It has been said many time that leaders are readers. This is a true statement because successful leaders are committed to personal growth and taking new ground. This summer delivered an especially strong collection of Christian leadership books. These dealt with fear, race, business, sports, and family dynamics. Make sure you check out each and if you have not done so, add them to your library.
The following are 10 Books All Leaders Should Read During The Summer Of 2020:
- Jimmy Dykes: The Film Doesn’t Lie: Evaluating Your Life One Play at a Time by Jimmy Dykes. This book was recommended to me by Pastor Rusty George, a member of my unofficial book club! Elite level coaches, business owners, CEOs and difference-makers from all walks of life share a common trait: they are masters at the process of evaluating. Film sessions are the life blood of any successful sports team, whether following a soaring win or a crushing loss. Nothing goes unchecked, and nothing gets taken for granted. They understand and respect a simple fact: the film doesn’t lie. ESPN broadcaster and coach Jimmy Dykes guides readers through a tough but crucial evaluation process, incorporating wisdom from both sports and scripture as he demonstrates how to search your heart like a coach scrutinizes game film.
- Dream Big: Know What You Want, Why You Want It, and What You’re Going to Do About It by Bob Goff. In his revelatory yet utterly practical new book, Bob takes you on a life-proven journey to rediscover your dreams and turn them into reality. Based on his enormously popular Dream Big workshop, Bob draws on a lifetime of living and dreaming large to help you reach your larger-than-life dreams. In Dream Big he shows how to
- learn to define clearly your dreams for yourself,
- identify the obstacles holding you back,
- come up with a specific plan for reaching goals, and
- develop the tools that will help you act on the plan.
- The Garden: A Spiritual Fable About Ways to Overcome Fear, Anxiety, and Stress by Jon Gordon. From eight-time bestselling author Jon Gordon comes a spiritual fable about the power of faith, hope, and love. The Garden is an enlightening and encouraging spiritual fable that reveals the 5 D’s that can sabotage us and a proven plan to help us overcome and win the battle in our mind. Rooted in Jon Gordon’s faith tradition, this fable is a different kind of book than his previous business fables. However, in his familiar trademark style, he takes a complex subject and simplifies it to help people take action and improve their lives.
- The Vision Driven Leader: 10 Questions to Focus Your Efforts, Energize Your Team, and Scale Your Business by Michael Hyatt. In The Vision Driven Leader, New York Times bestselling author Michael Hyatt offers six tools for crafting an irresistible vision for your business, rallying your team around the vision, and distilling it into actionable plans that drive results. Based on Michael’s 40 years of experience as an entrepreneur and executive, backed by insights from organizational science and psychology, and illustrated by case studies and stories from multiple industries, The Vision Driven Leader takes you step-by-step from whyto what and then how. Your business will never be the same.
- Uncommon Ground: Living Faithfully in a World of Difference by Tim Keller and John Inazu. How can Christians today interact with those around them in a way that shows respect to those whose beliefs are radically different but that also remains faithful to the gospel? Timothy Keller and John Inazu bring together illuminating stories–their own and from others–to answer this vital question. Uncommon Ground gathers an array of perspectives from people thinking deeply and working daily to live with humility, patience, and tolerance in our time.
- The Dad Difference: The 4 Most Important Gifts You Can Give to Your Kids by Bryan Lorrits – The world is full of examples of men who weren’t there for their kids. But there are good and even great dads out there, who inspire their children and the men around them to reach for more. How do you become a dad like that—even if your own dad wasn’t such a good example? In The Dad Difference, Bryan Loritts explores the four gifts every kid needs from their dad: relationship, integrity, teaching, and experiences. He walks you through what each of these mean and how to put them into practice. He also shares stories of fathers, including his own dad, who were examples of this to him. Full of biblical wisdom, simple truths, and practical advice, this book will empower you to become a dad who makes a difference in the lives of your children.
- The Uniform of Leadership: Lessons on True Success from My ESPN Life by Jason Romano. Jason learned incredible lessons during his seventeen years as a producer at ESPN–and these fundamentals for success on the field or court work just as well in other spheres of leadership, especially when you add God’s direction to the playbook. This collection of compelling, inspiring, and often funny stories challenges readers to ask themselves the hard questions. It draws them into introspection and then directs them into action so they can cultivate habits of service and excellence in themselves and in those around them. From Tony Dungy to Darryl Strawberry, Will Ferrell to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, readers will discover how to replicate the principles practiced by some of the most influential leaders in sports and entertainment. And in the end, they’ll be able to construct thriving cultures where the people they lead can bloom where they’re planted and serve one another.
- Raise Your Game: High-Performance Secrets from the Best of the Bestby Ethan Sherwood Strauss – High achievers are at the top of their game because of the discipline they have during the unseen hours. They have made a commitment to establish, tweak, and repeat positive habits in everything they do. RAISE YOUR GAME examines the top leaders in sports and business and proves that success is a result of the little things we do all the time. The basic principles provided in RAISE YOUR GAME are simple, but not easy. We live in an instantly downloadable world that encourages us to skip steps. We are taught to chase what’s hot, flashy and sexy and ignore what’s basic. But the basics work. They always have and they always will.
- The Fear Virus: Vaccinating Yourself Against Life’s Greatest Phobias by Ed Young. In The Fear Virus, Ed addresses common phobias that plague us and the antidote that replaces unhealthy fear with God’s peace and love. Ed Young will boldly meet the fears that often control us with Scripture and wisdom that will help you to take back control of your life and eradicate the fear virus. Differentiating between unhealthy fear and healthy fear, Ed will explain why one is dangerous and the other is essential. Readers of The Fear Virus will feel equipped to tackle things like:
- Fear of loneliness
- Fear of helplessness
- Fear of commitment
- Fear of death
- Fear of failure
The Fear Virus will help you fight against fear and face every day with ultimate respect for God and assurance that He holds all things together.
- A Gentle Answer: Our ‘Secret Weapon’ in an Age of Us Against Them by Scott Sauls. In a defensive and divided era, how can followers of Jesus reveal a better way of living, one that loves others as God loves us? How can Christians be the kind of people who are known, as Proverbs puts it, to “turn away wrath?” Scott Sauls’s compelling new book shows Christians how to become people of “a gentle answer” in a politically, relationally, and culturally fractured world by helping readers:
- grow in affection for Christ, who answers our hostility with gentleness;
- nurture a renewed, softened heart in light of Christ’s gentleness toward us;
- and catch a vision to forsake us-against-them mentalities, put down our swords, and “infect” a hostile world with gentleness.
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.