With 2020 approaching I began to think about some goals for the New Year, and with that some reading goals. I reached out to some friends and ministry associates for their input. I asked them to give me their three top picks of books they read in 2019, or books they wished they read in 2019. The men were a good cross section of:
- Pastors
- Para-church leaders
- College and Seminary professors
- Businessmen
The books they gave me will likely populate my reading list for 2020, and I hope their thoughts will stir your thinking also.
I also added a few books that I was already planning on reading in 2020.
The list has a mixture of biography, pastoral theology, improvement in speaking, theology and apologetics.
When you're done reading the list, please add the book(s) you're planning on reading in 2020.
21 Servants of Sovereign Joy: John Piper
"In this book, John Piper explores the lives of twenty-one leaders from church history, offering a close look at their perseverance amidst opposition, weakness, and suffering. Let the endurance of these faithful but flawed saints inspire you toward a life of Christ-exalting courage, passion, and joy." - Amazon
The 100X Leader: How to Become Someone Worth Following: Jeremie Kubicek
"Forget everything you know about motivating others and building a harmonious workplace. If you want to get the best out of people, you must be willing to fight. But, that doesn't mean you become a dominator, nor does coddling others work."
Broken-Down House: Living Productively in a World Gone Bad: Paul David Tripp
"Sin has ravaged the house that God created. This world sits slumped, disheveled, and in pain, groaning for the restoration that can only be accomplished by the hands of him who built it in the first place. he good news is that the divine Builder will not relent until everything about his house is made totally new again." - Amazon
Church Unique: How Missional Leaders Cast Vision, Capture Culture and Create Movement: Will Mancini
"Written by church consultant Will Mancini on a new kind of visioning process to help churches develop a stunningly unique model of ministry that leads to redemptive movement. He guides churches away from an internal focus to emphasize participation in their community and surrounding culture. " - Amazon
The Conviction to Lead: 25 Principles for Leadership That Matters: Albert Mohler
"Leadership Principles from a Renowned Agent of Change. Cultures and organizations do not change without strong leadership. While many leadership books focus on management oradministration, the central focus of The Conviction to Lead is on changing minds. " - Amazon
Dangerous Calling: Confronting the Unique Challenges of Pastoral Ministry: Paul David Tripp
"Dangerous Calling reveals the truth that the culture surrounding our pastors is spiritually unhealthy―an environment that actively undermines the well-being and effectiveness of our church leaders and thus the entire church body. " - Amazon
Developing the Leader Within You 2.0 - John Maxwell
"In this thoroughly revised and updated 25th-anniversary edition of his now-classic work, John C. Maxwell reveals how to develop the vision, value, influence, and motivation required of successful leaders—now in paperback." - Amazon
The Dichotomy of Leadership: Leif Babin Jocko Willink
"Mastering the Dichotomy of Leadership requires understanding when to lead and when to follow; when to aggressively maneuver and when to pause and let things develop; when to detach and let the team run and when to dive into the details and micromanage." - Amazon
Didn't See It Coming: Overcoming the Seven Greatest Challenges That No One Expects and Everyone Experiences: Carey Nieuwhof
"An influential pastor, podcaster, and thought leader believes it's not only possible to predict life's hardest moments, but also to alter outcomes, overcome challenges, and defeat your fiercest adversaries." - Amazon
Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success : Adam Grant
"In Give and Take, Adam Grant, an award-winning researcher and Wharton’s highest-rated professor, examines the surprising forces that shape why some people rise to the top of the success ladder while others sink to the bottom.." - Amazon
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance: Angela Duckworth
"In this instant New York Times bestseller, Angela Duckworth shows anyone striving to succeed that the secret to outstanding achievement is not talent, but a special blend of passion and persistence she calls “grit.” “Inspiration for non-geniuses everywhere” (People)." - Amazon
The Heresy of Orthodoxy: Kruger & Kostenberger
"Beginning with Walter Bauer in 1934, the denial of clear orthodoxy in early Christianity has shaped and largely defined modern New Testament criticism, recently given new life through the work of spokesmen like Bart Ehrman. Spreading from academia into mainstream media, the suggestion that diversity of doctrine in the early church led to many competing orthodoxies is indicative of today's postmodern relativism." - Amazon
A Labor of Love: Puritan Pastoral Priorities: J. Stephen Yuille
" J. Stephen Yuille reorients our understanding of pastoral ministry by presenting a standard of excellence measured by faithfulness, humility, and submission to God even when the results look unsuccessful in the eyes of the world." - Amazon
Leaders Who Last: Dave Kraft
"If the Christian life is like a race, we must admit that too many Christian leaders stumble, burn out, or veer off the track. Clearly it is not automatic that a leader will finish well.
