RESOURCES FOR MINISTRY

There is no one-size-fits-all solution for any ministry. Seminary training is good, but much of ministry is learned on the job, as you interact with real people and real struggles over a long period of time.

Below are a collection of our favorite resources to help provide some “continuing education” as you seek to love and serve others.

Church Leadership

• You’re Not Crazy by Sam Allberry and Ray Ortlund. (They also host a podcast by the same name.)

• Humility: The Joy of Self-Forgetfulness by Gavin Ortlund

• Help! I’m Married to the Pastor!: Encouragement for Ministry Wives and Those Who Love Them by Jani Ortlund

• A Loving Life by Paul Miller

Church Hurt: a humbling topic to prayerfully consider

• A Church Called Tov: Forming a Goodness Culture That Resists Abuses of Power and Promotes Healing by Laura Barringer and Scot McKnight

• Bully Pulpit: Confronting the Problem of Spiritual Abuse in the Church by Michael Krueger

Teaching the Bible

• Help Me Teach the Bible podcast by Nancy Guthrie

• The Bible Project: Bible videos that show how the Bible tells one unified story about Jesus. Covers individual books as well as other topics.

Theology:

• Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine by Wayne Grudem

• A Theology of Biblical Counseling: The Doctrinal Foundations of Counseling Ministry by Heath Lambert

Counseling:

• Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands by Paul Tripp

• The Dynamic Heart in Daily Life: Connecting Christ to Human Experience by Jeremy Pierre

• How People Change by Tim Lane and Paul Tripp

• A Biblical Counseling Process: Guidance for the Beginning, Middle, and End by Lauren Whitman

• Gospel-Centered Counseling Training by Lighthouse Community Church (LCC), Torrance, 2021

• Advanced Counselor Training by Lighthouse Community Church, 2022 (focuses on topics), 2022

• Saints, Sufferers, and Sinners by Michael Emlet

• 31-day Devotional Series, edited by Deepak Reju (P&R Publishing)

• I’m Praying for You by Nancy Guthrie

• CrossTalk: Where Life and Scripture Meet by Michael Emlet

• Untangling Emotions by Alasdair Groves and Winston Smith

• J-Curve by Paul Miller

Counseling Couples:

• Tying the Knot: A Premarital Guide to a Strong and Lasting Marriage by Rob Green

• Marriage Matters by Winston Smith

• When Home Hurts by Jeremy Pierre and Greg Wilson (domestic abuse)

Counseling Children and Youth:

• Building Bridges: Biblical Counseling Activities for Children and Youth by Julie Lowe

• Counseling Youth: Gospel Hope for Teenage Hearts, presented by Dan Nah, 4 session series (Jan. 2024)

• Age of Opportunity by Paul Tripp

Helping Your Church Care for One Another:

• Side by Side: Walking with Others in Wisdom and Love by Ed Welch

Strategy:

• The Master Plan of Evangelism by Robert Coleman

• The Trellis and the Vine by Colin Marshall and Tony Payne