Discerning Your Call to Ministry


Book Description

“The church has needed this book for a long time.” — Russell Moore If you are considering the ministry, there are two mistakes to avoid. The first is taking up a calling that isn’t yours. The second is neglecting one that is. Discerning Your Call to Ministry will help you know the difference. A tool for seminary students, pastors-in-training, and even current pastors, it serves to confirm or prompt deep thought about the calling to ministry through 10 probing questions, including: Do you desire the ministry? Does your church affirm your calling? Do you love the people of God? Are you willing to surrender? Pastoral dropout rates are high, and seminary admission rates are declining—signs that many of us don’t quite know what we’re signing ourselves up for. Author Jason Allen, a former pastor and the president of North America’s fastest growing seminary, gives readers a better picture of the calling. Presenting a series of diagnostic questions informed by Scripture, church history, and his own experience, he helps those seeking ordination or ministry positions make confident decisions about their service to God, one way or the other.




They Call Me Pastor


Book Description

No matter what we face as believers we can count on the help and hope and love of Christ. My book details my journey In the Ministry.. and How Prayer and the word of GOD kept me in the midst of the most trying time of my life.




They Call Me Pastor


Book Description

"Pastor. What a beautiful word. What a unique relationship it conveys....Each time someone calls me pastor, I am awestruck.... It humbles me, but I am grateful. There is no higher privilege than being a pastor." So writes H.B. London, who once again joins with his frequent collaborator Neil Wiseman to encourage and inspire church leaders with their most passionate, stirring book to date. "They Call Me Pastor" is an unabashed celebration of the deeply felt bond between a pastor and the congregation he serves - a testimony to the love of God and the miracles it can work in the lives of a shepherd and his flock if only His love is shared and allowed to flourish.




Am I Called? (Foreword by Matt Chandler)


Book Description

Many men have the skills to lead a church, but only some are called. Dave Harvey helps men considering pastoral ministry to see God's active role in the process of discerning their calling. God's Word offers a clear framework for evaluating one's call, especially within the context of community. Harvey offers six diagnostic questions to help prospective pastors process their calling, and what they should be doing now if they aren't sure. Illustrated with personal and historical stories, Harvey explores biblical and practical principles for determining the pastoral call. Over the past twenty-four years of ministry, Harvey has enjoyed assisting many men in discerning whether they are called into ministry. This book will guide you through that all-important process with wisdom and confidence in God's faithfulness in your life.




Pastors at Greater Risk


Book Description

Some of today's pastors are relatively untroubled but need help in releasing the pressure inherent in ministry to others. Others are close to running on empty, both spiritually and emotionally. All of them would like someone to confide in who can provide realistic help based on firsthand experience. This is precisely what Pastors at Greater Risk is all about! First published in 1993, this edition is completely rewritten, with updated stats, interviews with contemporary pastoral leaders, and a special emphasis on today's hot-button issues, such as job turnover, pornography, spiritual burnout, congregational turnover, and more. The result: A book that is rich in wisdom and understanding and one that provides pastor-to-pastor help at a time when it is needed more than ever!




On Being a Pastor


Book Description

The ministry of pastors is not simply a job; it’s a vocation and a lifestyle. A pastor’s responsibilities are unique, demanding that he not only nurture his own spiritual life but also the lives of those in his care. What a challenge this can be! Derek Prime and Alistair Begg provide practical advice for both the spiritual and practical aspects of pastoral ministry. They delve deep into topics such as prayer, devotional habits, preaching, studying, and specific ministry duties. The result is an essential tool for those in pastoral ministry.




Dangerous Calling


Book Description

After traveling the globe and speaking to thousands of churches worldwide, Paul David Tripp has discovered a serious problem within pastoral culture. He is not only concerned about the spiritual life of the pastor, but also with the very community of people that trains him, calls him, relates to him, and restores him if necessary. Dangerous Calling reveals the truth that the culture surrounding our pastors is spiritually unhealthy—an environment that actively undermines the wellbeing and efficacy of our church leaders and thus the entire church body. Here is a book that both diagnoses and offers cures for issues that impact every member and church leader, and gives solid strategies for fighting the all-important war that rages in our churches today.




They Call Me . . . Pastor Sandy


Book Description

Girls, come laugh and cry with Pastor Sandy as she opens up the pages of her heart to help you persevere through some of the difficult times in ministry. She has willingly taken a look at herself, and now she shares the joys, the failures and the complications of life as a Pastor's Wife. Her honest look into the life of a Pastor's Wife will give you a new understanding and appreciation for these Women of God. Women in ministry will find this book extremely helpful and healing. Pastor Sandy Toyne has been working side-by-side with her husband, Dennis Toyne, for over 31 years in full-time ministry. She has a heart to minister to the Pastor's Wife. Sandy established Hearts Afire Ministries, where she ministers to the spiritual needs of women. She has been the Dean of Cornerstone Bible College, where she has taught extensively for twelve years. Pastor Sandy has received her Doctorate in Nouthetic Counseling in 2009. Her passion is to give the people the truth of God's Word, so that they may grow up in their walk with the Lord. She has ministered in her church's Restoring the Foundations and has seen many healed in their emotions while they develop new and fruitful ways to serve God. In addition to her local ministering, Sandy has traveled internationally so she may minister in preaching and praying for people. Sandy and Dennis have two children, Steven (Wendy) and Joy (Don), and five grandchildren, Zachary, Alexis, Michaela, Gabi, and Rilee.




Brothers, We are Not Professionals


Book Description

John Piper pleads with fellow pastors to abandon the professionalization of the pastorate and pursue the prophetic call of the Bible for radical ministry.




Pastor Paul (Theological Explorations for the Church Catholic)


Book Description

Being a pastor is a complicated calling. Pastors are often pulled in multiple directions and must "become all things to all people" (1 Cor. 9:22). What does the New Testament say (or not say) about the pastoral calling? And what can we learn about it from the apostle Paul? According to popular New Testament scholar Scot McKnight, pastoring must begin first and foremost with spiritual formation, which plays a vital role in the life and ministry of the pastor. As leaders, pastors both create and nurture culture in a church. The biblical vision for that culture is Christoformity, or Christlikeness. Grounding pastoral ministry in the pastoral praxis of the apostle Paul, McKnight shows that nurturing Christoformity was at the heart of the Pauline mission. The pastor's central calling, then, is to mediate Christ in everything. McKnight explores seven dimensions that illustrate this concept--friendship, siblings, generosity, storytelling, witness, subverting the world, and wisdom--as he calls pastors to be conformed to Christ and to nurture a culture of Christoformity in their churches.