The author moves through three stages of leadership: foundations, formation, and fruitfulness. This book will help you aim your ambitions, refine your character, and position yourself to be an effective leader who endures. "- Amazon
Leadershift: The 11 Essential Changes Every Leader Must Embrace: John Maxwell
"Internationally recognized leadership expert John C. Maxwell teaches readers how to shift their leadership to keep innovating, improving, and influencing others in today’s fast-paced world. Change is so rapid today that leaders must do much more than stay the course to be successful. If they aren’t nimble and ready to adapt, they won’t survive. The key is to learn how to leadershift." - Amazon
Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting Out of the Box
"This third edition of an international bestseller--over 2 million copies sold worldwide and translated into 33 languages--details how its powerful insights on motivation, conflict, and collaboration can benefit organizations as well as individuals.- Amazon
Leadership Pain: Samuel Chand
"Do you want to be a better leader? Raise the threshold of your pain. Do you want your church to grow or your business to reach higher goals? Reluctance to face pain is your greatest limitation. There is no growth without change, no change without loss, and no loss without pain. Bottom line: if you're not hurting, you're not leading." - Amazon
Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome: R. Kent Hughes
"Every year thousands of God's servants leave the ministry convinced they are failures. Years ago, in the midst of a crisis of faith, Kent Hughes almost became one of them. But instead he and his wife Barbara turned to God's Word, determined to learn what God had to say about success and to evaluate their ministry from a biblical point of view." - Amazon
The Love of Wisdom: A Christian Introduction to Philosophy: Cowan & Spiegel
"Philosophy is defined as the love of wisdom, and college students will certainly admire this Bible-informed introductory level textbook’s fun approach to an often heady subject. The Love of Wisdom is made distinct in its engaging style that includes humor and copious popular culture illustrations to heighten reader interest and clarify important concepts." - Amazon
Mapping Apologetics: Comparing Contemporary Approaches: Brian Morley
"Everyone believes something. But how and why do people believe? What counts as evidence? How much can be assumed or believed by faith alone? When it comes to religious faith, the questions become at once more difficult and more important." - Amazon
Not God Enough: Why Your Small God Leads to Big Problems: J. D. Greear
"We like God small. We prefer a God who is safe, domesticated, who thinks like we think, likes what we like, and whom we can manage, predict, and control. A small God is convenient. Practical. Manageable. The truth: God is big. Bigger than big. Bigger than all the words we use to say big." - Amazon
Ordering Your Private World: Gordon MacDonald
"Has anyone seen my time? I’ve misplaced it.We have schedule planners, computerized calendars, smart phones, and sticky notes to help us organize our business and social lives every day. But what about organizing the other side of our lives?the spiritual side?" - Amazon
Resilient Ministry: What Pastors Told Us About Surviving and Thriving: Chapman & Guthrie
"What does it take to have fruitful ministry over the long haul? The stresses of pastoring are well known and can be a match for even the best-prepared, most experienced in ministry--multiple tasks, long hours, taxing responsibilities and, yes, some challenging personalities. Too often the results can be burnout, being run out or just feeling worn out." - Amazon
Safe and Sound: Standing Firm in Spiritual Battles: David Powlison
"Safe and Sound by best-selling author David Powlison guides readers to see the normality of their struggles with themselves, the world around them, and the powers of darkness. Counselors tend to be interested in what they can easily describe: psychological dynamics, social influences, and physiological givens. But how does the uncanny power of darkness fit in with the more accessible factors in a person's life?" - Amazon
Slaves, Women and Homosexuals: Exploring the Hermeneutics of Cultural Analysis: William Webb
"In Slaves, Women & Homosexuals William J. Webb tackles some of the most complex and controversial issues that have challenged the Christian church--and still do. He leads you through the maze of interpretation that has historically surrounded understanding of slaves, women and homosexuals, and he evaluates various approaches to these and other biblical-ethical teachings." - Amazon
Speak Like Churchill, Stand Like Lincoln: 21 Powerful Secrets of History's Greatest Speakers: James Humes
"Ever wish you could captivate your boardroom with the opening line of your presentation, like Winston Churchill in his most memorable speeches? Or want to command attention by looming larger than life before your audience, much like Abraham Lincoln when, standing erect and wearing a top hat, he towered over seven feet?" - Amazon
Suffering: Gospel Hope When Life Doesn't Make Sense: Paul David Tripp
"Weaving together his personal story, pastoral ministry experience, and biblical insights, best-selling author Paul David Tripp helps us trust God in the midst of suffering. He identifies traps to avoid in our suffering and points us instead to comforts to embrace. This raw yet hope-filled book will help you cling to God's promises when trials come and move forward with the hope of the gospel."- Amazon
Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord?: A Biblical Theology of the Book of Leviticus: L. Michael Morales
"In this stimulating volume in the New Studies in Biblical Theology, Michael Morales explores the narrative context, literary structure and theology of Leviticus. He follows its dramatic movement, examines the tabernacle cult and the Day of Atonement, and tracks the development from Sinai?s tabernacle to Zion's temple―and from the earthly to the heavenly Mount Zion in the New Testament. Series edited by D. A. Carson." Amazon
What about you? What books are you planning on reading in 2020? Leave the book name in the comment section below.
Scott D. Foreman is a former missionary to Canada’s youth, hosted a daily radio ministry, and currently serves as the Executive Pastor of Fellowship Bible Church. He and his wife Rachel have four boys.
2 Comments on “I Asked Multiple Men For Their Reading Suggestions: Here’s What They Told Me”
Great list. Thanks for compiling this.
No problem Rob. Thanks for contributing.