For nearly six years, Richard Halverson has served as chaplain of the United States Senate. Prior to that, as pastor of Fourth Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., he gained the reputation of a pastor whose congregation modeled unity. Here are the books he recommends on that subject.

I feel the "how-to syndrome" tends to replace the dynamics of faith with mechanics. So these books may address only indirectly the theme of unity, but each deals in a fundamental sense with the subject.

The Reformed Pastor: A Pattern for Personal Growth and Ministry by Richard Baxter (Multnomah).

The Reformed Pastor is required reading for the church servant who takes pastoral care seriously. It is simply impossible to exaggerate the effectiveness of Baxter's pastoral ministry. The details of his life, his suffering, his perseverance, his prolific work, and his priority on pastoral care nearly overwhelm us as they challenge, inspire, and instruct us about the basics of unity.

Caring Enough to Confront by ...