Resources for thinking deeply about pastoral theology and ministry
Building your library
Pastoral Theology
Ballard, Paul H., and Steven Holmes, eds. (2006) Bible in Pastoral Practice: Readings in the Place and Function of Scripture – Using the Bible in Pastoral Practice. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. (Google preview available)
Bretherton, Luke. (2010). Hospitality As Holiness: Christian Witness Amid Moral Diversity. Ashgate. (Google preview available)
Chan, Sam. (2016) Preaching as the Word of God: Answering an Old Question with Speech-Act Theory. Wipf and Stock Publishers. (Google preview available)
Cook, Christopher C. H., Nathan H. White (eds) (2020) Biblical and Theological Visions of Resilience: Pastoral and Clinical Insights. Routledge. (Google preview available)
Harrower, S. (2019). God of All Comfort: A Trinitarian Response to the Horrors of This World. Lexham Press.
Johnson, Eric. (2007) Foundations for Soul Care: A Christian Psychology Proposal. Downers Grove: IVP. (Google preview available)
Kapic, K. M. (2017). Embodied Hope: A Theological Meditation on Pain and Suffering. InterVarsity Press. (Google preview available)
LaPine, M. A. (2020). The Logic of the Body: Retrieving Theological Psychology. Lexham Press.
McMinn, Mark R. & Timothy R. Phillips. (2001) Care for the Soul: Exploring the Intersection of Theology and Psychology. Downers Grove: IVP. (Google preview available)
Osmar, Richard. (2008) Practical Theology: An Introduction. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. (Google preview available)
Peterson, Eugene H. (1992) Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work. Gracewing. (Google preview available)
Smith, James K. A. (2014). How (Not) To Be Secular: Reading Charles Taylor. Eerdmans. (Google preview available)
Swinton, J. (2020). Finding Jesus in the Storm: The Spiritual Lives of Christians with Mental Health Challenges. Eerdmans. (Google preview available)
Swinton, John. (2000) From Bedlam to Shalom: Towards a Practical Theology of Human Nature. Interpersonal Relationships and Mental Healthcare. Oxford: Peter Lang.
Swinton, John. (2007) Raging with Compassion: Pastoral Responses to the Problem of Evil. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. (Google preview available)
Ward, Pete. (2017) Introducing Practical Theology: Mission, Ministry, and the Life of the Church. Grand Rapids: Baker. (Google preview available)
Webster, J. (2003). Holiness. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
van Deusen Hunsinger, Deborah. (2006). Pray Without Ceasing: Revitalizing Pastoral Care. Eerdmans. (Google preview available)
van Deusen Hunsinger, Deborah. (1995) Theology and Pastoral Counseling: A New Interdisciplinary Approach. Eerdmans. (Google preview available)
van Deusen Hunsinger, Deborah. (2015) Bearing the Unbearable: Trauma, Gospel, and Pastoral Care. Eerdmans. (Google preview available)
Zylla, P. C. (2012). The Roots of Sorrow: A Pastoral Theology of Suffering. United States: Baylor University Press.
Pastoral Ministry (ministry reflected on and in conversation with Scripture)
Arnott, Paul R. (2003) No Time to Say Goodbye: When a Loved One, Dies Especially a Child. Acorn Press, Limited.
Butler, K. (2021). Glimmers of Grace: A Doctor’s Reflections on Faith, Suffering, and the Goodness of God. United States: Crossway. (Google preview available)
Butler, K. (2019). Between Life and Death: A Gospel-Centered Guide to End-of-Life Medical Care. United States: Crossway. (Google preview available)
Carter, Lee. (2015) Letters To Emma: A Memoir Of Grief And God’s Love Matthias Media.
Hauerwas, Stanley. (1990) Naming the Silences : God, Medicine, and the Problem of Suffering. Wm. B Eerdmans. (Google preview available)
Kelley, Melissa, (2010) Grief: Contemporary Theory and the Practice of Ministry. Fortress. (Google preview available)
Munday, John S., and Frances Wohlenhaus-Munday. (1995) Surviving the Death of a Child. Westminster John Knox Press. (Google preview available)
McHugh, A. S. (2015). The Listening Life: Embracing Attentiveness in a World of Distraction. InterVarsity Press. (Google preview available)
Phillips, Susan S. (2008) Candlelight: Illuminating the Art of Spiritual Direction. New York: Morehouse. (Google preview available)
Phillips, Susan S, (2015) The Cultivated Life: From Ceaseless Striving to Receiving Joy. InterVarsity Press. (Google preview available)
Riem, Roland. (1993) Stronger Than Death: A Study of Love for the Dying. Darton Longman & Todd. (Out of Print, 2nd hand, Abebooks.com)
Swinton, John. (2012) Dementia: Living in the Memories of God. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. (Google preview available)
Townsend, Tim. (2015) Mission at Nuremberg: An American Army Chaplain and the Trial of the Nazis. HarperCollins. (Google preview available)
Westberg, Granger E. (2010) Good Grief. Fortress Press. (Google preview available)
Pastoral Care (How to of Christian care)
Senkbeil, H. L. (2019). The Care of Souls: Cultivating a Pastor’s Heart. Lexham Press.
Baab, L. M. (2018). Nurturing Hope: Christian Pastoral Care in the Twenty-First Century. United States: Fortress Press. (Google preview available)
Guthrie, Nancy. (2016) What Grieving People Wish You Knew about What Really Helps (and What Really Hurts). Crossway Books. (Google preview available)
Simms, Sally. (2105) Together Through the Storm: A Practical Guide to Christian Care Matthias Media.
Robinson, Stephen. (1997) Ministry in Disaster Settings: Lessons from the Edge. 1997.
Hardwick, L. (2021). Disability and the Church: A Vision for Diversity and Inclusion. United Kingdom: InterVarsity Press. (Google preview available)
Cook, C. C. H. (2020). Christians Hearing Voices: Affirming Experience and Finding Meaning. United Kingdom: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. (Google preview available)
Warlow, J. (2018). The C.U.R.E. for Life: Part One; God-Centred Transformation. Australia: Ocean Reeve Publishing.
Halpern, J., Vermeulen, K. (2017). Disaster Mental Health Interventions: Core Principles and Practices. United States: Taylor & Francis. (Google preview available)
First Person Reflections on Suffering
Bauby, J. (1998). The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. United States: Vintage Books.
Didion, J. (2005). The Year of Magical Thinking. United States: A.A. Knopf. (Google preview available)
Grant, Airdre. (2016) Stumbling Stones: A Path through Grief, Love and Loss. Hardie Grant Publishing.
Kalanithi, Paul. (2016) When Breath Becomes Air. Random House. (Google preview available)
Spiritual Care Resources (written from a spiritual care/wellbeing perspective)
Zagdanski, Doris. (2018 ed) Stuck for Words: What to Say to Someone Who Is Grieving. Wilkinson Publishing.
Frankl, Viktor E. (1946 English Tr. 1959) Man’s Search for Meaning. Various publishers. (Google preview available)
Gawande, Atul. (2014) Being Mortal: Illness, Medicine and What Matters in the End. Profile Books. (Google preview available)
Weingarten, Kathy. (2003) Common Shock: Witnessing Violence Every Day : How We Are Harmed, How We Can Heal. Dutton.
Chochinov, H. M. (2012). Dignity Therapy: Final Words for Final Days. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, USA. (Google preview available)
Professional Discussions: Best-practice Spiritual Care
Koenig, Harold G., Huguelet, (Eds) (2009) Religion and Spirituality in Psychiatry. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. (Google preview available)