We're listening here to the voice of an engaged and still-growing elder as he talks with us about what it means to be a congregational leader and about how to serve faithfully and sustainably in that role. Central to the book and at the heart of Mahan's understanding of this vocation is a conviction that being a congregational leader is far more than a job; it is a way among other ways of becoming more fully who we are, pursuing our wholeness, and "working out our salvation." He trusts that ministry can be a means of transformation for ministers and for those whom they serve.