What does it take to prepare for and maintain an effective pastoral ministry in 21st century America? Well, a theological education isn't a bad place to start (the authors of this book are products--and fans--of seminary education)! But while we encourage pastors to get all the formal education possible, we acknowledge that much learning critical to pastoral success never took place in a classroom, but in a community of our peers. That's where our book-learning was practically enhanced by the experiential wisdom of fellow pastors who warned us away from danger and pointed us in the right direction. What our friends did for us, we hope now to do for our readers!

Hence, Hobo Pastors. This book draws its unusual title from the rail-riding "hobos" of Great Depression era America. Those inveterate travelers faced many unpredictable dangers and demands as they rode the trains from one place to another. They naturally came to rely on friends who had gone ahead and left helpful signs to guide them.

In this book, we write as a couple of veteran pastor hobos leaving helpful "signs" for our younger compadres as they ply the rails of as yet under-explored pastoral territory. Some of the signs relate to the core tasks of pastoral ministry -- preaching, funerals, and marriage counseling. Other signs address some the more jarring aspects of ministry, like change management and negotiating conflict. Many of the signs speak to the inescapable prerequisites of character-- fighting pride and pursuing humility, fighting sloth and pursuing perseverance.

With each chapter, one of us highlights a significant pastoral challenge and the other adds their two cents. We hope our readers will receive this back-and-forth dialogue as a "hobo signs" lovingly placed before you by a couple of old pastoral rail-riders!