Fellowship Group Dynamics
Nyquist, James and Kuhatschek. Leading Bible Discussions. (InterVarsity, 1985) An excellent, brief handbook of the basic skills of leading inductive bible studies. Recommended. Basic.
McBride, Neal. How to Lead Small Groups. (NavPress, 1990). A brief "how to" book on the role of group leader. Excellent. Basic.
Navigators. How to Lead Small Group Bible Studies. (NavPress, 1982). Especially helpful discussion of group interaction, asking questions, and evaluating the study. Also, advice on overcoming common problems. Basic.
Gorman, Julie. Community that is Christian. (Victor, 1994). A wonderful new book about the potential for creating caring community through small groups. Moderate.
Icenogle, Gareth. Biblical Foundations for Small Group Ministry. (InterVarsity, 1994). Explores the theological basis behind small groups. Moderate-Advanced.
Lohfink, Gerhard. Jesus and Community. (Fortress, 1984). Traces how central the formation of a community was to the ministry of Jesus and the influence this had on the early church.
Haurewas, Stanley and Willimon, William. Resident Aliens. (Augsburg, 1989). A call for the church to be a community which is distinct from the rest of society.
Clapp, Rodney. A Peculiar People. (InterVarsity, 1996). A delightfully written book which urges the church to be the church - a people with values which are at odds with the rest of the culture.
Arnold, Jeffrey. The Big Book on Small Groups. (InterVarsity, 1992). A small group training book that can supplement your Redeemer training. Nothing new, but thorough. Basic.
Good Things Come in Small Groups (Written by a Small Group). (InterVarsity, 1985). The most important elements in a balanced, dynamic small group. The lists of additional resources, questions, forms, evaluations, etc. in the back third of the book are worth reviewing. Basic.
George, Carl. Prepare Your Church for the Future. (Revell, 1991). The foundational book regarding the "Meta-church", small group model. Explains the biblical and sociological case for adopting the Meta-church model. Moderate-Advanced.
Neighbour, Ralph. Where do We Go from Here? (A Guidebook for the Cell Group Church) (Touch Publications, 1990). A more radically detailed version of the small group model church. Excellent analysis of the dynamics of group life. Advanced.
Jones, Jerry. 201 Great Questions. (NavPress, 1988). The name says it all. Basic.
Stock, Gregory. The Book of Questions. (Workman Publishing, 1987). Ditto. Basic.
Pastoral Care, Discipleship and Evangelism
Note: "*" books are included in Discipleship: A Reading Plan (Section Four).
Packer, J.I. Knowing God*. (InterVarsity, 1994 edition). Practically "required reading" for young believers. Many cite this as the best book that they've read on the essentials of relationship with God; read again and again. Written for new and mature Christians, however, Packer is not 'light' reading. A classic. Basic Moderate.
Ferguson, Sinclair. The Christian Life*. (Banner of Truth, 1989). A wonderful, brief summary of the basic doctrines of the Christian life: grace, salvation, repentance, adoption, perseverance, sanctification, etc. Written for the beginner, although mature believers gain from reading it as well. Basic-Moderate.
Lewis, C. S. Mere Christianity*. (Collier/ MacMillan, 1943). One of the best books to give to new Christians or nonbelievers. A classic. Basic.
Pippert, Rebecca Manley. Hope Has it's Reasons*. (InterVarsity, 1991). Give this one to nonbelieving friends and new Christians (of course, read it yourself first). A presentation of the gospel appealing to modern readers. Basic.
White, John. The Fight*. (InterVarsity, 1976). A discipleship guide, it covers much of the basics of Christian life. Good for beginners. Called "a practiacl handbook for Christian living." A classic. Basic.
Stott, John. Basic Christianity*. (Eerdmans reprint). A comprehensive defense of Christianity for non-Christians who have rejected it because the see it as an affront to logic. Basic.
Stott, John. The Contemporary Christian*. Discipleship in the modern world. Basic.
Guest, John. Beating Mediocrity: Six Habits of the Highly Effective Christian*.
(Formerly titled "Go For It". Baker, 1993). A standard discipleship book. Basic.
Lloyd-Jones, D. Martin. Spiritual Depression: Causes and Cures*. (Eerdmans, 1992 reprint). A series of sermons about growth, struggle and affliction in the Christian life, with an eye toward the work of God in his people. Recommended. Basic-Moderate.
Lovelace, Richard. Dynamics of Spiritual Life. (InterVarsity, 1979). A deep study of spiritual renewal and revival and what dynamics in your life (and the life of the church) cultivate renewal. The chapter in this handbook, Dynamics of Spiritual Renewal is based partly on Lovelace's work. An important book for many. Moderate- Advanced.
Gerstner, John. Theology for Everyman*. (Moody). A clarified outline of theology written for the non-theologian. Basic-Moderate.
MacDonald, Gordon. Forging a Real World Faith*. (Oliver-Nelson, 1989). Focused on confronting the world with your Christian faith, written while he was a pastor in New York. Basic.
Stanley and Clinton. Connecting. (NavPress, 1992). The dynamics of mentoring relationships; how to find the right kinds of mentors for different needs and how to mentor others. The discussion on the seven different types of mentors is helpful at breaking away from the one-mentor approach. Basic-Moderate.
Fryling, Alice. The Disciplemaker's Handbook. (InterVarsity, 1989). How to help others grow in faith by friendship and discipling. How to model and explain the Christian life with another. Basic.
Bridges, Jerry. The Practice of Godliness. (NavPress, 1983) and The Pursuit of Holiness. Classic guides to submitting every area of your life to Christ's Lordship. Basic.
