Recommended Reading List for Discernment

General Discernment Books:

Richard Nelson Bolles, How to Find Your Mission in Life (Ten Speed Press, 1991)

L. William Countryman, Living on the Border of the Holy: Renewing the Priesthood of All (Morehouse Publishing, 1999)

Francis Dewar, Live for a Change: Discovering and Using Your Gifts (Darton, Longman and Todd, Ltd., 1988)

Verna Dozier, The Calling of the Laity, (Alban Institute, 1988)

Lloyd Edwards, Discerning Your Spiritual Gifts (Cambridge, MA: Cowley, 1988).

Suzanne Farnham, Joseph Gill, Taylor McLean, and Susan Ward, Listening Hearts: Discerning Call in Community (Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse, revised. 2001).

Debra K. Farrington, Hearing with the Heart: A Gentle Guide for Discerning God’s Will for Your Life (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2019).

Dwight Judy, Discerning Life Transitions: Listening Together in Spiritual Direction (Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse 2010)

Parker Palmer, Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2000).

Sam Portaro, Transforming Vocation (Church Publishing, Inc. 2008)

Caroline Westerhoff, Calling: A Song for the Baptized (Boston, MA: Cowley, 1994).

Specific to Diaconal Vocation:

Rosalind Brown, Being a Deacon Today: Exploring a Distinctive Ministry in the Church and in the World

Specific to Priestly Vocation:

Heidi Neumark, Breathing Space: A Spiritual Journey in the South Bronx

Martin Copenhaver and Lillian Daniel, This Odd and Wondrous Calling: The Public and Private Lives of Two Ministers

Richard Lischer, Open Secrets: A Memoir of Faith and Discovery

Eugene Peterson, The Pastor: A Memoir

Gordon Lathrop, The Pastor: A Spirituality