9 Books that Shaped My Ministry
As I continue to take a break from my regularly scheduled blogging this week, I don’t just want to share with you the books that changed by life, but also the books that have made me into the ministry leader that I am today. Some of these books shaped me in my early days of serving the church, and I may not fully adhere to their teachings today. Nevertheless, all of these books have influenced the way I serve the Lord, and I am happy to share them with you.
HERE ARE 9 BOOKS THAT HAVE SHAPED MY MINISTRY:
The Radical Reformission: Reaching Out Without Selling Out by Mark Driscoll
The book, ‘The Radical Reformission’ was my first introduction to Mark Driscoll, and though he has gone through some rough times in his ministry, and is now looked down on by some, the influence he had on my post-Bible College life, entering ministry, cannot be overstated. His preaching style was direct, practical, and attention grabbing, but it was his ministry leadership sermons that held my attention the most. I still love Mark Driscoll for his influence in my life. I also believe this book still has value to up and coming church planters today, offering real, practical advice for how to grow a church grounded in truth while purposely engaging the culture.
The Essential Guide to Healing: Equipping All Christians to Pray for the Sick by Bill Johnson and Randy Clark
Living in Haiti for most of 2012, I dedicated myself to praying for the sick, believing that God still heals today. Week after week, my prayers proved ineffective. I began looking for resources from those who have verifiable healing results to push me forward in this journey, and quickly found ‘The Essential Guide to Healing’ in the iBooks bookstore. This was my first introduction to Dr. Randy Clark, who has become a spiritual father to my ministry, and I was immediately taken with his life experience which mirrored my own in many ways. I was also captured by the simplicity with which Randy and Bill are able to impart the truth of the scriptures and the wisdom of their experience in the healing ministry. Never looking back, this book started my journey into healing that continues to increase to this day. (Our ministry is also spiritually covered by Randy Clark’s Apostolic Network of Global Awakening, and my ministry credentials are held by the same.)
Victorious Eschatology by Harold R. Eberle and Martin Trench
Early on in real life ministry, I struggled with the fear-based teaching I was getting from the church and Christian television. I could not reconcile that a good God, determined to establish His Kingdom on the earth, would let thousands of years go by in which believer’s preach the gospel and attempt to disciple nations, only to end with a destruction of that work by the anti-Christ, and a great, surprise rescue mission to get the church out of harms way. The book, ‘Victorious Eschatology’ was my first venture outside of the Left Behind teachings, and opened a whole new world of possibility to me! Now, after years of study on the subject, I hold to the amillennial view of end times, which along with “historic postmillennial” makes up the majority view for most of Christian history. Yet this book, with its short, straight to the point exegesis of end times scriptures, helped me on this journey.
(Two bonus books worth reading on the subject are ‘Unafraid: A Better Book on the End Times’ by Marc Arlt and the much larger book, ‘A Case for Amillennialism: Understanding the End Times’ by Kim Riddlebarger)
Heavy Rain: How to Flood Your World with God’s Transforming Power by Kris Vallotton
Where ‘Victorious Eschatology’ led me in the early theological framework for my end times views, ‘Heavy Rain’ stepped in to paint a practical picture for what this viewpoint could mean. Now, I do not know the eschatological views of Kris Vallotton, and would not speak on his behalf, however, this book struggles through some of the same things I wrestled with in my previous, dispensational way of thinking. What if the world isn’t getting worse and worse, but is actually being overcome with the Kingdom of God, sometimes in the most subtle of ways? This book set my course on the journey to find out, and for those who will read it, it will definitely make you hungry for revival.
Contagious Disciple Making by David Watson and Paul Watson
Although I did not run into this book until last year, ‘Contagious Disciple Making’ has instantly had a major impact on my ministry in East Africa. The call to make disciples, not just converts, is a challenge faced by many ministries, especially those heavily invested in crusade-style outreaches. As a practical guide for not only reaching the lost with discipleship in mind, but also opening new churches built on this mindset, it has useful information any pastor and leader can learn from. As I now seek to train the pastors of Sozo Ministries and beyond in methods for discipleship, I lean heavily on this book’s guidance in doing so.
Simple Church: Returning to God's Process for Making Disciples by Thom S. Rainer and Eric Geiger
When I was on staff at a small, historically Baptist church in west Texas, we ran program after program, seeking to be effective in our ministry to reach the lost, and help Christians to grow. What we were discovering, however, is that too many programs actually led our church to burnout, quicker than it led to success in ministry. ‘Simple Church’ changed all that by helping our staff think through the reasons behind our church programming, and to actually cut down on how much we were doing, in exchange for higher quality work in the few we kept. If you are in a program-driven ministry, I highly recommend this book. Although your ministry might not change much, you will at least challenge the assumptions you currently make about what you are doing.
The Other Half of the Army: Women in Kingdom Ministry by Phill Olson
“Women in ministry.” That phrase was almost as bad a cursing in the fundamentalist circles I came out of. There, a woman’s highest aspiration to serve the Lord was to become a pastor’s wife, or to infiltrate the secular education system as a teacher. For a long time, I held to the perspective that men were the only ones capable of carrying the highest levels of church leadership, though privately it was always a question I struggled with. It just didn’t make sense. Yes, men are to be the head in the household. However, the Bible gave other leadership to women, from being a judge in Israel in the Old Testament, to calling some apostles and prophets in the New Testament. Ultimately, my viewpoint shifted on the matter. Now, being the father of two beautiful daughters, and hearing God directly instructing me to prepare them for the ministry He has for them, I am so thankful for men like Phil Olsen and books like ‘The Other Half of the Army’ who are leading in this mindset change. Every church leader should read this book! (And if you are a pastor in Sozo Ministries, you will…)
Always Enough: God’s Miraculous Provision Among the Poorest Children on Earth by Heidi Baker
Since I first heard Heidi preach, back in 2012, I have admired this woman of God, and sought to learn from her ministry in Africa. Her pioneering movement in Mozambique is the stuff of missionary legends, as her family continued to pursue God into bigger things for His Kingdom, without being held back by limited funds or a disbelief in God’s provision. When I read ‘Always Enough,’ it pushed me closer to trusting God in the calling He has given me for my family’s move to Africa and the overwhelming vision He has placed in me for the work. I highly recommend this book, and any others that Heidi has written!
Free in Christ by Pablo Bottari
From my first encounter with deliverance ministry, at a Nigerian evangelist’s revival meeting in Fort Worth in 2005, to my first time helping “pray out” a demon in Uganda two year’s later, I have been drawn to deliverance, and helping people get free from the bondage they are held in. Out of all the books I initially read on the subject, none of them helped me grow in my authority and effectiveness for deliverance ministry, as did Bottari’s book, ‘Free in Christ.’ Based in his experience developing a deliverance ministry from the ground up, during the Argentine revival, his simple method for not only getting people free, but also helping them stay free, is still the most effective I have found. While I do not recommend getting into deliverance ministry lightly, if God lead you there, this book will certainly help.
(Two bonus books worth reading on the subject are ‘Unbound: A Practical Guide to Deliverance’ by Neal Lozano and Randy Clark’s ‘The Biblical Guidebook to Deliverance,’ which also follows Bottari’s pattern for effective ministry.)
