Welcome back to my interview with Mark Altrogge, senior pastor of Sovereign Grace Church (Indiana, PA). Read part one of the interview here.

Mark, what book(s) are you currently reading in these three categories: (a) for your soul, (b) for pastoral ministry, or (c) for personal enjoyment?

(a) for my soul:

A few months ago, my friend Bill Kittrell recommended I read The Righteous Man’s Refuge, in the Works of John Flavel, and it was so encouraging I’ve continued to read other sections, currently The Fountain of Life. I also recently enjoyed A Gospel Primer by Milton Vincent, Spectacular Sins by John Piper, and Husbands Love Your Wives by Larry McCall.

(b) for my pastoral ministry:

Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture, by Graeme Goldsworthy, which is brilliant and makes my head hurt, since this Goldsworthy guy obviously had more theological training than a degree in painting. Recently read Simple Church: Returning to God’s Process for Making Disciples by Thom S. Rainer and Eric Geiger, which contains helpful ideas for assessing our church’s process of making disciples.

(c) for my personal enjoyment:

Made to Stick by Dan and Chip Heath on how to make abstract ideas simple, concrete, and memorable.

Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer by Roy Peter Clark, chock full of simple, stimulating ways to strengthen writing.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy, a dark story about a father and son in a post-apocalyptic world (I don’t even know what that means). Read it both for enjoyment and to try to learn from McCarthy’s stark and poetic writing style.

Apart from Scripture, what book do you most frequently re-read and why?

Favorite book I’ve read more than once: The Mystery of Providence by my man John Flavel. God’s providence fills me with wonder and faith.

When you finish a book, what system have you developed in order to remember and reference that book in the future?

Underlining. Occasionally I type quotations in a Google Notebook.

If you could study under any theologian in church history (excluding those men in Scripture), who would it be and why?

I know he might not be the foremost theologian, but I wish I could have attended Charles Spurgeon’s lectures. I am moved by his passion for Jesus, the gospel, and people. And I love his sense of humor and his illustrations.

What single piece of counsel (or constructive criticism) has most improved your preaching?

When Kristi has said, “Well, it wasn’t one of your better messages.”

Or when fellow pastor Joe Ryer has said, “I think it would have been better if you hadn’t spent 40 minutes on your first point, then 5 minutes on points 2 through 10.”

These have been helpful.

Actually, I think one of the best pieces of counsel is, “What does this passage teach me about Christ?” I believe Jeff Purswell said it.

What books on preaching, or examples of it, have you found most influential in your own preaching?

Christ-Centered Preaching by Bryan Chapell. Everything in the message must drive toward application.

C.J., your humble example of revealing your own sins and struggles in messages is one of the most significant things I’ve learned about preaching.

This is meaningful encouragement my friend! Thank you.

Join me next time for part three of my interview with my friend Mark Altrogge.