Christmas shopping is probably underway in earnest and few things are better gifts for Christian leaders than books. Because of this reality, allow me assist you with my annual list of purchases. Below is an incredible list of quality resources written by amazing authors. Whatever the primary interests of the person you are buying for may be, there is something here for everyone.
The following 22 Books Christian Leaders Should Be Reading In 2022:
- Defy the Odds: How God Can Use Your Past to Shape Your Future by Dr. Benny Tate. This is a personal favorite for me. I wrote a post on Dr. Tate earlier this year entitled The Greatest Leadership Message I Have Ever Heard A Pastor Give – 7 Things Leaders Do That Hinder Their Churches. This book is the story of how one of America’s greatest churches came to be. Pastor Tate never faced a time that wasn’t filled with obstacles. Each season of life came with setbacks that often seemed insurmountable: the abusive father figure who tormented Benny and his mother, the lack of guidance in his early adulthood, and the illness and infertility he and his wife battled in their marriage. Yet in every crisis, God was there to redeem pain for glory, transforming Benny’s life into a moving testament to His power. Through his struggles, Benny’s faith grew as he saw how God provided him with the strength, wisdom, and resources he needed to overcome each staggering challenge placed before him.
- Soundtracks: The Surprising Solution to Overthinking by Jon Acuff. Overthinking isn’t a personality trait. It’s the sneakiest form of fear. It steals time, creativity, and goals. It’s the most expensive, least productive thing companies invest in without even knowing it. And it’s an epidemic. When New York Times bestselling author Jon Acuff changed his life by transforming his overthinking, he wondered if other people might benefit from what he discovered. He commissioned a research study to ask 10,000 people if they struggle with overthinking too, and 99.5 percent said, “Yes!”
- The Spiritual Life of a Leader: A God-Centered Leadership Style by Boyd Bailey. No matter where you lead, the qualities that make a great leader are the same: you should be humble, selfless, honest, collaborative, and teachable. Most of all, you should recognize Jesus as the gold standard of leadership and make your relationship with God your top priority.
In The Spiritual Life of a Leader, bestselling author Boyd Bailey will help you develop the habits and goals of an effective leader. As you orient your heart toward serving God, you’ll grow in your ability to bear spiritual fruit in your workplace, serve your colleagues, and raise up other leaders.
Learn how you can…- use honest self-assessment to improve your weaknesses and hone your spiritual strengths
- make spirituality a central part of your management style, even in a secular environment
- avoid the temptations common to leaders and ensure your unique spiritual needs are met
Get ready to grow as a leader and a follower of Christ. The Spiritual Life of a Leader will help you adopt God’s priorities as your own and enable you to shine for Him as you follow Jesus’ footsteps.
- Fault Lines: The Social Justice Movement and Evangelicalism’s Looming Catastrophe by Voddie Baucham Jr. The death of George Floyd at the hands of police in the summer of 2020 shocked the nation. As riots rocked American cities, Christians affirmed from the pulpit and in social media that “black lives matter” and that racial justice “is a gospel issue.” But what if there is more to the social justice movement than those Christians understand? Even worse: What if they’ve been duped into preaching ideas that actually oppose the Kingdom of God? In this powerful book, Voddie Baucham, a preacher, professor, and cultural apologist, explains the sinister worldview behind the social justice movement and Critical Race Theory—revealing how it already has infiltrated some seminaries, leading to internal denominational conflict, canceled careers, and lost livelihoods. Like a fault line, it threatens American culture in general—and the evangelical church in particular. Whether you’re a layperson who has woken up in a strange new world and wonders how to engage sensitively and effectively in the conversation on race or a pastor who is grappling with a polarized congregation, this book offers the clarity and understanding to either hold your ground or reclaim it.
- Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory by Tod Bolsinger. Explorers Lewis and Clark had to adapt. While they had prepared to find a waterway to the Pacific Ocean, instead they found themselves in the Rocky Mountains. You too may feel that you are leading in a cultural context you were not expecting. You may even feel that your training holds you back more often than it carries you along. Drawing from his extensive experience as a pastor and consultant, Tod Bolsinger brings decades of expertise in guiding churches and organizations through uncharted territory. He offers a combination of illuminating insights and practical tools to help you reimagine what effective leadership looks like in our rapidly changing world. If you’re going to scale the mountains of ministry, you need to leave behind canoes and find new navigational tools.
