The Seven Books I Love to Give to Leaders!

/

Someone recently asked me about some of the books in my library. Most of my physical books are in boxes in storage, and all of my more recent books are digital. However, as I thought about it more, there are several goto books that I have read multiple times and have given away over and over again as gifts. These I would especially recommend for any ministry leader!

1) “Humility: The Beauty of Holiness” by Andrew Murray.

I attended a spiritual formation retreat for the new Youth For Christ Staff. At the time this book was required reading for anyone who attended. For over 20 years of ministry, I have been cautioned that the top two ways a pastor can fall is through moral failure or mismanagement of money. I think people are missing out on the number one way we all fall. It is just not as obvious at first. It is when a pastor falls into the same sin that got an angel into Satan: the sin of pride. It is poisonous, and I think the leaven that the Pharisees and Herodians had in common. The Scriptures taught in this book on Humility by Andrew Murray are my antidote to this sickness that even tries to creep up in my life as a leader in my home and in the body of Christ. My goal is to read this book at least once a year for the rest of my life.

The ebook is free on Amazon Kindle and the audiobook is free on YouTube!

2) “Living by the Book: The Art and Science of Reading the Bible” by Howard Hendricks

I read this book when I was about 18 years old. It has influenced my reading of the Scripture for over thirty years. This book has been one of the greatest gifts to me throughout my life. When I get to heaven, I plan on giving Howard Hendricks a big hug and thanking him for this book! The three steps given are observation, interpretation, and application. Anyone who wants to teach the Bible must first be a great student of the Bible who first applies it to their own life. There are videos on YouTube with Howard Hendricks teaching the principles of this book. If I ever teach a class that is not in a small group setting, this is the number one class and textbook I would teach.

3) “The Art of Story Telling: Easy Steps to Presenting An Unforgettable Story” By John Walsh

This book is a must-read for any teacher of the Bible. Some estimate that 75% of the Bible is written in story format. God knew our brains were wired for stories. Yet more and more people are oral and visual learners. We can’t just read a story and expect people to be interested. We must learn to orally tell stories. Mark 4:34 in the NLT says this about Jesus: “In fact, in his public ministry, he never taught without using parables; but afterward, when he was alone with his disciples, he explained everything to them.” Parents need to know how to tell their kids Bible stories. Teachers shouldn’t dissect a story without first telling the story in a captivating way. I had a friend from Iran who came to Christ in Chicago and he started attending a small group. When we switched to oral storytelling methods of teaching, he told me, “I finally understand the Bible.” When I was a pastor in the northside of Chicago, we gave this book to all of our small group leaders. When I was a director at YFC, John Walsh personally led a zoom group with many of our Campus Life staff and volunteers. I highly recommend this book to anyone who teaches the Bible. In our social media and movie-oriented culture, this book is essential!

4) “Real Life Discipleship: Building Churches that Make Disciples” by Jim Putman

I experienced an amazing church that was very effective in mentoring new believers and then training them to disciple other new believers. It was part of the culture. Hundreds of people every year were being mentored in life-on-life discipleship-type relationships. Then I became the pastor of a congregation of the same church but on the other side of the city. As I tried hard to communicate and train others, this book was the perfect tool. We took all our leaders through the workbook version. In my opinion, this is the best model that I have seen in the United States for discipleship to take place within small groups.

5) “Movements that Change the World” by Steve Addison

Steve Addison shares five characteristics of movements that change the world. For many years I had them listed in my email signature and footer.

  1. White-Hot Faith

  2. Commitment to a Cause

  3. Contagious Relationships

  4. Rapid Mobilization

  5. Adaptive Methods

May the Lord help us move from institutional Christianity to the passion, power, and patterns of the early church. Steve’s podcast is always encouraging. My dream is to be part of a disciple-making multiplication movement in Miami, FL and the stories Steve Addison shares on his podcast definitely inspire my faith that is possible to see a movement started in my hometown.

6) The Emotionally Healthy Leader by Pete Scazzero

I was leading a meeting with all of the men’s small group leaders in my church. I was frustrated that our baptism numbers were down. One of the leaders came out of the closet. He was being influenced by a hyper-dispensationalist teaching that water baptism was only for the Jews and that Gentile believers in Jesus did not need to be baptized. I lost my cool in that meeting, to say the least. He had the largest men’s group at our church. Eventually, they all left our church. Thankfully, one of our best elders at the church introduced us all to a book called, “Emotionally Healthy Spirituality.” There are some aspects of the two books that I don’t fully agree with. But the overall concepts are life-changing. You cannot be a spiritually mature believer and have emotionally unhealthy patterns. This book is a must-read for every leader.

7) “Preaching to Be Heard: Delivering Sermons That Command Attention” by Lucas O’Neill

When I was a youth pastor many moons ago, a couple of my students would complain to me that the Bible teacher at their Christian school was the meanest and most boring teacher in that school. Sometimes, I wondered if the Devil had planted him there. I think when preachers get to Heaven, they will have to give an account for two sins. The first is for all of the boring sermons we preached. The Word of God is active and living and sharper than any two-edged sword. The Bible is anything but boring. Even in the genealogies, you can find prostitutes and people like Jabez who caused his mom so much pain in birth that she named her son… “Born-In-Pain.” The second sin preachers will account for is telling amazing stories and being full of energy when they tell stories about themself but then barely talk about the Bible or make the Bible seem second-rate to their stories. The Word of God should be the main dish when we are feeding God’s sheep. “Preaching to be Heard” by Lucas O’Neill will give you some power tools in your preacher’s toolbox to help you preach sermons that command attention!