April Yamasaki's favorite books for ministry

What are the best books for ministry written in the 21st century? We asked seven pastors to pick their favorites. — Ed.

Tradition and innovation, inreach and outreach, nurture and transformation, strong clergy leadership and strong lay leadership—instead of treating these and other polarities as problems, Roy Oswald and Barry Johnson work with them as ongoing realities. Their book Managing Polarities in Congregations: Eight Keys for Thriving Faith Communities (Rowman & Littlefield) explores the upsides and downsides of each, and how can we best manage them.

Adele Ahlberg Calhoun’s Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us (InterVarsity Press) is a comprehensive survey of spiritual disciplines and a wonderful resource for the inner life of those who practice ministry. Among the disciplines discussed are Bible study, caring for the earth, confession, discernment, hospitality, and journaling.