Your Guide for Building a Pastoral Library
March 1, 2016
When your interests are many, it is easy to get lost in the great sea of “must read” books. Perusing the bookstore can be agonizing for us bibliophiles, as we discover the sheer volume of books demanding our attention. Upon reaching the cashier, I must often shed books collected during my journey through the bookstore.
After paring down many book carts over the years, I began mapping out a priority list to help me make tough book-buying decisions. My list was initially formed by categorizing books by degrees of interest. As I spent more and more time in ministry, I quickly realized the need to have a library reflective of my profession.
Pastors shepherd their congregations by the wisdom of Scripture and through the vehicle of discipleship. Therefore, pastors should be well read and prepared to care for the intellectual and spiritual needs of their people. The many demands of the pastorate require resources suited to the calling.
Creating Your Pastoral or Ministry Library
1. Bible Commentary & Exegetical Resources
The chief task of any pastor is to glorify God through the exposition of God’s Word. This requires an in-depth study of the Scriptures. To conduct such study, commentaries, dictionaries, lexica, and other textual tools are necessary to mine God’s Word for meaning and application. A few excellent resources to help you choose the best commentary (by book) are: , paired with , and the Denver Journal’s annotated and Testament bibliographies.
2. Church History
Pastors are public theologians who are expected to know the history of the Church. A robust understanding of church history is required to avoid heretical pitfalls. By knowing what the Church has affirmed, denied, and split over, you will have the contextual tools needed to evaluate doctrine. I recommend and as a primer. More advanced readers might consider purchasing .
3. Systematic Theology
After acquiring the tools to mine Scripture and measure your findings against those of the Church historical, start searching for quality works of systematic theology. Systematic theologies will help you quickly survey the subjects of Scripture. Some systematics will focus on the historical development of certain doctrines, while others will focus on exegetical aspects of doctrine. I routinely use “>Gordon Lewis and Bruce Demarest’s three-volume Integrative Theology , , and .
4. Apologetics & Ethics
Gather apologetics and ethics resources to assist you in matters of discipleship, evangelization, doctrinal formulation, and more. Reference works in apologetics should include , , and . Also important are: , , and . For ethics, try , , and .
5. Homiletics & Rhetoric
The first four categories focus on the “substance” of what a pastor should master and communicate. Works of homiletics and rhetoric should be read to help pastors refine their ability to preach and teach what has been mastered. is a classic. I also like , , , and .
6. Christian Education & Pedagogy
Christian discipleship requires order and purpose. Without a plan to disciple your church, you will not create many disciples. Consult resources that will help you develop strong, enduring Christian education programs. For an inspiring take on discipleship, read . To look at the biblical basis for Christian education and discipleship, read . For contemporary models of discipleship, read and .
7. Social Criticism
Instead of molding your church into the image of the culture, be a prophetic pastor who brings to light cultural norms that dishonor God. This requires much skill. It is not enough to merely point to blemishes in culture; people have need to see why cultural shortcomings matter and how we can go about fixing them. Reading culture critics will help you have eyes to see the diverging trajectories of culture and the Church. Check out , , , and .
8. Christian Biography
My last suggestion is to buy and read Christian biographies. It is helpful to set before you the exemplars that have shaped the pastorate and ministry as we know it. Read or listen to . The chapter on Pastor Christmas Evans is especially worthwhile. Read , , , and .
I hope that this rough outline will help you critically examine your method of building a pastoral library. Of course, there are other titles that could have been mentioned, but my aim was to get wheels turning rather than provide an exhaustive or authoritative list. Happy book hunting!
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