Dr. Joel R. Beeke is one of my favorite writers to read. I’ve lost track of how many books he’s...
Church
Reformed Preaching – Joel Beeke (2018)
Preaching the Word of God is at the very center of pastoral ministry. Indeed, the task of...
The Preacher’s Catechism by Lewis Allen
I am a big fan of catechisms. So when I learned about The Preacher’s Catechism by Lewis Allen, I...
“Of The Church” Series – Joe Thorn
Much has been said about who the church is, what the church does, and how the church does it over the past two thousand years. We live in an age where there is no shortage of ecclesiology books that address such topics. I have found that many of these books live in...
The Heart of the Church by Joe Thorn
The first review I read of Joe Thorn’s new book, The Heart of the Church was decisively negative. This specific reviewer awarded the book with a dreaded “two stars,” which in the land of book reviews is something akin to wandering through a barren wasteland without...
“The Vine Project” by Colin Marshall and Tony Payne
Every pastor and ministry leader desires church growth, and so books on how to attain growth are ubiquitous. Most of these books claim to have unlocked some secret, or assert the keys to revolutionize ministries. They make a case for “epic” church, and dynamic...
The Pastor’s Justification: Applying the Work of Christ in Your Life and Ministry by Jared C. Wilson
There are only a handful of living pastors who I would trust to write on such an important topic as is the pastorate and the justification of the Pastor. Jared Wilson is one of these men, and he has given a tremendous gift to pastors, seminary students, and laymen...
Serving a Movement: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City (Tim Keller)
A few years ago, Tim Keller released one of the most significant works on church planting and development to hit the shelves this century. Center Church is a massive examination of what it looks like to do Gospel-centered ministry in your community. It received...
Gospel Eldership by Bob Thune
Everything rises or falls on good leadership. The fruitfulness and effectiveness of the local church are dependent upon men who exert strong, humble, and God-centered leadership. Weak men spawn weak churches. But men who live according to God’s mandate are a part of...
Who Moved My Pulpit: Leading Change in the Church by Thom Rainer
If you were to ask most Pastors what they dread the most they would most likely say change. Some Pastors have had a horrible experience bringing about change in their churches. Many Christians greatly resist change of any kind. We tend to fight change in our own lives...
Discipling: How to Help Others Follow Jesus by Mark Dever
Asking someone to define discipleship into one small sentence is no small task. The gospel-centered, disciple-making movement among Evangelicalism has got a wide lens. We define our churches as churches that “make disciples,” but to the non-believer or the believer...
Why Bother with Church? And Other Questions About Why You Need It and Why It Needs You by Sam Allberry
Many Christians today think that the Christian life is to be lived in isolation from the local church. Some Christians also don’t see the need to continue to listen to sermons. We are living in a rapidly biblical illiterate church culture where people may know enough...
Political Church: The Local Assembly as Embassy of Christ’s Rule (Jonathan Leeman)
James K.A. Smith posted a thought on Twitter that captured it perfectly. “I still haven't decided whether 2016 is the worst year, or the best year, to be writing a book on political theology.” In some sense, you could perceive the political horizon of 2016 as being...
Kellemen, Bob, Kevin Carson, eds. Biblical Counseling and the Church: God’s Care Through God’s People
The Biblical Counseling Coalition’s new book, Biblical Counseling and the Church: God’s Care Through God’s People demonstrates the progress that has been made in the ministry of biblical counseling since Jay Adams’ initial exhortation to the church many years ago. The...
Pulpit Aflame Edited by Joel R. Beeke and Dustin W. Benge
Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to read dozens and dozens of preaching books. Whenever a new preaching book comes out, I try to read it. One reason for this is I want to improve my craft of preaching and teaching the Word of God. A new book Pulpit Aflame...
Zeal Without Burnout (Christopher Ash)
Burnout. It’s a popular topic in pastoral ministry these days, most likely because it is a very real and prevalent topic among our churches today. As someone who works in pastoral ministry, I am already seeing just how easy it is to get burnt out in ministry, how...
Zeal Without Burnout by Christopher Ash
Ministry is hard! It is tiresome, demanding, never-ending work that requires a great deal of sacrifice. If you are in ministry or have been in ministry you know exactly what I am talking about. But all too often the journey in ministry brings an unexpected detour due...
A Review of “A Theology of Biblical Counseling” by Heath Lambert
“Counseling is a theological discipline.” That statement captures the very heart of Lambert’s book. It is also, he says, the most “controversial part of this book” (11). Despite what many others believe, counseling is inherently theological and as such we must wrestle...
