Suggested Reading
These books are suggested as extra resources for your district license level. While completely optional, they will aid your development as a minister of the gospel.
Level One District License
- Emotionally Healthy Spirituality: It’s Impossible to Be Spiritually Mature While Remaining Emotionally Immature, by Peter Scazzero
- Becoming Human Again: A Biblical Primer on Entire Sanctification, Timothy Crutcher
- The Leader’s Journey: Accepting the Call to Personal and Congregational Transformation, Jim Herrington, Trisha Taylor, et al.
- Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action, Simon Sinek
Level Two District License
- Simple Church: Returning to God’s Process for Making Disciples, Thom S. Rainer & Eric Geiger
- Hero Maker: Five Essential Practices for Leaders to Multiply Leaders, Dave Ferguson
- The Leader’s Journey: Accepting the Call to Personal and Congregational Transformation, Jim Herrington, Trisha Taylor, et al.
Level Three & Four District License
- Hero Maker: Five Essential Practices for Leaders to Multiply Leaders, Dave Ferguson
- A Charitable Discourse: Talking About the Things That Divide Us, Dan Boone
- Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership: Seeking God in the Crucible of Ministry, Ruth Haley Barton
Core Competency Resources
Active Prayer & Jesus Formation - Additional Suggested Resources
- The Call of a Lifetime: How to Know if God is Leading you to the Ministry, Keith Drury
- Invitation to a Journey: A Road Map for Spiritual Formation, M. Robert Mulholland Jr. & Ruth Haley Barton
- Healthy, Happy. Holy. 7 Practices Toward a Holistic Live, Joe Gorman
- Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us, Adele Ahlberg Calhoun
- Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ, Dallas Willard
- Long Obedience in the Same Direction, Eugene Peterson
- In the Name of Jesus, Henri Nouwen
- Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth, Richard J. Foster
- Essential Beliefs: A Wesleyan Primer, Diane Leclerc & Mark A. Maddix
Disciple Making Vision - Additional Suggested Resources
- From Social Media to Social Ministry: A Guide to Digital Discipleship, Nona Jones
- The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus’s Essential Teachings on Discipleship, Dallas Willard
Leadership Development Additional Suggested Resources
- Leadership Pain: The Classroom for Growth, Samuel R. Chand
- Tempered Resilience: How Leaders Are Formed in the Crucible of Change, Tod Bolsinger
- The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World, John Mark Comer
- The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable, Patrick Lencioni
- Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life, Henry Cloud
- Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, Greg McKeown
- Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts, Brené Brown
- Wholeheartedness: Busyness, Exhaustion, and Healing the Divided Self, Chuck DeGroat
- Managing Leadership Anxiety: Yours and Theirs, Steve Cuss
- Power in Weakness: Paul’s Transformed Vision for Ministry, Timothy G. Gombis
- Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know, Adam Grant
- A Church Called Tov: Forming a Goodness Culture That Resists Abuses of Power and Promotes Healing, Scot McKnight
Community Engagement Additional Suggested Resources
- Not in it to Win it: Why Choosing Sides Sidelines the Church, Andy Stanley
- The Art of Neighboring: Building Genuine Relationships Right Outside your Door, Jay Pathak & Dave Runyon
- Living in a Gray World: A Christian Teen’s Guide to Understanding Homosexuality, Preston Sprinkle
- When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty without Hurting the Poor…and Yourself, Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert
- Disruption: Repurposing the Church to Redeem the Community, Mark DeMaz
- The Dangerous Act of Loving Your Neighbor: Seeing Others Through the Eyes of Jesus, Mark Labberton
Other Development Materials
Pastoring Resources: Purpose, Function, and Theology - Additional Suggested Resources
- What Every Pastor Should Know: 101 Indispensable Rules of thumb for Leading Your Church, Gary L. McIntosh & Charles Arn
- Pastor Paul: Nurturing a Culture of Christoformity in the Church, Scot McKnight
- Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Ordained Ministry, William Willimon
- The Pastor in a Secular Age: Ministry to People Who No Longer Need a God, Andrew Root
- The Art of Pastoring: Ministry Without All the Answers, Daniel Hansen
- The First 100 Days: A Pastor’s Guide, Scott Daniels
Nazarene Resources - Additional Suggested Resources
- What is a Nazarene?: Understanding Our Place in the Religious Community, Wesley Tracy
- Church of the Nazarene Manual (2017 – 2021), Blevins et al., ed.
Assessments / Spiritual Gifts
- StrengthsFinders 2.0
- SYMBIS Marriage Assessment – local facilitators available
- Enneagram Institute
- Extended DISC
- Ministry Insights
- 16 Personalities
Recommended Trainings
Additional Resources
- www.fullstrength.org
- Carey Nieuwhof, Blogs and Podcasts (free) and Courses (paid access) which speak to ministry context ‘right now.’ Carey helps pastors and leaders understand the culture of the moment. www.careynieuwhof.com
- Emotionally Healthy Discipleship, Books, Leader Guides, full Discipleship course for churches and groups. Coaching for using tools like Genogram. www.emotionallyhealthy.org