New Wine into Old Wineskins

You're hired to be our new senior minister! Consider what you might be asking yourself: Where would you even begin? What changes will need to be addressed? How would you approach the beginning of your ministry? New Wine into Old Wineskins seeks to answer these very questions.

New Wine into Old Wineskins takes you on a journey of visiting, or revisiting, the biblical mission of the church and keeping this fundamental principal in a changing environment. If a leader's task is to help define the mission, then the leader must also implement and execute said mission. This book will help the new senior minister, New Wine, to implement a change process for the established church, Old Wineskins.


""As in the story, 'The Three Bears,' many new pastors are too hard or too soft when it comes to change. Few have the unique balance of being just right. Jonathan Feathers has both the necessary objectivity to empower a church's vision and the heart to appreciate its existing culture. He has poured knowledge and love into New Wine into Old Wineskins, a fresh approach every new pastor should consider before beginning.""
--Shawn Tully, Lead Pastor, Dover Christian Church

""Change is constant in every area of life including the church. However, it is also threatening and dangerous. Feathers has done the church a real service by giving the rationale for change; and perhaps more importantly, providing a well thought out strategy for successfully implementing needed change. As a long-serving pastor and church consultant I have seen improperly implemented change often result in disaster . . . Jonathan provides a pattern for successfully implemented change.""
--John Caldwell, Retired Senior Pastor, Kingsway Christian Church; President, John Caldwell Ministries, International

""A breath of fresh air is required to induce change in church members when they infer that growth, development, and members' spiritual enhancement are important, but really want little or no change. Feathers presents a case study of a recent concerted effort to bring about positive change in a status quo environment. The challenging task is met with successes and failures, but the experience gained is worth its weight in gold.""
--Jerry L. Gehre


Jonathan Feathers has over fifteen years of vocational ministry experience in Tennessee, Indiana, New York, and Virginia. This includes experience in congregations from less than 100 to over 2,100 members as volunteer to senior minister. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sports Management from Tusculum College, Master of Divinity from Emmanuel Christian Seminary, and Doctor of Ministry with an emphasis in Workplace Leadership and Business Ethics from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.