Pastor Ron Sharpe
Current Ministry Role
Lead Pastor at Fenton Church of the NazareneFenton, MI
Years in Ministry
25+ YearsAreas of Passion
Preaching, Worship, Spiritual FormationAvailability
Long-term (6 months or more)Why Mentoring?
I am grateful for the riches I have received through mentors and peers who have helped shape my life and ministry. I would like to extend the gift I have received to others who are preparing for ministry. Although I am keenly aware of my continual need for growth as I journey forward in life and ministry I would like to invest in others who are at any earlier stage in the journey.Impactful Books
The Pastor by Eugene Peterson, and
The Four Volume Pastoral Series by Eugene Peterson.
Eugene Peterson’s books have helped me recover the heart and essence of the Pastoral calling in a world filled with temptations to exchange that calling for a commercial enterprise.
Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright.
N.T. Wright’s Surprised by Hope has helped me form a more comprehensive and wholistic soteriology that encompasses the great hope for the restoration of all things. As a result my understanding of salvation is more vibrant and expansive. Preaching, spiritual formation, as well as ministries of engagement and outreach in the community are profoundly impacted and enriched by the great desire of God to bring rescue and restoration to His people, and His world!
Faith Formation in a Secular Age by Andrew Root
Andrew Root is helping me wrestle with our current struggle in the American church in regards to spiritual formation. He identifies cultural influences that have caused much of the American church to opt for a “moralistic therapeutic deism” instead of an actual participation in the very person and ministry of Jesus Christ. Root’s analysis is helpful as we seek to resist succumbing to the cultural influences that have led to an impotent “moral therapeutic deism,” and then to recover the essence of what it means to be a people who participate in the very nature and mission of Jesus in the world.