- Harnessing the Power of Tension: Stretched but Not Broken by Dr. Sam Chand – In Harnessing the Power of Tension: Stretched but Not Broken, international leadership consultant Sam Chand examines tension as it arises in and between the arenas of business, church, and family. The presence of tension isn’t a flaw in you or a threat from others. It’s not a problem to solve, but a strain to be used. When you develop this perspective and you encounter tension, you’ll be less confused and feel less guilty because you understand that tension isn’t the result of your error or flaw. You’ll experience less pressure to figure everything out and less compulsion to resolve it quickly and completely.
- The Eight Paradoxes of Great Leadership: Embracing the Conflicting Demands of Today’s Workplace by Tim Elmore – Tim just gave an incredible leadership lesson on this book which you can read about by clicking 60 Leadership Quotes From John Maxwell’s Live2Lead Conference featuring Jeff Henderson, Ed Mylett, Valorie Burton, and Others. Releasing on November 2nd, the readers will:
- Learn how today’s team members require a combination of different qualities from their leaders than they did in even the recent past;
- Grasp the importance of eight key paradoxes that are critical for next generation leaders to put into practice right now;
- Be inspired by historic and modern-day leaders who lived the eight paradoxes; and
- Understand how they too can lead with the eight paradoxes, guiding them to emotional and social intelligence that resonates with their teams and leads to outstanding collaborative results.
- Divine Disruption: Holding on to Faith When Life Breaks Your Heart by Dr. Tony Evans – Learn how to work your way through life’s unexpected challenges with grace and find a deeper faith while on your journey. In this biblical and conversational book by Dr. Tony Evans and his four adult children—Chrystal Evans Hurst, Priscilla Shirer, Anthony Evans, and Jonathan Evans—you will hear five insightful perspectives on what it means to hold on to faith when life breaks your heart. We have all been through difficult seasons and times in life when it seems like the hits keep coming and you can barely catch your breath. The Evans family knows what this is like, as they’ve experienced the deep grief of losing eight loved ones in less than two years’ time, including the devastating passing of Lois Evans, the matriarch of the family. In Divine Disruption, Dr. Tony Evans and his children pull back the curtain on their faith-shaking experiences, in order to provide biblical wisdom and practical encouragement for how to deal with the hard, unexpected things we all inevitably face.
- Row the Boat: A Never-Give-Up Approach to Lead with Enthusiasm and Optimism and Improve Your Team and Culture by Jon Gordon and P.J. Fleck – In Row the Boat, Minnesota Golden Gophers Head Coach P.J. Fleck and bestselling author Jon Gordon deliver an inspiring message about what you can achieve when you approach life with a never-give-up philosophy. The book shows you how to choose enthusiasm and optimism as your guiding lights instead of being defined by circumstances and events outside of your control. Perfect for athletes, coaches, business leaders, and anyone else who hopes to squeeze a little more enjoyment and productivity out of life, Row the Boat will propel leaders, teams, and organizations to greater heights than they have ever reached before.
- Winning the War in Your Mind: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life by Craig Groeschel. This is the best book I read during Q1 of this year. Drawing upon Scripture and the latest findings of brain science, Groeschel lays out practical strategies that will free you from the grip of harmful, destructive thinking and enable you to live the life of joy and peace that God intends you to live. Winning the War in Your Mind will help you:
- Learn how your brain works and see how to rewire it
- Identify the lies your enemy wants you to believe
- Recognize and short-circuit your mental triggers for destructive thinking
- See how prayer and praise will transform your mind
- Develop practices that allow God’s thoughts to become your thoughts
- Believe IT: How to Go from Underestimated to Unstoppable by Jamie Kern Lima – In Believe IT, Jamie Kern Lima, founder of IT Cosmetics, shares the wild but true story of how a once struggling waitress turned her against-the-grain idea into an international bestselling sensation, eventually selling the company for over a billion dollars and becoming the first female CEO of a brand in L’Oréal’s 100+ year history. Faced with self-doubt, body-doubt, God-doubt, down to her last few dollars and told “No one is going to buy makeup from someone who has your body,” Jamie reveals for the first time what really went down, how she almost didn’t make it, how she learned to trust herself, and the powerful lessons you, too, can use to go from underestimated to unstoppable.
