Not all books at the Christian bookstore deserve to be read, and some might be overlooked that should be required. But discerning which is which - both for yourself and for the people you may shepherd - becomes more difficult by the day. That's why we've compiled and reviewed a few of the most recent and influential works on the church right here. We would advise you to understand these reviews not as an excuse to let us do all the critical thinking for you, but rather as a resource to stimulate your own critical thinking, as a shepherd's crook to direct you back to Scripture, and as a guide to focus your attention on the more biblically sound materials out there.

Anyabwile, Thabiti. The Faithful Preacher
Armstrong, John H. Reforming Pastoral Ministry
Banks, Robert. Paul's Idea of Community
Banks, Robert and Bernice Ledbetter. Reviewing Leadership
Barna, George. Boiling Point
Barna, George. Revolution
Beale, G.K. & Carson, D.A. Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament
Beilby, James & Eddy, Paul R. The Nature of the Atonement: Four Views
Bell, Rob. Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith
Bell, Rob. NOOMA
Beynon, Graham. God's New Community
Bolsinger, Tod E. It Takes a Church to Raise a Christian
Callahan, Kennon L. Twelve Keys to an Effective Church
Carroll, Jackson W. God’s Potters: Pastoral Leadership and the Shaping of Congregations
Carson, D.A. Becoming Conversant with the Emergent Church
Carson, D.A. Worship by the Book
Carter, Anthony J. On Being Black and Reformed
Chadwick, William. Stealing Sheep
Chalke, Steve. The Lost Message of Jesus
Cha, Peter with Kang, Steve & Lee, Helen. Growing Healthy Asian American Churches  
Chanski, Mark. Manly Dominion: In a Passive-Purple-Four-Ball World
Claiborne, Shane. The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical
Clowney, Edmund P. Called to the Ministry
Clowney, Edmund P. Preaching Christ in All of Scripture
Cordeiro, Wayne. Doing Church as a Team
Crespo, Orlando. Being Latino in Christ
Cymbala, Jim. Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire
Kimball, Dan. They Like Jesus But Not the Church: Insights from Emerging Generations
Dennis, Jay and Jim Henry Dangerous Intersections
DeYoung, Kevin and Ted Kluck. Why We're Not Emergent (By Two Guys Who Should Be)
Driscoll, Mark. The Radical Reformission & Confessions of a Reformission Rev
Engle, Paul E. & McIntosh, Gary L. Evaluating the Church Growth Movement: Five Views  
Frazee, Randy. The Connecting Church
Garrison, David. Church Planting Movements
Galloway, Dale. Making Church Relevant
Gibbs, Eddie. ChurchNEXT
Gilley, Gary. This Little Church... Went to Market & Stayed Home
Glasser, Arthur F. Announcing the Kingdom
Goldsworthy, Graeme. Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture
Greidanus, Sidney. Preaching Christ from the Old Testament
Hammett, Edward. The Gathered and Scattered Church
Hays, Daniel J. Every People and Nation: A Biblical Theology of Race
Humphreys, Fisher and Paul Robertson. God So Loved the World
Jakes, T.D. Various Works
Johnson, Dennis E. Him We Proclaim
Kenneson, Phil & Street, James. Selling Out the Church
Kimball, Dan. The Emerging Church and Emerging Worship
Laniak, Timothy S. Shepherds After My Heart  
Lawless, Chuck. Membership Matters
Lewis, Robert. The Church of Irresistible Influence
MacArthur, John. The Book on Leadership
McCune, Ronald. Promise Unfulfilled
McLaren, Brian. A New Kind of Christian: A Tale of Two Friends on a Spiritual Journey
McLaren, Brian. The Church on the Other Side
McManus, Erwin Raphael. Soul Cravings: An Exploration of the Human Spirit
Mehta, Hemant. I Sold My Soul On eBay
Middlemann, Udo W. The Market-Driven Church: The Worldly Influence of Modern Culture on the Church in America
Miller, Donald. Blue Like Jazz
Mims, Gene. The Seven Churches NOT in the Book of Revelation
Murray, Iain. Evangelicalism Divided
Murrow, David. Why Men Hate Going to Church
Myers, Bryant L. Walking with the Poor
Myers, Cortland. Why Do Men Not Go to Church?
Neighbour, Ralph. Where Do We Go From Here?
Newton, Phil A. Elders in Congregational Life
Osteen, Joel. Your Best Life Now
Piper, John. Brothers, We Are NOT Professionals
Piper, John. God is the Gospel
Sande, Ken. The Peacemaker
Rabey, Steve. In Search of Authentic Faith
Rima, Samuel. Rethinking the Successful Church
Roberts, Vaughan and Graeme Goldsworthy. God's Big Picture, Gospel & Kingdom, and According to Plan
Scazzero, Peter. The Emotionally Healthy Church
Seay, Chris. Faith of My Fathers
Simpson, Wolfgang. Houses That Change The World
Schwartz, Christian. Natural Church Development
Smith, Efrem and Phil Jackson. The Hip Hop Church: Connecting with the Movement Shaping Our Culture
Stanley, Andy and Ed Young. Can We Do That?
Stiller, Brian C. Preaching Parables to Postmoderns
Stott, John. The Living Church
Strauch, Alexander. Biblical Eldership
Strauch, Alexander. The Hospitality Commands
Surratt, Geoff & Ligon, Greg & Bird, Warren. The Multi-Site Church Revolution
Sweet, Leonard. The Gospel According to Starbucks
Toler, Stan and Alan Nelson. The Five Star Church
Towns, Elmer and Ed Stetzer. Perimeters of Light
Towns, Elmer and Warren Bird. Into the Future
Wagner, Peter C. Churchquake!
Webber, Robert E. The Younger Evangelicals
Welch, Ed. When People Are Big and God is Small
Wells, Peggy Sue and Pat Palau. What to Do When You Don't Want to Go to Church
White, James Emery. Rethinking the Church
Wilkinson, Bruce. The Prayer of Jabez
Witvliet, John. Worship Seeking Understanding
Wood, Gene and Daniel Harkavy. Leading Turnaround Teams
Wright, N.T. Simply Christian
Wu, Frank. Yellow
Yancey, Philip. The Jesus I Never Knew
Yancey, Philip. What's So Amazing About Grace?