The past few years have seen a great revival of interest in the doctrine of the local church (sparked, in part, by concerns with Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Church). Here are several book recommendations on the subject of the church.
Top Recommendation
Nine Marks of a Healthy Church
If you are looking for a book that will explain what a healthy church is meant to look like, there is no better place to begin than with Mark Dever’s Nine Marks of a Healthy Church. It is now in its fourth edition, with two new chapters, updated material on prayer, missions, and evangelism, and a foreword by H.B. Charles Jr.
Other Recommendations
Love the Ones Who Drive You Crazy
I would be hard-pressed to find a book that is more likely to benefit you and your church in the year ahead.
When we get frustrated or even embittered with the church, we need a reminder of its beauty, its loveliness, and its sheer wonder. This will help you marvel at the church and further commit yourself to it.
On both the danger and the necessity of a passion for church growth. I read it with a deepening sense of conviction, and with a sense that I needed to go back and read it again.
Every one of us acknowledges a lamentable lack of unity among Christians, yet none of us seems to consider that we ourselves may be the cause of it.
A call to abandon a passive, consumerist model of church—and to love and support the man who leads us.
So often God calls us not to either/or but to both/and, and it is only by embracing that we become full-formed followers of Jesus.
Addiction and the Local Church
Churches often feel ignorant and poorly equipped to minister to addicts. This shows how the gospel is the power of salvation for everyone who believes, not merely those who struggle with sins we regard as more acceptable.
The simple metaphor of a trellis and a vine helps pastors and ministry leaders understand how to distinguish between ministering to people and the structure that supports this ministry.
This book calls on Christians and churches to learn to work together in ministry partnerships.
Budgeting for a Healthy Church
I wrote the foreword for this one, which shows how budgeting is connected to ministry.
(See also my recommendations on pastoring and leadership.)