A Review of “The Recovery Minded Church” by Jonathan Benz and Kristina Robb-Dover
She did not fit the stereotype of an addict. This 24-year-old girl was articulate, intelligent, and pretty. She seemed smart and full of potential, but she was also addicted to meth. It was an important realization in those early days of my ministry: every addict is...
A Review of “Strength in Numbers” by Mark Shaw
When I finally realized what Ephesians four was calling me to I was shocked. There Paul writes that God has given to the church pastors in order that they might “equip the saints for the work of the ministry.” That is to say, the saints do the work of the ministry,...
Biblical Counseling and The Church: God’s Care Through God’s People
Biblical counseling is a growing movement in the Church that is seeking to help God’s people to care for one another through God’s Word. This is an encouraging trend in my opinion because rather than focus on the latest psychological trends or diagnoses, we are...
A Review of “Biblical Counseling and the Church” ed. by Robert Kellemen and Kevin Carson
At one level, Biblical counseling is not a ministry of the church. It is the DNA of all Christians who are seeking to fulfill the “one another” commands of Scripture. The church, then, should not have a counseling ministry but rather be a counseling ministry. That’s...
Gospel Conversations How To Care Like Christ by Robert W. Kellemen
The best way to learn how to do counseling is by giving and receiving counseling in the context of real relationships. Often times some people think that the best counseling is learned by reading a book (which is good regarding learning the how to) but learning to...
A Review of “Addiction and Virtue” by Kent Dunnington
Whenever professionals cross disciplines, there are some interesting results. So, when philosopher Kent Dunnington takes on the task of understanding and describing the nature of addictions, we get a fascinating and fresh look at this important subject. While...
The Pastor’s Book: A Comprehensive and Practical Guide to Pastoral Ministry
Resources on pastoral ministry are legion. From blogs, ministries, conferences, articles, podcast, and more—pastors today have more resources at their disposal than at any time in the history of the world. While there will be no slow down on the release of material...
A Review of “Gospel Conversations” by Robert Kellemen
I often tell my students that the best Biblical Counselors are those who have received good Biblical counseling. Dr. Robert Kellemen believes the same thing. “We learn to become competent biblical counselors by giving and receiving biblical counseling in the context...
The New Pastor’s Handbook (Jason Helopoulos)
Scanning over the endorsements of this book, the reader will find one recurring theme sung out by popular pastors and church leaders about this book, summed up well by Tim Challies: “Where was this book when I was first ordained?” A number of these pastors have called...
The Compelling Community: Where God’s Power Makes a Church Attractive (Mark Dever & Jamie Dunlop)
I have yet to read a book put out by the 9Marks initiative that I didn’t like. I’m so thankful for Mark Dever and the other wise and helpful pastors he’s gotten on board to help us learn about building healthy churches. They have been essential resources for pastors...
Let The Earth Hear His Voice Strategies for Overcoming Bottlenecks in Preaching God’s Word
Pastors, Bible study leaders, and all who preach and teach the Word of God have a challenging and humbling responsibility in teaching the Word of God to the people of God. This requires great skill, maturity, training, and practice. Let The Earth Hear His Voice...
The Imperfect Pastor (Zack Eswine)
The landscape of books on pastoral ministry is so broad that it’s tough to discern what you’re going to get when picking up another book on the subject. You can almost categorize most of these books into simple summary statements: “Care about your leadership more than...
Preaching The Whole Counsel of God: Design And Deliver Gospel-Centered Sermons
Biblical preaching begins with faithful hermeneutics, discovering the truth of the text. It’s not only the nuts and bolts of preaching, it’s also the doing of preaching that’s vital. This is what Julius Kim has done so well in his new book Preaching The Whole Counsel...
The Pastor as Public Theologian: Reclaiming a Lost Vision by Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Owen Strachan
I'm a student of theology. I love spending my time reading books. I'm the guy that reads Reformed Dogmatics for fun, or watches apologetic debates on my downtime. I love the study of God. But how does that translate to my pursuit of ministry? Aren't there plenty of...
The New Pastor’s Handbook Help And Encouragement For The First Years Of Ministry
Seminary is a time where future pastors and ministry leaders get poured into for the purpose that they can pour out their lives into the people of God. Seminary I’ve learned can also be a spiritual dangerous time where you read the Bible so academically that you never...
