Church Leadership

Grace Baptist Church  of Cape Coral, Florida (pastored by Tom Ascol) shares on its website the following list of recommended books on Church Leadership.

  • Elders in Congregational Life: Rediscovering the Biblical Model of Church Leadership by Phil Newton
  • Biblical Eldership: An Urgent Call to Restore Biblical Church Leadership by Alexander Strauch
  • By Whose Authority? Elders in Baptist Life by Mark Dever
  • “Plural-Elder Congregationalism” by Sam Waldron (in Who Runs the Church? 4 Views on Church Government)
  • “The Plural-Elder-Led Church: Sufficient as Established–The Plurality of Elders as Christ’s Ordained Means of Church
  • Governance” by James White (in Perpsectives on Church Government: Five Views of Church Polity)
  • 40 Questions About Elders and Deacons by Benjamin Merkle
  • Dear Timothy: Letters on Pastoral Ministry by Tom Ascol (ed.)

Preaching Books Recommended For Pastors by 9Marks

The following books on PREACHING are included in the 9Marks reading list for pastors:

Christ-Centered Preaching, Bryan Chappell

Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture, Graeme Goldsworthy

The Modern Preacher and the Ancient Text, Sidney Greidanus

Preaching Christ from the Old Testament, Sidney Greidanus

Preaching and Preachers, D. Martyn Lloyd Jones

Supremacy of God in Preaching, John Piper

Lectures To My Students, C.H. Spurgeon

Between Two Worlds, John Stott

Counseling in the Local Church

The following books were used during the 2006-2007 academic year at Westminster Theological Seminary, in the course on Counseling in the Local Church taught by Timothy Lane, Lecturer in Practical Theology:







From the seminary catalog:

Counseling in the Local Church

Purpose:
• To broaden students’ understanding of counseling to include all relationships
• To build a thoroughly biblical understanding of the local church as a ministering community where everyone plays a part
• To help students find their place of ministry within the context of the local church and to help others do the same
• To see the importance of both public and private ministry of the Word and how they interrelate
• To examine present ministry opportunities

Topics covered include a biblical foundation for private ministry of the Word; the role of community and relationships in the process of sanctification; developing a practical ecclesiology; and developing an eye for ministry opportunities such as conflict resolution, evangelism,
and church discipline.

Methods of Biblical Change

The following books were used during the 2006-2007 academic year at Westminster Theological Seminary, in the course on Methods of Biblical Change taught by Paul D. Tripp, Adjunct Professor of Practical Theology:

From the seminary catalog:

Methods of Biblical Change

Purpose:
• To help students develop a functional biblical counseling worldview
• To help students understand the importance of heart change as a methodological goal
• To develop an understanding of the role of Scripture in biblical counseling
• To highlight and practice the critical skills for effectiveness in biblical counseling

Topics covered include how to build a counseling relationship, how to gather and interpret data, how to function as an agent of repentance, and how to guide and assist others as they seek to
apply change to daily life.

Pastoral Counseling

The following books were used during the 2006-2007 academic year at Westminster Theological Seminary, in the course on Pastoral Counseling taught by Paul Trip, Adjunct Professor of Practical Theology:

According to the seminary catalog:

Orientation to Pastoral Counseling

Purpose:
• To help students develop a functional, biblical counseling worldview
• To help students understand the importance of heart change as a methodological goal
• To develop an understanding of the role of Scripture in biblical counseling
• To highlight and practice the critical skills for effectiveness in biblical counseling

Topics covered include how to build a counseling relationship, how to gather and interpret data, how to function as an agent of repentance, and how to guide and assist others as they seek to
apply change to daily life.

Leadership textbooks

The following books were used during the 2006-2007 academic year at Westminster Theological Seminary, in the course on Leadership taught by Timothy Witmer, Professor of Practical Theology:






According to the seminary catalog:

Seminar in Leadership

Purpose:
• To examine biblical principles of leadership
• To evaluate one’s leadership gifts, style, and strength
• To discuss practical leadership models and methods within the local church

Topics covered include characteristics of godly leaders, how to develop a ministr y model, the impor tance of planning, practical pointers on leading a session and a congregation, a resume primer, and factors in evaluating a pastoral call. The course includes a special lecture by Dr. Diane Langberg on how to avoid experiencing a moral shipwreck in your ministry.

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Leadership and Management Book Recommendations

Danny Akin, President of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, has recommended the following books on Christian Leadership and Management.

Anthony, Michael J. The Effective Church Board: A Handbook for Mentoring and Training Servant Leaders. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993.

Anderson, Leith. A Church for the 21st Century. Minneapolis: Bethany, 1992.

Barna, George, ed. Leaders On Leadership. The Leading Edge Series. Ventura, CA: Regal, 1997.

Drucker, F. Peter. 1996. The Effective Executive. New York: Harper, 1967.

________. Managing the Non-corporate Organization. New York: Harper, 1990.

________. Managing for the Future: the 1990’s and Beyond. New York: Dutton, 1992.

Finzel, Hans. The Top Ten Mistakes Leaders Make. Wheaton: Victor, 1994.

Gangel, Kenneth O. Feeding and Leading. Wheaton: Victor, 1989.