- Change Your World: How Anyone, Anywhere Can Make a Difference by John Maxwell. In this book, John Maxwell and Rob Hoskins guide readers through the entire process of changing your world. These two leaders have been making a positive impact for decades, transforming lives, communities, and businesses around the world with a sense of mission and high regard for human dignity. They will show you how to
- Identify your cause
- Live out the values that make a difference
- Become a catalyst for change
- Join the right or recruit one of your own
- Work together with others to make a difference
- Measure your impact and keep improving
Whether you influence only one other person or you’re the leader of a large organization, you too can bring about positive, lasting change. Throughout these pages, Maxwell and Hoskins share their real-world experiences and encourage others to make a difference based on the needs they see around them and the desires of their heart.
- Jesus Unleashed: A New Vision of the Bold Confrontations of Christ and Why They Matter by John MacArthur – Do you have any idea who Jesus really is? “What you think of Jesus Christ will thoroughly color how you think about everything else,” writes John MacArthur. This is a critical truth in the life of every believer. Your view of Jesus affects the way you view God, the world, and every one of your decisions. These days, Jesus is often portrayed as a pacifist, a philanthropist, or a docile teacher. He strikes a plastic—and sometimes pathetic—pose in the minds of many. Some prefer the meek and mild Jesus who heals the sick, calms fears, and speaks of peace and goodwill. These things do represent a portion of the Messiah. But tragically, too many have never been exposed to the rest of him. They have never seen a full 360-degree view of the Savior. His boldness in the face of confrontation and why that matters. Until now. This book releases on July 13th.
- For Such a Time as This: My Faith Journey through the White House and Beyond by Kayleigh McEnany – Kayleigh describes her path to the White House podium, bringing the reader behind the scenes in the world’s most powerful building and illuminating how faith got her through. From White House intern to White House press secretary, from production assistant to national television host, from Catholic all-girls high school to Harvard Law School, God has guided her path through uncharted territory. In For Such a Time as This, she will chronicle her journey to the White House and offer never-before-told anecdotes about what really happened within the Trump administration. You will experience some of the most high stakes moments in the West Wing right alongside me as Kayleigh reveals how faith got me through.
- Uncommon Leadership by Ben Newman – In Uncommon Leadership, performance coach and motivational consultant Ben Newman takes you inside the minds and hearts of eleven exceptional individuals: athletes, coaches, CEOs, entrepreneurs, and others whose unrelentingly high performance has made them not only the best in their fields but also unquestioned leaders in sports, business, and life. Ben breaks it down, honing in on the core qualities that drive these trailblazers to push for the best in themselves and others, every single day. Some of the leaders profiled are Nick Saban, Jon Gordon, Will Compton, Jerry Rice, and many, many more.
- At Your Best: How to Get Time, Energy, and Priorities Working in Your Favor by Carey Nieuwhof – After a season of burnout almost took him out, Carey discovered how to get time, energy, and priorities working in his favor. This approach freed up more than one thousand productive hours a year for him and can do the same for you. At Your Best will help you
● replace chronic exhaustion with deep productivity
● break the pattern of overpromising and never accomplishing enough
● clarify what matters most by restructuring your day
● master the art of saying no, without losing friends or influence
● discover why vacations and sabbaticals don’t really solve your problems
● develop a personalized plan to recapture each day so you can break free from the trap of endless to-dos - Make the Call: Game-Day Wisdom for Life’s Defining Moments by Mark Richt – There are moments in life when it comes down to your decision. Whatever you’re facing, you know that no one else can bail you out. You have to make the call. Mark Richt, former head football coach at the University of Georgia and the University of Miami and long-time assistant coach at Florida State University, knows a thing or two about making the call. In this book, he shares some of those crucial moments—from his time as a player, through his years as an assistant coach and head coach—thirty-five years in all on some of the biggest stages of college football. You’ll love being along for the ride with Mark as he shares his experiences both on and off the field, gives wisdom for life and leadership, and encourages you to make the most important call of all.