40 Questions About Baptism and the Lord’s Supper
Most who profess the name of Christ, whether they be Catholic, Protestant, and all the variations that exist under both umbrellas, participate and practice at least some version of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. With that said, there are a variety of competing beliefs...
Understanding Gender Dysphoria
Gender dysphoria is unstable and unfamiliar ground for the church. As more and more people navigate their way through feelings of gender incongruence the Church must seek to understand it and navigate it with them. We must do so from within a Biblical framework and...
The Pastor As Public Theologian Reclaiming a Lost Vision
Few issues today are as important as understanding what theology is and it’s importance to the local church. This is why I’m excited to see a resurgence in conversation about what pastoral ministry is. Many pastors today see themselves primarily as counselors,...
Gaining by Losing Why The Future Belongs To Churches That Send
Five times in the New Testament writers command Christians to go and make disciples. Over the past decade, we’ve seen a huge increase in writing, and speaking around topics pertaining to discipleship, evangelism, missions, and apologetics. The local church is the hope...
Recapturing The Voice of God Shaping Sermons Like Scripture
One of my favorite genres to read within pastoral theology is books on preaching. This should come as no surprise to my readers because I love to preach and teach the Word of God. When I saw a new book Recapturing The Voice of God: Shaping Sermons Like Scripture by...
The Pastor’s Ministry Biblical Priorities For Faithful Shepherds
Pastoral ministry I’m learning is difficult, painful, and blessed work. If that sounds contradictory it’s on purpose. While I’m not a pastor yet I am a pastor in training and am actively involved in serving in a wide variety of ministries at my local church. I’m also...
I Will: Nine Traits of the Outwardly Focused Christian
Few issues are as important or as neglected as biblical church membership in our day. Following his successful book I Am A Church Member Dr. Thom Rainer has recently written I Will! Nine Traits of the Outwardly Focused Christian which advances the conversation he...
The Pastor Theologian: Resurrecting an Ancient Vision
Since graduating seminary three years ago, I’ve noticed a number of very encouraging trends related to the gospel and matters pertaining to the church. One of these trends is a conversation about the pastoral theologian. The general idea behind a...
The Prodigal Church A Gentle Manifesto Against the Status Quo
In the late 1990’s and early 2000’s I was heavily immersed in the Purpose Driven church. My dad went to a church that walked people through the Purpose Driven model. I was in a church that had programs designed to help a variety of age groups to grow in Christ. As...
Preaching Communicating Faith in an Age of Skepticism
It seems every year at least a few preaching books coming out. In recent days, we’ve seen a steady stream of these books come out from a variety of practitioners of varying experience and skill. One preaching book I knew I was going to read this year and enjoy was Dr....
The Pastor And Counseling: The Basics Of Shepherding Members In Need
In my teenage years, I spent a lot of time in both secular and Christian counseling. Some of that counseling was genuinely helpful, but most of it wasn’t. As I’ve had plenty of time to think through what counseling was most helpful to me personally, I came to realize...
Developments in Biblical Counseling
Biblical Counseling is, by all accounts, a young movement. Just barely out of its infancy it is experiencing some of the pangs of growth and maturation. J. Cameron Fraser has an earnest desire to help readers understand some of those pangs and that process of...
Defying Isis: Preserving Christianity In The Place Of Its Birth And In Your Own Backyard
Every day we’re confronted with more news about Isis and the terror they are reigning on the world around us. Yet what is often not reported on not nearly enough is the massacre that is happening at the hands of Isis. This massacre is the persecution, and killing of...
Gospel Centered Counseling How Christ Changes Lives
Over 50 times in the New Testament Christians are taught to one another each other. The reason God's people can one another each other is because of the gospel. The gospel provides the fuel which God’s people go in the Christian life. Christians need to learn...
The Supremacy of God in Preaching
There are few people alive today that have had as massive an impact on my life as John Piper. His thinking and his theology have had a huge impact on the way that I think about the Christian life and ministry. One of the most critical things he has taught me and...
On Being A Pastor Understanding Our Calling and Work
Pastors have one of the most demanding and joyful jobs in the world. They get to be with people at the most critical times of their lives- from birth to death. They preach the glories of the gospel from the text of Scripture. They meet with people in their office, at...
Scripture and Counseling God’s Word For Life In A Broken World
The doctrine of Scripture is under attack today. Recently John MacArthur held an Inerrancy Summit with some of the top theological minds in the Church today. At this conference, these theologians instructed us about the doctrine of the Bible. One of the key pieces of...
