"Dear Timothy" (Founders Press, 384 pp) is a collection of letters written by experienced pastors to a young man named Timothy, a 26 year old man who has been pastoring for 6 months, married for 4 years with a 2 year old son and another on the way. There are a total of 20 chapters reflecting the collective wisdom of 480 years of pastoral experience. Here are the contents:
1. Establish Priorities - Tom Ascol
2. Watch Your Life - Conrad Mbewe
3. Love Your Family - Tedd Tripp $$
4. Love Your Flock - Ted Christman
5. Memorize Scripture - Andy Davis $
6. Pray Always - Martin Holdt
7. Cultivate Humility - C. J. Mahaney $
8. Be Courageous - Bill Ascol
9. Do the Work of an Evangelist - Mark Dever $
10. Do Personal Work - Fred Malone
11.Watch Your Doctrine - Raymond Perrons
12. Keep Studying - Ligon Duncan $$
13. Learn from the Puritans I - Joel Beeke $
14. Learn from the Puritans II - Joel Beeke
15. Preach the Word - Roger Ellsworth
16.Worship in Spirit and Truth - Terry Johnson
17. Train Other Men - Steve Martin
18. Care for the Nations - Phil Newton
19. Don't Neglect Revival - Ray Ortlund, Jr.
20. Find a Place to Settle - Geoff Thomas
Recommended Reading
---I highly recommend this book to pastors and especially future or young pastors. It will encourage, challenge, teach, overwhelm, and whet your appetite for pastoral ministry. These men have a high and well-rounded view of the pastorate. I have put a $ by the chapters that were particularly good. This volume is filled with Puritan gems (too many to include). I was also struck by how many of the chapters mentioned D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. I need to become more familiar with this man! After each chapter, the older pastor recommends a few important books to Timothy pertaining to the topic his letter addressed, which most who read this blog will appreciate;)
