Best Books for Pastors in 2024
December 16, 2024
December 16, 2024
We asked pastors around the world a simple question: what books did you read in 2024 that helped you be a better pastor? We’ve curated their responses below. (See our 2023 list here, 2022 list here, 2020 list here, 2019 list here, 2018 list here, 2017 list here.)
“The longer I serve in pastoral ministry, the more I appreciate learning from those who have gone before me. Grant Gordon has compiled a remarkable resource for pastors young and old by assembling some of the written correspondence between the much older Anglican Newton and the young Baptist Ryland. In its essence, pastoral ministry has not changed since the days of the early church. Observing how other men have applied biblical truth in their particular ministries fills the pastor’s quiver with prudence and wisdom. This is required reading in our internship and a treasured resource for many who have led the church for years. And don’t skip the footnotes!”
– Paul Martin, senior pastor of Grace Fellowship Church in Toronto, Ontario.
“As a busy pastor, I find myself struggling with time to read more biographies. This updated biography on Spurgeon was concise, compelling, devotional, and edifying! Spurgeon’s godliness, love for Christ, pastoral heart for the church, evangelistic zeal, compassion for the poor, and leadership makes him an example worthy to learn from and follow.”
– Alex Hong, pastor of Christian Fellowship Bible Church in West Covina, CA.
“Leeman carefully thinks through what the Bible says about authority and the specific spheres that we see authority expressed in our world. This is by far Leeman’s most pastoral work because it helped me understand more fully the authority that God has given me as a husband, father, and elder, which ought to reflect the loving and gracious authority of God. I’ve become a gentler pastor, husband, and father because of this book.”
– Tanner Blosser, pastor of Wilmont Place Baptist Church in Oklahoma City, OK.
“We read Leeman’s book in our elder meetings and were encouraged to see how good authority blesses churches and communities, while bad authority destroys churches and communities. Leeman’s writing was accessible to our lay elders because the chapters were short, easy to read, and filled with illustrations from his experience and everyday life.”
– Alex Hong, pastor of Christian Fellowship Bible Church in West Covina, CA.
“Educational and devotional. Informative and inspirational. This book will accomplish the great command in all of its variety and remind you of why we do what we do while challenging our minds and supplying fresh illustration to the excellency of our Redeemer.”
– Nathan Knight, lead pastor of Restoration Church in Washington, DC.
“Haykin pulls together Baptist theology, friendship, associationalism, and missions in this biography of Carey and his friends. Wonderfully encouraging.”
– Blake White, lead pastor at South Side Baptist Church in Abilene, TX.
“This is a masterpiece not only because of its theological content and beautiful writing style but because of the tender mercies of Christ that emerge from every page. There are many suffering from depression who will be immensely helped by this devotional.”
–Deepak Reju, senior pastor at Ogletown Baptist Church in Newark, DE.
“Tim Keller’s book on forgiveness reminds us that the forgiveness of our sins is an amazing gift, which if we truly understand it will transform our lives. If we truly understand that we are forgiven sinners, we will forgive and love others and joy and radiance will fill our hearts instead of bitterness and resentment.”
– Tom Schreiner, professor at Southern Seminary and elder at Clifton Baptist Church in Louisville, KY.
“I confess I wasn’t initially drawn to this book. Psalm 23? I’ve memorized it, studied it, even preached it. What more is there to see? The answer, it turns out, is a lot. I learned so much from this devotional treasure of a book.”
– Matt Smethurst, lead pastor of River City Baptist Church in Richmond, VA.
“Pastors have to talk. A lot. And the more you talk, the more danger you have of saying something unwise, unhelpful, or perhaps even hurtful. Taming the tongue is the kind of book I need to reread every few years to help ensure I don’t set the world on fire with my speech.”
– Sean DeMars, pastor of 6th Ave Church in Decatur, AL.
“This missionary biography grew my confidence in the advance of the gospel to all the peoples of the earth, helpfully normalized suffering and self-denial in following Christ, deepened my conviction that the way forward in ministry in every context is the patient and loving proclamation of God’s Word, and strengthened my longing to one day reach the Golden Shore of our heavenly home.”
– Mike Anderson, Preaching Pastor at Citylight Church Center City in Philadelphia, PA.
“Allison has pulled off a stunning feat in this intro-level systematic theology. I took a group of men through it, and we were greatly helped. Allison is a master teacher who embodies Calvin’s rules of brevity and clarity.”
