{"id":3686,"date":"2015-12-28T17:09:00","date_gmt":"2015-12-28T17:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/2015\/12\/28\/best-ministry-books-of-year\/"},"modified":"2015-12-28T17:09:00","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T03:34:36","slug":"best-ministry-books-of-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/best-ministry-books-of-year\/","title":{"rendered":"The Best Ministry Books of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nThe Vulnerable Pastor: How Human Limitations Empower Our Ministry<\/em><\/a> by Mandy Smith (IVP)<\/h2>

\n\tVulnerability in ministry is a too often ignored topic. It doesn’t need to be. Smith helps readers see that talking about our limitations isn't just a good idea, it's absolutely essential for healthy kingdom leaders, and what people in the pew so desperately long to see. – J.R. Briggs<\/em><\/p>

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\nThe Imperfect Pastor: Discovering Joy in Our Limitations through a Daily Apprenticeship with Jesus<\/em><\/a> by Zack Eswine (Crossway)<\/h2>

\n\tEswine describes the life of ministry in a way that unshackles the minister from impossible demands. This book is full of mercy and encouragement. —Cornelius Plantinga Jr.<\/p>

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\nThe Pastor Theologian: Resurrecting an Ancient Vision<\/em><\/a> by Gerald Hiestand and Todd Wilson (Zondervan)<\/h2>

\n\tIn our age, pastoral ministry is haunted by the specter of technique—the pressure to get things done. Hiestand and Wilson offer a different vision … that pastoral ministry and the work of theology should not be mutually exclusive.” —C. Christopher Smith<\/p>

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\nThe Givenness of Things: Essays<\/em> by Marilynne Robinson<\/a> (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)<\/h2>

\n\tA breath of fresh air. It is thoughtful, philosophical, and surprisingly political. Robinson has a gift for conveying orthodox theology in a fresh way. – Chris Nye<\/em><\/p>

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\nPreaching: Communicating Faith in an Age of Skepticism <\/em><\/a>by Tim Keller (Viking)<\/h2>

\n\tKeller allows preachers to take a peek behind his pulpit and preparation process. This book is about more the how-to's of good preaching. Keller spends a good amount of the book addressing important presuppositions and foundational assumptions we must bring in to our preaching to make it simultaneously biblical and culturally engaging. – J.R. Briggs<\/em><\/p>

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\nSubterranean: Why the Future of the Church Is Rootedness <\/em><\/a>by Dan White, Jr. (Wipf and Stock)<\/h2>

\n\tWhite makes the uncomfortable prophetic point that many of our current church models rely on speed and visibility rather than the slow and hidden way of yeast and mustard seed. – Kevin Miller<\/em><\/p>

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\nWe Believe: Creeds, Confessions, and Catechisms for Worship<\/em><\/a> by Mathew B. Sims (Grace for Sinners)<\/h2>

\n\tSims compiles many of the historical church’s essential documents into a single 350-page volume. While it’s a great reference tool, I recommend reading it devotionally; it walks systematically through our faith's most essential teachings and connects us with the "great cloud of witnesses" that have worshiped and served the Savior before us. – Chris Poblete<\/em><\/p>

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\nSame-Sex Attraction and the Church: The Surprising Plausibility of the Celibate Life<\/em><\/a> by Ed Shaw (IVP)<\/h2>

\n\tShaw unpacks nine missteps the church needs to correct to convey the plausibility of the faithful and celibate lifestyle. This is the best book available on helping the church minister more intentionally to those among us who struggle with same-sex attraction. – David Dunham<\/em><\/p>

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\nThe Presence of God: Its Place in the Storyline of Scripture and Our Lives<\/em><\/a> by J. Ryan Lister (Crossway)<\/h2>

\n\tProvides a biblical theology of the presence of God in a comprehensive, concise fashion. – Chris Nye<\/em><\/p>

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\nThe New Pastors Handbook: Help and Encouragement for the First Years of Ministry<\/em><\/a> by Jason Helopoulous (Baker)<\/h2>

\n\tHelopolous has a heart for new and young pastors, and it shines in this book, written to help new pastors navigate those tumultuous first years in ministry. – Chris Poblete<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Vulnerable Pastor: How Human Limitations Empower Our Ministry by Mandy Smith (IVP) Vulnerability in ministry is a too often ignored topic. It doesn’t need to be. Smith helps readers see that talking about our limitations isn't just a good idea, it's absolutely essential for healthy kingdom leaders, and what people in the pew so Read more…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":3698,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"tax_ctp_authors":[],"tax_ctp_books":[],"tax_ctp_categories":[142],"tax_ctp_field_guide_subcategory":[],"tax_ctp_field_guides":[],"tax_ctp_format":[131],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[],"tax_publications":[156],"tax_ctp_tags":[3515,3538,3608,3613,3845,4352,4355,4817,5247],"tax_ctp_topics":[],"class_list":["post-3686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tax_publications-leadership-journal","tax_ctp_tags-books","tax_ctp_tags-calling","tax_ctp_tags-church-finances","tax_ctp_tags-church-leadership","tax_ctp_tags-education","tax_ctp_tags-leadership-development","tax_ctp_tags-leadership-training","tax_ctp_tags-resources","tax_ctp_tags-vocation"],"acf":{"scripture_references":null},"yoast_head":"\nThe Best Ministry Books of the Year - CT Pastors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We asked our contributors to name the new books that benefited their ministry the most. 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