Book-Ministry Convergence

What Leaders Are Saying:

Like the infamous Apollo 13 reentry into the earth’s orbit, convergence is a narrow window of alignment that can easily be sabotaged by the gravitational forces in life and ministry we all encounter. Dr. Denning provides the NASA expertise we need to guide us to finishing well. I could not recommend a better roadway for anyone who has seen the hazards in others and is determined to be the exception. This is an exceptional read.

Dr. Joseph Umidi
Executive Vice President, Regent University
Founder. Lifeforming Leadership Coaching
Virginia Beach, Virginia

I recommend Dr. Rich Denning’s Ministry Convergence: 5 Principles for Maximum Leadership Effectiveness to any and all pastors for two reasons: first, Denning writes out of his own experiences as a pastor and second he writes out of his excellent training with Dr. Joseph Umidi, the marvelous professor of Practical Theology at Regent University. This is a book to read thoughtfully and prayerfully.

Dr. Vinson Synan
Dean Emeritus, Regent University School of Divinity
Scholar in Residence at Oral Roberts University

“Converge”.  I like the word.  I like the understanding that life experiences and spiritual growth can all converge into one main flow of ministry.  In Ministry Convergence, Dr. Rich Denning, effectively brings the reader into the defining events of his life and the corresponding spiritual developments that have occurred through God’s leadership.  His research then adds the perspective of others to show parallel truths.  Denning’s efforts can assist pastors to become healthier leaders and thus to shepherd healthy churches.   

Dr. Lou Shirey
Director of Clergy Development/WIN Prayer Ministry
International Pentecostal Holiness Church
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Ministry Convergence: 5 Principles for Maximum Leadership Effectiveness, is a challenging and necessary ‘read’ for those entering the ministry and those who’ve walked it for any period of time. It will enable one to regain or retain that ministry spark and will exact the best from you as you fulfill the ‘call’ of God on your life. Rich has written a timely resource, drawn from his wisdom and experiences; I wholeheartedly recommend this book.

Bishop Danny Nelson
Superintendent, NC Conference
International Pentecostal Holiness Church
Falcon, North Carolina

Dr. Rich Denning writes that God wants to bring all your experiences to convergence, that is, bring them together into a single stream to release powerful ministry in you. Our experiences, the good and the not so good, contribute to who we are, and many of us have concluded that the lessons learned in the hard places are sometimes the most valuable. And often, a lesson learned in one place adds to the lesson learned in another until from multiple experiences we arrive at something worth sharing with someone else, perhaps to help them avoid my pitfalls or help them recover from their own. Spiritual leaders can be superb coaches who teach the skills of the game, but who can be so much more. They guide and demonstrate. They inspire and correct. I appreciate the spiritual truths contained in these pages as well as Rich’s experiences that demonstrate truth. His transparency and openness is refreshing. The last chapter on releasing defeat from your ministry is on point for this broken world in which we live. Rich states that not only are we saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, but “when we fail God and sin, He still saves us by grace.” Through repentance and the release of failure, “God can use those negative experiences for His glory.” Thanks, Rich, for this helpful communication that teaches us to use all of life’s experiences to effect powerful ministry for Jesus and His Kingdom.

Dr. Ron White
President
Emmanuel College
Franklin Springs, Georgia

Ministry Convergence: 5 Principles for Maximum Leadership Effectiveness is a well written book of reality amid the faithful blessings of the Lord. The Lord does have a plan for each life! The author has lived and proven the principles discussed. This book can be a life saver for some and a reminder for others. It should be eagerly read and then lived! The Lord is constantly at work.

D. Chris Thompson
President/Pastor
Holmes Bible College
Holmes Memorial Church
Greenville, South Carolina

Any pastor or leader who has struggled through the fires of life and ministry will find a friend in the writing of Dr. Rich Denning.  Ministry Convergence: 5 Principles for Maximum Leadership Effectiveness covers five key areas and practical wisdom for leaders as they shepherd the local church and their personal lives.  Denning weaves into the narrative his wisdom as a life coach adding to the value of this volume.

Dr. Garnet E. Pike
Founder, SpiritLife Ministries
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Dr. Rich Denning‘s first book, Ministry Convergence: 5 Principles for Maximum Leadership Effectiveness, reflects both his heart for pastors embroiled in the struggles of life in ministry and the lessons he is learning through personal pain, past struggles, and the grace of God. I find his candor and authenticity very refreshing. There are some great nuggets of truth and principles for life in these pages. Read it for yourself then pass it along to a friend needing encouragement or direction.

Dr. Tracy Reynolds
Dean, School of Christian Ministries
Emmanuel College
Franklin Springs, Georgia

I wish I had this book in my early days of ministry – a true gift to many. God is already at work in your life. He has been forming you according to his purpose and plan since the day you were born, to bring you to the place of maximum fruitfulness for His glory At the right time, God draws together all of your experience, knowledge, and skills to focus then with a new laser-like sharpness—this is called ministry convergence. This book will help you understand the dynamic of ministry convergence to better grasp what God is doing in your life and how to cooperate with His redemptive plan. Its applied and practical wisdom will act as a catalyst to help you become who God wants you to be so you can do what he wants you to do with greater impact and focus. Read this book prayerfully and prepare for greater effectiveness and impact in ministry.

Dr. James T. Flynn, Associate Dean and Associate Professor of Practical Theology
School of Divinity, Regent University
Virginia Beach, Virginia

Dr. Rich Denning has provided a rich resource for the women and men who are pursuing their call to ministry. He shares a healthy perspective of ministry that is both easy to read but challenging for those contemplating their present journey of ministering to others. This book is an intriguing blend of personal stories, perspectives shaped by experience, and a paradigm that calls for self-awareness and an others-centered view of engaging others. His use of diagrams, end-of-chapter exercises, and short chapters makes this immediately applicable to both personal and professional ministry. I recommend that this be a staple resource.