– Blake White, lead pastor at South Side Baptist Church in Abilene, TX.
“An unusually long book, but it’s worth the time investment because it serves as a virtual summation of all of Piper’s works. It is also a worthy contribution to the doctrine, perhaps most specifically in its development of God’s glory as the aim of providence.”
– Dan Miller, senior pastor of Eden Baptist Church in Burnsville, MN.
“This book has been life-changing for me. It was personally convicting and helped me see areas of hypocrisy in my own life. But it also helped me pastor better. Chapter 2 on ‘Pharisees and Revelation’ helped me see the danger of using the Bible as an end in itself for our own selfish purposes, rather than using it as an authoritative window to open our eyes to the glory of Christ. What a helpful tool to shepherd the hearts of so many who fall into this trap!”
– Josh Hayward, senior pastor of Kinney Avenue Baptist Church in Austin, TX.
“After listening to an episode of Pastors Talk on why more Christians should study the doctrine of the Trinity, I set out to find an accessible and helpful book on the topic for myself and the members of my church. Scott Swain’s short work on the Trinity is a phenomenal introduction. The biggest benefit is that this book will lead you to a further hunger of desiring to know more about the glorious doctrine of the Trinity and the God who saves us.”
– Tanner Blosser, pastor of Wilmont Place Baptist Church in Oklahoma City, OK.
“A deeply helpful and pastoral book for those who are grieving the death of an unbelieving friend or family member. It spurs on faithful ministry now and confidence in God’s sovereignty in the face of death.”
– Tim Chapman, Minister of Christ Church South Cambridgeshire, UK.
“There are few books that I read a second time. Purves’s book is one of those. Meeting different individuals who pastored throughout church history was like meeting old friends that I had never encountered before. While I did not agree with everything I found here, it was encouraging and helpful to read that challenges of ministry are constant across the centuries. I felt less alone in my own pastoral joys and sorrows and successes and shortcomings after reading this book.”
– Sean Sheeran, pastor of Hespeler Baptist Church in Cambridge, ON.
“What is the most underutilized, underrated doctrine among evangelicals? I’m convinced it may be our union with Christ. Sam Allberry’s latest book brims with biblical insight, vivid illustration, and practical application. An excellent resource for everyday discipleship.”
– Matt Smethurst, lead pastor of River City Baptist Church in Richmond, VA.
“We live in a day where many evangelicals find it natural to talk about Christianity’s significance for the here and now but feel awkward or uncertain about the world that is to come. Through the retrieval of classical theocentric eschatology and ethics, Allen helpfully argues for heaven’s necessary relation to life in this world. For pastors especially, the result is a bolstered hope in what lies ahead—namely, a time when we and all of God’s people will see God face to face.”
– Taylor Hartley from 9Marks
“In this powerful memoir, we see that God’s grace has no limit, and truly and supernaturally changes the hearts of men. Sean’s past is dark, yes, but the God who says, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in Sean’s heart to give him the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Pastor, be encouraged that this same gospel has changed us and will change the hearts of your hearers as you faithfully proclaim it.”
– Sam Koo from 9Marks
I’m sure you were waiting for this essay from William Kiffin, the Godfather of Strict and Particular Baptists. But even if you weren’t, let me tell you why you should check out this regulative-principle-fueled argument against open communion. No matter how you crack this particular nut—whether you practice open, close, or even closed communion—this older-than-America essay will poke and prod at both your ecclesiological intuitions and how you talk and think about ecclesiological disagreements. I asked (made?) the interns at my church read it—mostly guys in their mid-20s who aspire to ministry—and it provoked some extremely stimulating conversations. You probably won’t agree with every point—I didn’t—and you certainly won’t mimic Kiffin’s rhetoric—I hope I haven’t—but I’m confident you’ll find his approach to the question stimulating, even if you’ve already settled your mind as to whether or not unbaptized Christians ought to be invited to take the Supper. At the very least, reading it is worth the cost, which is Free.99, because Kiffin’s essay can be read here in a helpfully prettied-up PDF. Maybe one day Crossway will reprint it and slap a sunrise on the cover.
*Full Title: A Sober Discourse of Right to Church Communion: Wherein Is Proved, That No Unbaptized Person May Be Regularly Admitted to the Lord’s Supper, Etc.
– Alex Duke from 9Marks + Third Avenue Baptist in Louisville, KY