is doing in our pain and see new life in unlikely places. Gaines helps pastors embrace a new, life-giving posture for ministry marked by advocacy, listening, and letting go of control. Like the apostle Paul in Romans 8:22, pastors who long to witness the birth of God’s new creation are invited to imagine their work like a hopeful midwife.
Shawna Songer Gaines (D.Min. Lipscomb University) is lead pastor at Trevecca Community Church in Nashville, TN. She has fifteen years of experience in congregational ministry and is a welcomed speaker for worship gatherings and church leadership conferences. She is the author of the Bible study series, Breathe: Sacred Space for Women , and coauthor of A Seat at the Table: A Generation Reimagining Its Place in the Church and Kings and Presidents: Politics in the Kingdom of God.
“Gaines has midwifed me in discipleship and leadership, and you won’t regret inviting her to do the same for you.” Beth Felker Jones, professor of theology at Northern Seminary and author of Why I Am Protestant
“Shawna Songer Gaines does us all the best of services. With beautiful writing and deep insight, she gives us a metaphor to live by, a metaphor that can lead pastoral practice to hold together both the divine and human realities.” Andrew Root, professor at Luther Seminary and author of the Ministry in a Secular Age series
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