Dr. Mary Lowe
Associate Dean and Professor
School of Divinity, Liberty University
Lynchburg, Virginia

“Effective ministry comes out of being. God is more concerned with who we are than what we do for Him.” This is just one of the profound statements in Pastor Rich Denning’s new book,  Ministry Convergence: 5 Principles for Maximum Leadership Effectiveness. This book challenges pastors and church leaders to never forget WHO their called to, WHAT their called to do, and the WHY of it all, in ministry.  Allow Pastor Rich to share a little of his own journey with you, and take you to a place of greater leadership. Don’t miss this book!

Tangie Chappell Callahan
Co-Lead Pastor, The Bridge
Virginia Beach, Virginia

Numerous leadership texts in my library miss the mark, either empty of substantive counsel, over-filled with megachurch fodder unhelpful to the average pastor, or simply overrated and irrelevant! But this brief, yet loaded “leadership coaching manual” may easily become the benchmark of all leadership texts as Dr. Rich Denning has gleaned from among the most prominent and trusted voices of our day the most pertinent and useful of insights for effectively leading the healthy church! A gifted writer whose enjoyable alliterations make recall so interesting and easy, he has experienced his own authentic “convergence,” and his closing chapter will surprise you as with transparency and tact, encouragement and hope, he shares his own story of redemptive grace! He then clinches intrigue with final statements about the importance of effective leadership in the local church. You MUST have this text on your desk – this is the one that will change your destiny in pastoral ministry!

Dr. Wayne Flora
Adjunct Professor
Lee University

Dr. Rich Denning’s Ministry Convergence: 5 Principles for Maximum Leadership Effectiveness is an excellent resource for new and experienced pastors and ministry leaders. The book will help leaders at all levels of ministry understand and engage in a process for ministry convergence that will deepen their ministry effectiveness. Anyone who reads this book will benefit from it.

Dr. Kimberley Jessie
Church & Community Missionary
The Bridge Network of Churches
Chesapeake, Virginia

This book is a must read for any leader whether he/she is new or seasoned in a ministry leadership position. It is powerfully motivating, honest, balanced, scripturally-based, as well as full of wonderful personal illustrations from Rich’s life that will instruct and encourage leaders. It touches the core of the leader’s heart and soul, and serves as a guide for personal assessment of a leader’s life as well as a guide to leadership principles that work. Great job Rich!

Rev. Roger Barefoot
Associate Pastor
Trinity Worship Center
Burlington, North Carolina

Dr. Rich Denning explores the depths of where God has taken him over the years throughout his ministry and walk with the Lord. Ministry Convergence: 5 Principles for Maximum Leadership Effectiveness is a dynamic read wherein Rich draws from the experiences and opportunities upon which God has built a foundation for effective gospel ministry that can be found in each of our lives and testimonies.

Micah Gravley
State Representative, HD 67
Georgia House of Representatives

This book is great for both those new to ministry and pastoral veterans. Dr. Denning shares from years of local parish experience. Rich’s transparency is refreshing and encouraging for pastors who live in the real world struggling as we battle against a very real enemy of the soul. Rich shares from a place of brokenness and personal pain as he reminds us that from the darkest places, Jesus heals, renews and restores as He cultivates ministers who are then better able to love and care for other sin sick people needing a Whole and Holy God. For the experienced ministry practitioner we can be encouraged and excited as we seek for God to bring us to a point of mature “ministry convergence” using all our life experience, knowledge and wisdom to bring glory to God as we have learned from years of successes and failures. For the new church leader, this text could help many avoid common mistakes as this would be a wonderful addition to the required reading for: Bible college students, seminarians, ministry schools, and local church elder/deacon/small group leader training pro-grams. Ministry convergence is filled with practical application for day to day pastoral tasks and Christian life as an ordained man or woman of God. It is balanced with scripture, leadership teaching and interesting personal stories from a seasoned pastor with much wisdom to share. It receives my highest recommendation. As you read this book, expect God to speak to you both devotionally and as a ministry professional.

Rev. Brian Farley
Executive Director
Mission New York

It seems that every week I read about a new book on leadership for ministers. Many of them just restate old principles. In these pages, Dr. Rich Denning in Ministry Convergence: 5 Principles for Maximum Leadership Effectiveness gives the church a different gift. Here is something new, refreshing, and different. In an easy-to-read format, Rich opens his heart and confesses his own shortcomings before setting forth simple, yet profound, principles that really work. They are not easy. Things worth having and holding never come without effort. The principles in this book are based solidly on Scripture. They worked for Rich. They will work for you. I know that once upon a time they worked for me. They will work for your church or ministry. Your personal life, your family life, your ministry will all be better for following them. These principles will work because God is in them and He guarantees it!

Dr. Leslie Holmes
Provost and John H. Leith Professor of Pastoral Theology
Erskine Theological Seminary
Due West, South Carolina

Losing my father, Rev. Terry Barts, was one of the most difficult events of my life. However, I have been blessed to witness his continued legacy through the impact that my dad made in the lives of others. Life altering transformations that were fueled by my dad’s love for Jesus. This book is simply another example of God’s love making an impact in the lives of others – taking our tragedies and helping others triumph. May your life and leader- ship be triumphantly transformed by utilizing the principles found in Ministry Convergence: 5 Principles for Maximum Leadership Effectiveness.

Allison Barts Landry
Morehead City, North Carolina