President M. Craig Barnes

M. Craig Barnes is the author of nine books and served as a regular columnist for The Christian Century from 2009 to 2019. His writing and academic work reflect his deep commitment to the theological formation of pastors to lead the church in changing times.

Latest Release

Diary of a Pastor's Soul: The Holy Moments in a Life of Ministry (Brazos, 2020)

Diary of a Pastor's Soul tells the story of a fictionalized pastor, embarking on his final year before retirement, who reflects on the experiences and relationships that have formed his vocation and shaped his soul over a lifetime of pastoral ministry.

Drawing on his own experiences, seasoned pastor Craig Barnes invites readers to embrace the life lessons of a pastor who has been formed by his failures and his fleeting moments of glory, but most of all by discovering the holy in the routine but often quirky duties of being a parish pastor. Through 52 weekly thematic entries, Barnes presents spirituality in narrative form through a collection of interwoven stories about learning to love others with curiosity, amazement, vulnerability, and most of all gratitude for the grace found in flawed lives.

Barnes's fictionalized diary approach creatively shows how the pastoral vocation forms mind, heart, and soul, helping pastors make sense of their own calling. With unvarnished honesty, this book eloquently illustrates a lifetime of ministry, revealing how "the Holy haunts the landscape of life."

Additional Published Books

Body and Soul: Reclaiming the Heidelberg Catechism (Faith Alive Publishers, 2012)
The Pastor as Minor Poet: Texts and Subtexts in the Ministerial Life (Eerdmans, 2008)
Searching for Home: Spirituality for Restless Souls (Brazos, 2003)
An Extravagant Mercy: Reflections on Ordinary Things (Servant Publications, Vine Books, 2003)
Sacred Thirst: Meeting God in the Desert of our Longings (Zondervan, 2001)
Hustling God: Why We Work so Hard for what God Wants to Give (Zondervan, 1999)
When God Interrupts: Finding New Life through Unwanted Change (InterVarsity Press, 1996)
Yearning: Living Between How It Is and How It Ought To Be (InterVarsity Press, 1992)