Why it's good for church leaders to read theology and old books

Institute for Pentecostal Theology

Pastors can be busy people. And when they do have a moment to read, there are plenty of brand new leadership books that are competing for our attention. But in this episode Jenny Kimble, Jonathan Black, and Simo Frestadius talk about the benefits of reading old books and theological books. They even suggest a few books you might be interested in reading.

Here are the books we mentioned in the Podcast.

Jenny recommended:

1. Gregory the Great, The Pastoral Rule
2. Karin Spiecker Stetina, How to Read Theology For All Its Worth, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2020)
3. Matthew Barrett, None Greater (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2019)

Jonathan recommended:

1. Matthew Barrett, None Greater (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2019)

2. Michael Reeves, The Good God (Milton Keynes: Paternoster, 2012)

3. C.J. Mahaney, The Cross Centered Life (Colorado Springs: Multnomah, 2002)

4. John Stott, The Cross of Christ (Nottingham: IVP, 1986)

5. John Calvin, The Institutes of the Christian Religion

6. Per-Olof Sjogren, The Jesus Prayer (London: SPCK, 1975)

Simo recommended:

1. Blaise Pascal, Pensées. Translated by A. J. Krailsheimer (London: Penguin Books, 1995).

2. Eugene H. Peterson, Eat This Book: The Art of Spiritual Reading (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 2006).

3. Miroslav Volf, Exclusion and Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1996).

4. John Zizioulas, Being as Communion: Studies in Personhood and the Church (London: Darton, Longman and Todd, 2004).

5. Alvin Plantinga, Warranted Christian Belief (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000).