Comfort the Grieving
I can honestly admit to having never read a book like Paul Tautges Comfort the Grieving. Manuals on how to shepherd people through the valley of the shadow of death are not exactly popular. In this short work, however, the author seeks to make such a topic accessible...
Unashamed Workmen: How Expositors Prepare and Preach
Over the past five years, I’ve been in the enjoyable position to receive most, if not all of the latest and greatest Christian books. This position has offered me the opportunity to grow in my knowledge and understanding of a great deal topics. Since I was a teenager...
Ordinary: Sustainable Faith in a Radical, Restless World
Contemporary Christianity seems to be overly fascinated with the extraordinary. Most Christians are most excited when they hear elaborate and exciting testimonies of God’s hand at work in this person’s life or we’re drawn to “this” person’s ministry because of their...
Transformational Groups Creating A New Scorecard For Groups
Small groups are a place where Christians come together to not only study the Bible but to do life together. Having led and been part of small groups for quite awhile, I know well what works and what doesn’t work. The goal of gathering in small groups isn’t for one...
Persuasive Preaching: A Biblical and Practical Guide to the Effective Use of Persuasion
As someone who is not a pastor, I typically do not read books devoted to the subject of homiletics or preaching. With that said, a book on the subject matter of persuasive preaching seemed like something of interest, if anything to see what I might glean as useful...
Preaching by Ear: Speaking God’s Truth From the Inside Out
While I am not a preacher, I must submit I do enjoy a quality sermon that is well delivered, demonstrates a great deal of preparation, and most importantly is biblically sound. Having never been a pastor and having never prepared a sermon for delivery, it is...
Invitation to James: Persevering Through Trials to Win the Crown
A discussion of perseverance in the faith, let alone a sermon founded upon that topic is often hard to come by in the church. Talk of standing firm in the face of trials has often been replaced with sermons focused on more feel good topics such as blessing and hope....
Burning Hearts: Preaching to the Affections
Over the past decade I’ve read close to two dozen books on preaching. Most of these books either focus on biblical interpretation, sermon preparation or delivery. In that time I can’t recall reading a book dedicated solely to the centrality of the heart in the...
The People of God Empowering The Church To Make Disciples
Loving God leads to loving the Church. That statement while true is incomplete. Loving God leads to loving the Church and the people in the Church. This statement accurately reflects what God’s love produces in His people—namely a love for Himself, a love for people...
The Foundation of Communion with God: The Trinitarian Piety of John Owen
John Owen has long been a favorite of mine, in particular among the more noted Puritan authors. In fact, recently I purchased his collected works which I am sure will take a lifetime to read. So when a book comes along that extracts key statements on a particular...
Am I Called? The Summons to Pastoral Ministry
Ministry is not for the faint of heart, nor the uncalled. It is not a career path to choose, a job that simply pays the bills, nor simply something to try when no other career seems to work. Christian ministry is a path that can only be taken when God calls. This is...
Act and Being: Transcendental Philosophy and Ontology in Systematic Theology
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was an important figure within the Confessing Church in Germany during the time of the Nazi regime of the 1930s. His better known works include titles such as The Cost of Discipleship and Ethics. Fortress Press has released a collection of the...
Entrusted with the Gospel: Paul’s Theology in the Pastoral Epistles
The discipline known as Pauline studies has certainly had its share of ups and downs over the years. Furthermore, much ink has been spilled on the subject of Paul and the New Testament epistles he wrote. Thus to a certain degree, there can be a sense of confusion as...
Burning Hearts: Preaching to the Affections
In Matthew 15:11 Jesus stated, “What goes into someone's mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them." Thus, issues of the heart, also termed out affections, are a true gauge of spiritual maturity. Dealing with the often...
Blessed Are the Balanced: A Seminarian’s Guide to Following Jesus in the Academy
Bible college and seminary students face innumerable challenges from emotional, spiritual and financial pressure to often relational issues as a result of going to school. All of these are challenges that I know well. I was a Bible college and seminary student for...
The Unfinished Church: God’s Broken and redeemed Work In Progress
The past few years have seen a resurgence in conversation about the Church, specifically whether Christians should be lone ranger Christians or be members of a local church. This is a conversation I’m actively involved in especially because in my own area, I’ve been...
Book Review – Dispatches From the Front: Stories of Gospel Advance In The World’s Difficult Places
One of the most neglected aspects in the field of missions work is the telling of stories of how God is at work in the world. Christians rightly emphasize the Bible's emphasis of God seeking to save the lost (Luke 19:10). Whenever I read or hear missionaries returning...