In The Faith - A Chronicle of the Christian Faith

What books and authors have had the most influence on Christian Pastors in the past three years? The Barna Research Group has completed a survey to answer that question.

Books sales and book influence are two different factors. While bestseller lists identify the books that generate the greatest revenue, a new survey by The Barna Group, conducted among a nationwide, representative sample of Protestant pastors, shows that the most influential books often fail to reach the bestseller lists. Thats one of several key findings drawn from the list of books that pastors say have influenced them the most in the past three years. The survey also found that a relative handful of authors have the most consistent influence on pastors, and that a dozen or so books have had the most widespread impact during that time frame.

When pastors were asked to identify the three books that had been most helpful to them as a ministry leader during the past three years, more than two hundred different books were listed. However, only nine books were listed by at least 2% of all pastors; just ten authors were identified by at least 2% of pastors, and just three categories of books were named by at least 10% of the church leaders interviewed.

Most Helpful Books

Two books emerged as the most helpful of all: The Purpose Driven Life and The Purpose Driven Church, both written by Rick Warren. Purpose Driven Life topped the list, with one out of every five Senior Pastors (21%) naming it as one of the most helpful books they have read in the last three years. The larger a pastors church was, the more likely the pastor was to include this book among their top three. Demographically, the book had twice the appeal among pastors born during the Baby Boom generation as among pastors from the Baby Bust cohort.

Not far behind was The Purpose Driven Church, an earlier volume by Pastor Warren that was listed by 15%. Its appeal was pretty consistent across all pastoral segments except Baby Bust pastors, among whom only 3% included this book among their top picks.

The rest of the list of invaluable books was a broad selection of more than 200 other titles. Only seven additional books gained recognition from at least 2% of pastors and each of those seven publications was chosen by 2%. Those books were Whats So Amazing About Grace? by Phillip Yancey; Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire by Jim Cymbala; Wild At Heart by John Eldredge; Courageous Leadership by Bill Hybels; Spiritual Leadership by Henry Blackaby; Next Generation Leader by Andy Stanley; and the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell.

p. [ Full Story @ Barna.org ]

p(small). Source: Barna.org © 2005 Barna Research Group

p(small). Technorati: Books Christian God Faith Religion Pastors Most Influential Books Most Influential Authors Barna Research Group Barna.org

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