Author and pastor Jared C. Wilson shows how to lead a culture shift in a church from a focus on numerical success to the metrics of grace. Leading a church culture to shift from numerical success to the metrics of grace can be costly, but leaders who have conviction, courage, and commitment can lead while avoiding some of the land mines that often destroy churches.

If churches are the dwelling place of God’s spirit, why are so many built around the strategies of man? Eager for growth, leaders can be lured by entertaining new schemes, forgetting doctrinal truth as their driving force. Churches must humbly lean on the sufficiency of God’s word. How to Build a Healthy Church challenges leaders to evaluate their motivations for ministry and provides examples of healthy, deliberate leadership. This is more than a step-by-step plan to mimic; it’s a biblical blueprint for pastors, elders, and anyone committed to the church’s vitality. 

In this short audiobook, Matt Smethurst makes the case that deacons are model servants called to meet tangible needs, organize and mobilize acts of service, preserve the unity of the flock, and support the ministry of the elders. Clearing away common misconceptions, Smethurst offers practical guidance for deploying deacons and helping churches to flourish. 

Many pastors struggle to translate their theological beliefs into fruitful ministry in the places they are called to reach. It’s not enough to simply know what to believe (theology), or on the other hand, how to do ministry (methodology) - they need something in between. They need help thinking about ministry in a culture that no longer believes Christianity is a force for good, let alone the source of ultimate revealed truth in the person of Christ.

 Deep Discipleship equips churches to reclaim the responsibility of discipling people at any point on their journey. 

You may have encountered books on this topic before, but not like this one. Instead of an instruction manual for church growth, this classic text points to basic biblical principles for assessing and strengthening the health of your church. Whether you’re a pastor, a leader, or an involved member of your congregation, studying the nine marks of a healthy church will help you cultivate new life and well-being within your own church for God’s glory.

In The Path to Being a Pastor, Bobby Jamieson explains why it’s better to emphasize “aspiration” over “calling” as men pursue the office of elder and encourages listeners to make sure they are pastorally gifted before considering the role. He shares from his own 11-year experience preparing to be a pastor by walking potential leaders through different stages of ministry training.

In Gospel-Driven Ministry, Jared Wilson looks at the qualifications for the pastorate, addressing the notion of a call to ministry and how to identify the marks of maturity and affirm a call. In addition, he unpacks the eight core practices of pastoral ministry and offers guidance to prepare pastors for long-term, healthy ministry.

In every position of power lies the potential for life-giving leadership or destructive corruption. Driven by sinful pride or opportunism, many people abuse their God-given influence, harming the ones they’re called to lead and contributing to an intense angst against authority. The answer to bad authority, however, is not no authority, but good authority—the kind that, according to Scripture, causes those under it to flourish. In this compelling guide from 9Marks, Jonathan Leeman shows that authority, done biblically, is not only good, but is essential to human flourishing.

 Many of us have questions about what it means to live as a Christian in the context of a local church. You may even catch yourself asking: If I believe in Jesus, why do I need to join a church? To put it simply, when you are saved from your sin, you are saved into a community characterized by fellowship and accountability. 

Let the gospel of Jesus and the example of Jesus motivate you to serve your church sacrificially. This book looks at the gospel of Jesus and the example of Jesus to motivate us to serve our church family sacrificially with our energy, time, and gifts. This is a great book for Christians who have grown weary over time, those who need help in identifying their gifts and gaining the confidence to offer them, and church members who are lacking the motivation to get started.

What makes for good preaching? In this accessible volume - written for preachers and preachers in training - pastor David Helm outlines what must be believed and accomplished to become a faithful expositor of God's word. In addition to offering practical, step-by-step guidance for preachers, this short book will equip all of us to recognize good preaching when we hear it.

Every church leader knows the qualifications for elders and deacons that are spelled out in the Bible, but actually finding other leaders who fulfill the biblical qualifications can be difficult. Thabiti Anyabwile writes from his expertise as a pastor and elder, showing how to identify and reproduce legitimate leaders and willing servants throughout the ranks of the local church.

Who are you when the teeth come out? For every true act of leadership, there is an equal and monstrous act of sabotage. Our leaders have been entirely routed by the agitated and the anxious. These emotional tyrannies manifest themselves in local libraries, HR cubicles, elder meetings, and at your Thanksgiving dinners.

Authors Eric Geiger (author of the best-selling Simple Church and Creature of the Word) and Kevin Peck argue that churches that consistently produce leaders have strong convictions to develop leaders, healthy cultures for leadership development, and helpful constructs to systematically and intentionally build leaders. All three are essential for leaders to be formed through the ministry of a local church.