Dear Titus

Church planting is vital kingdom work that requires divine blessing, dependence on the Holy Spirit, biblical clarity, pastoral faithfulness, practical wisdom, and evangelistic zeal. In this collection of letters, thirteen seasoned pastors with a proven track record exhort fledgling church planters on such crucial topics as mission, calling, pastoral gifts and graces, vigilance, discipleship, diligence, holiness, teaching, preaching, and prayer. May the Lord use this invaluable manual of warm, biblical, and experiential poimenics and ecclesiology to prepare and encourage many “Tituses” in our day!

If God is leading you to plant a church, this book is a must read. The combined wisdom of the contributors along with the pastoral heart expressed by each comes across on every page. They provide practical advice on a variety of subjects including managing your time, loving your family, leading God’s flock, and guarding your ministry. I am also encouraged by how relevant the advice remains for me, even after almost two decades at the church where I pastor. There are nuggets of wisdom throughout the book that I have already begun to put into practice. This is no mere list of ministerial theories. This is a treasure of wisdom from men who have stood firm and continue to fight the good fight.

We need more books like this! Dear Titus puts forth a high view of the local church and a high view of the office of elder. The wisdom shared in these pages is unashamedly rooted in the Scriptures while flowing from 300+ years of combined pastoral experience. Not only is every chapter robustly doctrinal and wonderfully practical but this work offers a refreshing encouragement for pastors everywhere. This is certainly related to the fact that each chapter highlights the wonderful grace of God in the gospel and the need for pastors to rest in it, preach it, and keep it as priority in the church, home, and personal life. Nate Pickowicz and the rest of the contributors are serious about the holy calling of men in ministry while writing in such a way that gave me a renewed zeal to faithfully shepherd the flock of God in my own town for Christ’s glory. I heartily recommend this work not only to church planters, but to both experienced and novice pastors, as well as all Christians who love the local church and want to see her leaders flourish.

I look up to pastors. They are my heroes. So many serve faithfully, quietly, and courageously, encouraging the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we need more men, well-trained in the historic Christian faith, who are raised up for this task. Dear Titus includes contributions from many seasoned pastors, offering biblical wisdom and practical guidance. It is a valuable resource for strengthening and reaffirming convictional Christian pastoral ministry. At a time when defection from the truth is rampant and many in ministry have lost their nerve, this book provides the needed encouragement and clarity to remain steadfast in gospel ministry. Additionally, as church planting efforts struggle to keep up with population growth in many places worldwide, this manuscript serves as a crucial tool to prepare and equip leaders for the task. Nate Pickowicz’s labor to produce this volume will arrive right on time.

Dear Titus is a thoroughly pastoral treatment of what, in my personal opinion, is the most underappreciated and least-studied of all the Pauline epistles. Under the faithful stewardship of Nate Pickowicz, the contributors to Dear Titus have brought fresh light to the invaluable principles and precepts contained in the book of Titus, and have personalized them in such a practical way as to be of immense encouragement to those who are joyfully toiling to bring the Word of God to, as Dr. Carl Hargrove says in Dear Titus, “a people in dire need of the gospel to save and order their lives.”