________. Team Leadership in Christian Ministry. Chicago: Moody, 1997.

Hersey, Paul, Kenneth H. Blanchard, and Dewey E. Johnson. Management of Organizational Behavior: Utilizing Human Resources. 7th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1996.

Hesselbein, Frances, Marshall Goldsmith, and Richard Beckhard, ed. The Leader of the Future. Drucker Foundation Future Series. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1996.

________., ed. The Organization of the Future. Drucker Foundation Future Series. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1997.

Hesselbein, Frances, Marshall Goldsmith, Richard Beckhard, and Richard F. Schubert, ed. The Community of the Future. Drucker Foundation Future Series. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1998.

Maxwell, John C. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1998.

Miller, Michael D. Kingdom Leadership: A Call to Christ-Centered Leadership. Nashville: Convention Press, 1996.

Mims, Gene. Kingdom Principles for Church Growth. Nashville: Convention Press, 1994.

Schultz, Glen. Kingdom Education. Nashville: LifeWay, 1998.

Shelley, Marshall, ed. Leading Your Church Through Conflict and Resolution. Library of Leadership Development. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1997.

________., ed. Renewing Your Church Through Vision and Planning. Library of Leadership Development. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1997.

Tidwell, Charles A. The Educational Ministry of a Church: A Comprehensive Model for Students and Ministers. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1996.

Westing, Harold J. Church Staff Handbook: How to Build an Effective Ministry Team. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1997.

Williams, Dennis E., and Kenneth O. Gangel. Volunteers for Today’s Church: How to Recruit and Retain Workers. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993.

Recommended books on Pastoral Duties

Danny Akin, President of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, has recommended the following books on Pastoral Duties.

Anderson, Robert C. The Effective Pastor: A Practical Guide to the Ministry. Chicago: Moody, 1985.

Baxter, Richard. The Reformed Pastor. Edinburg: Banner of Truth, 1981.

Cedar, Paul, Kent Hughes, and Ben Patterson. Mastering the Pastoral Role. Portland: Multnomah, 1991.

*Criswell, W.A. Criswell’s Guidebook for Pastors. Nashville: Broadman, 1980.

Graham, Larry Kent. Care of Persons, Care of Worlds. Nashville: Abingdon, 1992.

*MacArthur, John., Jr., ed. Rediscovering Pastoral Ministry: Shaping Contemporary Ministry with Biblical Mandates. Dallas: Word, 1995.

Oden, Thomas. Pastoral Theology: Essentials of Ministry. San Francisco: Harper, 1983.

Piper, John. Brothers, We are Not Professionals. Nashville: Broadman, 2002.

Tidball, Derek. Skilful Shepherds: Explorations in Pastoral Theology. Leicester: Apollos, 1986.

Timothy Z. Witmer book recommendations

Timothy Z. Witmer, Professor of Practical Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary, recommends the following titles for every pastor’s library:











The Faithful Preacher

The Faithful Preacher

(Preview the book here.)

“Thabiti Anyabwile introduces us to past African-American voices calling pastors to faithfulness in life and doctrine. This is the kind of book we pastors need.”
—C.J. Mahaney, Sovereign Grace Ministries

So there will be surprises. But what should be no surprise is that there are treasures of biblical wisdom in centuries before our own and in cultures not our own. I love the blow this book makes against chronological snobbery and ethnocentricity. May the Lord of the Church, for the good of his people, and the ingathering of his lost sheep, and the glory of his name, give this book good success.
— John Piper, from the Foreward

“I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Faithful Preacher and am glad to recommend it. It is an interesting read and one that focuses some long-overdue attention on men who were faithful preachers and who have much to teach the church even today (and perhaps it would be better to say especially today).”
— Tim Challies, (Click here for the full review)

“Do yourself a favor; read this book, and share it with others.”
— Mark Dever, Pastor, Capitol Hill Baptist Church

“Reading The Faithful Preacher is like being introduced to three long-lost spiritual grandfathers and their legacy of pastoral fidelity.”
— Ligon Duncan, Senior Minister, First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, MS; Adjunct Professor, Reformed Theological Seminary

“Stories of faithful men of God—puritans of the richest kind. This book is a splendid achievement.”
— Derek W. H. Thomas, John E. Richards Professor of Systematic and Practical Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary; Minister of Teaching, First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, MS; Editorial Director, Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals

“As an African-American I welcome this book with great enthusiasm. It reminds the broad evangelical world of the provocative, deeply theological, missional, and culturally engaging tradition of African-American gospel preaching. A must read for all church traditions.”
— Anthony Bradley, Assistant Professor of Apologetics and Systematic Theology, Covenant Theological Seminary

“With biblical and historical insight, Thabiti would have us admire and thank God for the labors and lives of three men—clear demonstrations of what the pastoral ministry should be, regardless of race, color, or nationality.”
— Anthony Carter, Assistant Pastor of Southwest Christian Fellowship; author of On Being Black and Reformed

“At last a great book that taps the fresh water that flows from the heart of three great African-American preachers of the past! We have much to learn from them.”
— Joseph M. Stowell, Teaching Pastor, Harvest Bible Chapel; former President, Moody Bible Institute