Leaders are readers.  Therefore, one of things I enjoy most is pointing people to great leadership books throughout the year which they will enjoy and help them grow and improve.  As we close out the year, I want to take a look back at which books had the most impact on this audience.

The following are The Top 10 Best-Selling Christian Leadership Books Of 2018 via this site as determined by you the readers:

  1. Lead Like A Shepherd: The Secret To Leading Well by Larry Osborne.  I think this is appropriate because the next great movement in leadership is becoming a shepherd rather than an entrepreneur or CEO.  Some instruction is timeless. Regardless of the age in which we live, certain instruction carries no expiration on its relevance. Pastor, author, and leadership consultant, Larry Osborne has discovered this to be the case with instruction on how to be a good leader. The best, most practical advice comes from the Bible, and in particular, 1 Peter 5:1-4. It’s in this short passage where leaders are exhorted to shepherd the flock among them.
  2. Teams That Thrive: Five Disciplines of Collaborative Church Leadership by Warren Bird.  This books is a 2015 Readers’ Choice Award Winner which is still having a significant impact.  Researchers and practitioners Ryan Hartwig and Warren Bird have discovered churches of various sizes and traditions throughout the United States who have learned to thrive under healthy team leadership.  Using actual church examples, they present their discoveries here, culminating in five disciplines that, if implemented, can enable your team to thrive.
  3. Demolishing Strongholds: Finding Victory Over the Struggles That Hold You Back by Johnny Hunt.  This is one the BEST leadership books I have read!  There is a difference between leader development (character) and leadership development (competence).  This is a fine a leader development book as you will read.  As part of my personal learning project, I am revisiting this book in January.
  4. The Way of the Dragon or the Way of the Lamb: Searching for Jesus’ Path of Power in a Church that Has Abandoned It by Kyle Strobel and Jamin Goggin.  Pastor Jamin Goggin and theology professor Kyle Strobel invite readers on a journey to uncover Jesus’ seemingly contradictory way to power: weakness.  Why do so many rock-star pastors implode under the spotlight? Why do modern-day churches become so entangled in growing their brand that they lose sight of their true purpose? Because, according to Jamin Goggin and Kyle Strobel, Christians have succumbed to the temptations of power and forgotten Jesus’ seemingly contradictory path to power—first giving it up.  This may be the most important book I read all summer.
  5. Virtual Culture: The Way We Work Doesn’t Work Anymore by Bryan Miles.  It’s the twenty-first century, yet most companies maintain a twentieth century corporate culture. Despite instant communication and collaboration through wireless computers and smartphones, employers needlessly rent or own office space. Bryan Miles has a reality check for you: the future of business is virtual, and it’s going to take more than technology upgrades for you to upgrade your workplace environment.
  6. Spiritual Leadership: Principles Of Excellence For Every Believer by J. Oswald Sanders.  With more than 1 million copies sold, Spiritual Leadership stands as a proven classic for developing such leadership. J. Oswald Sanders, a Christian leader for nearly seventy years and author of more than forty books, presents the key principles of leadership in both the temporal and spiritual realms. He illustrates his points with examples from Scripture and biographies of eminent men of God, such as Moses, Nehemiah, the apostle Paul, David Livingstone, Charles Spurgeon, and others.
  7. Amplified Leadership: 5 Practices to Establish Influence, Build People, and Impact Others for a Lifetime by Dan Reiland.  There is no leader I respect more than iconic  and absolutely delightful executive pastor of 12Stone Church.  Dan has as much wisdom as anyone you will ever meet.  This book documents the leadership development process of one of America’s largest and fastest growing churches.  An absolute must-read!
  8. Leadership: In Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin.  The best leadership book I read in 2018.  Goodwin draws upon the four presidents she has studied most closely—Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson (in civil rights)—to show how they recognized leadership qualities within themselves and were recognized as leaders by others. By looking back to their first entries into public life, we encounter them at a time when their paths were filled with confusion, fear, and hope.  This book tells the story of how they all collided with dramatic reversals that disrupted their lives and threatened to shatter forever their ambitions. Nonetheless, they all emerged fitted to confront the contours and dilemmas of their times.
  9. The Forgotten Jesus: How Western Christians Should Follow an Eastern Rabbi by Robby Gallaty.  Trading the popular, but inaccurate Western perspective of the Bible for the context in which Jesus actually ministered in 2000 years ago, Robby reveals the fascinating Hebraic culture, customs, and nuances many Christians have never experienced or learned about. He works from the premise that we can’t truly appreciate the New Testament unless we understand the Old Testament. By uncovering the teaching of the first and second century rabbis and Christian theologians, and highlighting little-known Jewish idioms and traditions, Gallaty takes Christians on a biblical journey to rediscover a forgotten Jesus from a biblical perspective, deepening your relationship with God.
  10. Hero Maker: Five Essential Practices for Leaders to Multiply Leaders by Dave Ferguson.  Everybody wants to be a hero, but few understand the power of being a hero maker.  In Hero Makeryou will learn how to bring real change to your church and community by developing the practical skills to help others reach their leadership potential.  Drawing on five powerful practices found in the ministry of Jesus, Hero Makerpresents the key steps of apprenticeship that will build up other leaders and provides strategies for how you can activate gifts, help others take ownership, and develop a simple scorecard for measuring your kingdom-building progress.

I look forward to continuing to point you to quality resources in 2019.

My book Timeless: 10 Enduring Practices Of Apex Leaders is available for purchase.  If you have ever wanted to become the leader God created you to be, this book is for you!  By combining leadership lessons from biblical heroes like Jesus, Daniel and Joseph, along with modern day leaders like Bill Gates, Nick Saban, Kobe Bryant and multiple pastors, Timeless will equip and inspire you.  This book is not to be read alone.  Discussion questions are included in each chapter allowing you to develop those in your circle of influence.  Click HERE or on the image provided and order your copies TODAY.

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