Ablaze for God
By Wesley Duewel
Zondervan Publishing Company, 1989

What are the spiritual dynamics of leadership? How can you be more a person of God, aflame for God, anointed and empowered by God – truly a Spirit-filled leader? Here are answers that you will read again and again.

Written by one of the world's leading missionary statesmen, this book describes the spiritual dynamics of leadership, how one can be more fully a Spirit-filled leader, and how to be more aflame for God.

Brothers, We Are Not Professionals
By John Piper
Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2002

Pastor John Piper says, "We pastors are being killed by the professionalizing of the pastoral ministry. . . professionalism has nothing to do with the essence and heart of the Christian ministry. The more professional we long to be, the more spiritual death we will leave in our wake. For there is no professional childlikeness, there is no professional tenderheartedness. There is no professional panting after God."

Outgrowing the Ingrown Church
By C. John Miller
Zondervan Publishing Company, 1986

This is a book for pacesetters – church leaders who desire to help their churches break free of the things that turn them in on themselves and keep them from being outward-looking and outward-moving communities of Jesus Christ. The ingrown church is a common phenomenon. It is the "norm" for contemporary evangelical and Protestant churches. But ingrownness is a pathology. It can destroy the vital spiritual health of a church. It must, therefore, be combated with the norms of Scripture.

Outgrowing the Ingrown Church is a masterful mix of biblical principle, objective analysis, and personal experience. It traces the author's own growing awareness of the problem of ingrownness in his calling as a pastor, seminary professor, and evangelist/missionary. This is a book written to help change churches by changing the individuals who read it. It offers one an unparalleled challenge to be evaluated, revitalized, and then used by God for the work of ministry. Thus, it is a book not merely for pastors, but for the whole body of Christ.

The Pursuit of Holiness
By Jerry Bridges
Navpress Publishing Group, 2003

Holiness. The Christian's joint venture with God.

"Be holy, for I am holy," commands God to His people. But holiness is something that is often missed in the Christian's daily life. According to Jerry Bridges, that's because we're not exactly sure what our part in holiness is. In The Pursuit of Holiness, he helps us see clearly just what we should rely on God to do-and what we should accept responsibility for ourselves.

Renewal As a Way of Life: A Guidebook for Spiritual Growth
By Richard Lovelace
Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2002

Worship. Small groups. Community outreach. Prayer. Evangelism. Political action. Missions. Signs of renewal are springing up everywhere. How can we encourage and sustain this spiritual vigor? How can we make renewal a way of life? Spiritual growth, says Richard Lovelace, depends on grasping and applying certain key biblical principles. We need to understand how the forces of evil work against us and what God has done for us in Christ.

Ten Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health
By Donald Whitney
Navpress Publishing Group, 2002

Are you spiritually healthy or just spiritually busy? If you’re like many Christians who desire a deeper walk with Christ, you’re probably pursuing activities geared to help you grow. Yet, like many other believers you may wonder if you’re really making progress. You’re spiritually active, but are you spiritually healthy? Would Jesus look at your endeavors (prayer, church attendance, evangelism, Bible study, etc.) and pronounce you spiritually fit? Or does He have an altogether different set of criteria by which He measures your spiritual well-being?

The ten probing questions Whitney poses in the chapters of this book will help you look beyond your spiritual activity to assess the true state of your spiritual health. His questions cut to the heart of the matter: Is your character becoming more Christ-like?