- The Generosity Secret: How to Get Out of Debt and Find Financial Freedom by Nelson Searcy. I love promoting books written by my friends and Nelson is a dear friend. The Generosity Secret provides a proven strategy to break free from the financial stress that’s keeping you from pursuing your passions and living a joy-filled life. This systematic approach to handling money in a God-honoring way guides you step-by-step away from a life of financial strain to a new reality of financial health and freedom. It teaches you how to get out of debt–and stay out, set smart goals for spending, saving, and giving, live and give in a fulfilling way, and much more.
- Becoming a King: The Path to Restoring the Heart of a Man by Morgan Snyder. Journey with Morgan as he walks alongside men (and the women who love and encourage them) to rediscover this path of inner transformation. Becoming a King is an invitation into a radical reconstruction of much of what we’ve come to believe about God, ourselves, and the meaning of life. It’s an invitation to a rare and remarkable fellowship of like-hearted kings and an honest conversation about what power and responsibility look like for men in our world today.
- If Jesus Gave A TED Talk: Eight Neuroscience Principles The Master Teacher Used To Persuade His Audience by Charles Stone – There are many ways to improve public speaking abilities, but in this compelling book, popular speaker Dr. Charles Stone offers a new approach, a way to move past your limitations and become a more confident speaker and stellar persuaded. Dr. Stone blends the latest neuroscience research on communication and learning with how Jesus, the Master Teacher, persuaded his audiences. It’s a revolutionary new method capturing the attention of speakers who want to lift their skills to the next level. Jesus was the most persuasive communicator in history. This book shows you how to craft and deliver your messages using the same neuroscience principles he practiced.
- Great Lives: Paul: A Man of Grace and Grit (Great Lives Series) by Charles Swindoll. The apostle Paul was, by his own description, “the chief of all sinners.” Yet, this colossal figure left an indelible signature of greatness never to be forgotten. Some would argue, no other person in the Bible, aside from Christ Himself, had a more profound influence on his world and ours today than Paul. In this book, Charles Swindoll paints a vivid picture of this remarkable man and his story. He shows how God reached down to Paul in all his self-righteous zeal and
- crushed his pride,
- softened his heart, and
- transformed this once-violent aggressor into a powerful spokesman for Christ.
Paul pursued his divine mission with unflinching resolve, and God used him mightily to turn the world upside down for Christ in his generation. Perhaps that’s why Paul’s life is such a source of hope for us. If the chief of sinners can be forgiven and become God’s chosen vessel, can He not forgive and use us as well? Paul is the sixth of a multi-volume series exploring Great Lives from God’s Word and searching them to find the qualities that made them great.
- Mission Rift: Leading through Church Conflict by David Woolverton – There are two types of conflict in congregations: conflict that kills and conflict that cultivates growth. So argues David E. Woolverton in Mission Rift: Leading through Church Conflict. InMission Rift, Woolverton reorients our view of congregational conflict. In part 1, he examines conflict from a theological and ecclesiological framework, exploring why it is essential to discipleship and mission. In part 2, he presents six principles of missional leadership, challenging pastors and other leaders to define themselves within the frameworks of spiritual formation and family systems, and then to create environments that facilitate growth in faith communities.
- ***BONUS*** God Honors Movement: How Movement Leads To Miracles by Jeff Shortridge – Have you ever wondered why God seems to help only certain people get things accomplished while not helping others? After studying countless pastors, church leaders, and everyday Christians, I have discovered a distinct pattern: God steps up when a leader steps out!\n\nIf you are hesitant to make your next move, learn this biblical template and then don\x27t just step out… Jump! Watch God honor your movement.
#CommissionsEarned
Also, 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.