Pastors College Bibliography
Some of you will be familiar with the "Pastors College Bibliography" (PCB) I put together a number of years ago to serve our pastors. I'm happy to let you know that the bibliography has been completely updated and greatly expanded, and it's now available for your use. We've created an online version that is available on the PC website here.
Here are a few features of the new PCB:
The focus of the PCB is on biblical studies, exegesis, and preaching. We don't include all books from all the disciplines of theological education, but specifically works to help you interpret the text of Scripture, ultimately for the purpose of teaching and preaching.
We put this together with the pastor in mind. Therefore, the PCB isn't an exhaustive list of books from a wide array of theological perspectives, nor is it designed for Ph.D. students. It's intended as a guide to the most important works for a pastor, taking into account the demands on his time and resources, and the focus of his labors -- the proclamation of God's Word.
At this point, the bibliography is only partially (and somewhat unevenly) annotated. However, the "commentary" section is fully annotated. Comments are provided for every commentary listed, including (in most cases) a "first choice" for pastors.
Commentaries are listed for every book of the Bible in two categories: (a) "Exegetical" works are more technical (typically commenting on Hebrew or Greek) and focus on providing the reader exegetical help; (b) "Expository" works are less scholarly, give more attention to theology and application, and focus on providing expository help (this category includes those books that provide actual expositions, e.g., Crossway's "Preaching the Word" series). Of course, there is often overlap between these general categories.
Items marked with an asterisk [*] are top recommendations in each category. There's obviously a subjective component to this, but we're pretty confident about the value of the resources.
By its very nature, this is a work in progress -- not every category is equally covered, and certain categories will be filled out over time. At this point, we've given the most thorough coverage to commentaries.
We will update the PCB regularly as new resources appear.
I pray this resource will be a helpful guide as you labor to study, cherish, and proclaim God's Word to the dear folks in our churches.
As Director of Theology and Training for Sovereign Grace Churches, Jeff Purswell (MDiv, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is the Dean of the Pastors College. He is the editor of Bible Doctrine (an abridgment of Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology), an editor and contributor to Scripture and the People of God: Essays in Honor of Wayne Grudem, and he contributed a chapter to Wordliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World. He serves on the board of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, and is a pastor at Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville. He and his wife, Julie, have two sons.