Bennet, Arthur. ed. Valley of Vision (Banner of Truth, 1975). An excellent collection of Puritan prayers covering a wide range of topics. Helpful to recharge your spiritual walk. Basic.
Quiet Time. (InterVarsity). A short, helpful booklet about devotions. Basic.
Whitney, Donald. Spritual Disciplines for the Christian Life. (NavPress, 1991). Putting the means of grace - Bible study, prayer, worship, serving, journaling, meditation on Scripture, etc. - into your life without guilt and legalism. Moderate.
MacDonald, Gordon. Ordering Your Private World. (Oliver Nelson, 1984). Basics in the disciplines of the Christian life and how to prioritize your time pressures. Basic.
Miller, C. John. Outgrowing the Ingrown Church. (Zondervan, 1986). Excellent for both leaders and members. Putting Gospel grace center in your life and in the church. The dynamics of pacesetting leadership and prayer. Moderate.
Conn, Harvie. Evangelism: Doing Justice and Preaching Grace. (Zondervan, 1982) A thin, but brilliant volume which demonstrates the absolute necessity of word and deed being connected in our evangelism.
Packer, J. I. Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God*. (InterVarsity, 1961). Grapples with God's sovereign plan and human responsibility. Moderate.
Montgomery, J.W. History and Christianity*. (Bethany House, 1986). Basic-Moderate. Pippert, Rebecca Manley. Out of the Saltshaker and Into the World. (InterVarsity, 1979). A good beginning book on evangelism as a way of life. Focused on building genuine relationships with nonbelieving friends. Basic-Moderate.
Hunter, George. How to Reach Secular People. (Abingdon, 1992). A penetrating look at the underlying assumptions of modern, secular people toward God and how Christians must expand their evangelism to meet these skeptics. Moderate.
Frame, John. Apologetics to the Glory of God. (P&R Publishing, 1994). How to
understand and communicate your faith with a nonbeliever, answer objections, and expose unbelieving preconceptions. Moderate-Advanced.
Scazzero, Peter. Introducing Jesus: Starting an Investigative Bible Study for Seekers. (InterVarsity, 1991). Also, see: Peace, Richard. Small Group Evangelism: A Training Program. (InterVarsity, 1985). Peterson, Jim. Living Proof: Sharing the Gospel Naturally (NavPress, 1989). Basic.
Perkins, John. With Justice for All. (Regal, 1982). Perkins will plant a fire in you for social compassion and reconciliation ministry. He has spoken at Redeemer. Moderate.
Stott, John. Christian Mission. (InterVarsity, 1975). The theology of missions. Moderate.
Johnstone, Patrick. Operation World. (Zondervan, 1993 Edition). A 650+ pg guidebook for praying for the world. Detailed statistics about every nation on earth. Excellent resource to make your group's prayer time specific and missions-oriented. Basic.
Brooks, Thomas. Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices. (Banner of Truth, 1990 reprint of 1652 original). One of the most practical of the Puritan directories for battling temptation, discourgement, and doubts. When you get accustomed to the older English, this book can nurture your soul deeply. After you taste the wisdom of this classic you'll want to try: The Letters of John Newton, The Letters of Samuel Rutherford, The Christian in Complete Armour, or A Lifting Up for the Downcast (all Banner of Truth). Moderate-Advanced.
Bobick, Michael. From Slavery to Sonship: A Biblical Psychology for Pastoral
Counseling. (Self Published Thesis, 1989. Available through Westminster Discount Book Services). The best counseling manual (actually a doctoral thesis) based on uncovering and correcting heart idolatries. Helpful for yourself, too. Advanced.
White, John and Blue, Ken. Healing the Wounded: The Costly Love of Church
Discipline. (InterVarsity, 1985). A Biblical model for reconciliation and discipline within the church. Moderate.
Sande, Ken. The Peacemaker. (Baker, 1991) A extremely helpful and practical book on how Christians ougth to deal with the conflicts they find themselves and their friends in. Basic-Moderate.
Adams, Jay. Handbook of Church Discipline. (Baker, 1986). A brief, Biblically based look at the mandate for church discipline. Clearly written. Moderate. Also see the list found in Reconciliation II: Church Discipline in Section Four.
Bible Study and Interpretation
The Nelson Study Bible. (Thomas Nelson Publishers). Based on it's translation (New King James Version) and copious notes, maps, concordance, and cross-references, this is probably the best single-volume Bible to own. It will help in your preparation.
McCartney and Clayton. Let the Reader Understand: A Guide to Interpreting and Applying the Bible. (Bridgepoint/ Victor, 1994). A refreshingly clear, yet thorough guide to Biblical interpretation. If you want to dig into deeper levels of understanding the Bible and are ready to work, this is the best introduction using Scripturally sound methods. Moderate-Advanced.
Fowl and Jones. Reading in Communion. (Eerdmans, 1991). Makes the case the Scriptures are to be read, interpreted, and embodied by communities, not just individuals, if we are to understand them. Advanced.
Davies, editor. New Bible Dictionary. (InterVarsity, New 1993 Edition). The clearest and best dictionary on the English text. Based on the NIV. Use it for researching a particularly difficult word in your passage. A must for serious study. Moderate and beyond.
Longman, Tremper. OT Commentary Survey. (InterVarsity/ Baker, 1991) and Carson, D. A. NT Commentary Survey. (1993). These two commercially available guides will help you choose commentaries. They are recent, but some new commentaries may be missed. You can also ask any pastor for recommendations. Advanced.
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