Ministry Starter Kit

I was recently asked to provide a reading list for a young pastor. I should begin by saying that, even though I am an avid reader and lover of books, some important aspects of ministry will only be learned through experience. Also, as a lover of books, I want to remind everyone that nothing can replace your regular, systematic reading of God’s word. It is the most important book you will ever read.

Before you get to the list, let me offer a few disclaimers:

1. This is not an exhaustive list. These are just suggested books for each topic.
2. These are not required reads (Except the Bible).
3. The books below are listed in no order other than the order in which my eyes located them on a shelf or my mind wandered to their title.
4. The fact that I include a book does not mean I approve of everything the author says or does (for instance, Stephen King is on this list…yes, that Stephen King).
5. I have left out many topics that could or maybe even should be included, I am sorry.
6. If I left out your favorite book, please leave it in the comments so others can benefit from your experience.

With that being said, here is a starter kit for your ministry library if you sense God calling toward ministry or you are starting out in ministry now.

• The ESV Study Bible
• The CSB Study Bible

• Living by the Book: the Art and Science of Reading the Bible by Howard Hendricks.
• Seven Arrows by Donny Mathis and Matt Rogers
• Getting the Message: A Plan for Interpreting and Applying the Bible by Daniel Doriani
• 40 Questions about Interpreting and Applying the Bible by Robert Plummer

• Between Two Worlds by John Stott
• Preaching by Tim Keller
• Preaching that Changes Lives by Michael Fabarez
• Preaching and Preachers by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
• The Supremacy of God in Preaching by John Piper
• Lectures to My Students by C. H. Spurgeon
• On Preaching by H. B. Charles
• The Power of Preaching by Tony Evans
• The Hardest Sermons You’ll Ever Preach by Bryan Chappell
• On Writing by Stephen King (I know this is an odd one for preaching, but his encoruagment to just keep writing has been very helpful for me when writing sermons didn’t come easy)

• Christian Theology by Millard J. Erickson
• Doctrine that Dances by Robert Smith
• Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis
• Knowing God by J. I. Packer
• The Cross of Christ by John Stott
• Doctrine by Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears
• On the Incarnation by Athanasius
• Christianity and Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen
• We Become What We Worship by G. K. Beale

• The Trellis and the Vine by Colin Marshall and Tony Payne
• Brothers, We Are Not Professionals by John Piper
• On Being a Pastor by Derek Prime and Alistair Begg
• The Shepherd Leader by Timothy Witmer
• The Reformed Pastor by Richard Baxter
• Dangerous Calling by Paul David Trip
• The Big Idea by Dave Ferguson

• Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Sanders
• Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull
• The Self-Aware Leader by Terry Linhart
• Do More Better by Tim Challies
• Do Scale by Les McKeown

• Christ and Culture by H. Richard Niebuhr
• Christ and Culture Revisited by D. A. Carson
• Why we Hate Each Other–and How to Heal by Ben Sasse
• The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James Cone
• The Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt
• The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self by Carl Trueman
• The Secrets Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Butterfield

• Spiritual Disciplines of the Christian Life by Donald Whitney
• Habits of the Household by Justin Whitmel Earley
• Confessions by Saint Augustine
• The Valley of Vision by Arthur Bennet
• Power through Prayer by E. M. Bounds

• The Master Plan of Evangelism by Robert Coleman
• Tactics by Greg Koukl
• Miracles by C. S. Lewis
• The God Who is There by Francis Schaeffer
• The Gospel Comes with a House Key by Rosaria Butterfield
• Have No Fear by John Lennox

• Outlive by Peter Attia
• The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter
• Sleep Smarter by Shawn Stevenson

Photo by Tom Hermans on Unsplash