A book series! Going the Distance

This series was originally posted on In Tandem, a blog for ministry wives. 

One of the things we would like to do on this blog is to read and recommend good books. We are hoping to review a few books in detail each year, as well as have 'one-off' reviews of other books.

We are going to start with Going the Distance by Peter Brain. This book is a must-read for anyone in full-time ministry, but it also has great value for any ministry-minded person. The subtitle is: How to Stay Fit for a Lifetime of Ministry and Brain has done an excellent job of thinking through the both the privileges and the challenges of full-time ministry and how we can respond to them biblically and wisely so that we can continue on for many years serving the Lord.

I have had the joy of reading this book twice, both as part of a group. The first time was a email book club that was started by our year of college wives after we all left theological college. We chose a book for every month or two and would share our comments and thoughts via group emails. It was a group that lasted for a few years and was a great source of encouragement for our Christian lives, our ministries and also just to keep reading!

This year, I have been reading it again with a group of campus ministry wives. We decided when we starting meeting at the beginning of the year that reading a book together would have a huge benefit. One reason and a purely practical one, was that the 3 of us did not know each other that well, we had never met together before and turning our attention to a book was a good way to get to know each other without too much pressure! Secondly, there is always wisdom to be gained from others, so why not benefit from them! I chose this book rather purposefully as this year was the first year in the role for the other wives, so thinking purposefully now about ministry in the long haul might inspire them to think about the patterns they and their husbands are setting up in these early months and years.

It has been a great time together. We also share and pray together, but reading Going the Distance has enabled us to think a little about the ministries we and our husbands are involved in and how we can serve others better by ensuring we are taking care of ourselves.

Every time we meet we have read through a few chapters. We discuss them and how they are relevant at the moment.

I will take you through some of these thoughts over the coming months. I will include the questions we have asked ourselves as a result, and where appropriate, share some of our answers. Hope you enjoy it as much as we are!


I will put up posts weekly on Mondays about Going the Distance. It would be great if you joined us in reading it. However, even if you don't read the book, there will still be enough information in each post to think about and comment on!