I just released a brand new podcast where I outline the Top 10 Books of 2011 for Church Leaders and I thought I’d give you a sneak peek on the blog today…
>> CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE COMPLETE PODCAST
The year 2011 produced some powerful new reads from some of my favorite authors, including Jim Collins, Billy Graham and John Maxwell, plus a handful of new favorites.
You know what I say, “all leaders are readers.” And that’s especially true of growing church leaders. With that in mind, here’s the Top 10 Books of 2011 for Church Leaders:
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#10:Replenish: Leading from a Healthy Soul
by Lance Witt
Every leader functions on two stages–the front stage or public world, and the back stage or private world. One cannot lead successfully front stage when one is completely depleted back stage. In a time when pastors are leaving the ministry in record numbers due to cynicism, disillusionment, weariness, and personal scandals, there is an urgent need for soul care in the private lives of leaders.
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#9:What They Didn’t Teach You in Seminary
by James Emery White
In churches today, there are ever fewer older pastors speaking into the lives of younger leaders, and fewer younger leaders feeling there is much to be learned from the experience of their elders. Street-smart wisdom is gone from training as there are many men and women preparing pastors who have never themselves pastored a church. Intriguingly, even older, more seasoned pastors yearn for insight into their task, as they remain “undiscipled” in the school of leadership.
In What They Didn’t Teach You in Seminary, veteran pastor James Emery White provides the kind of mentoring young pastors desperately need but cannot get from academia or leadership books. These “from the trenches” insights will help them transform their relationships with staff and parishoners, develop healthy boundaries, deliver hard truths, avoid spiritual pitfalls, use their time effectively, and much more.
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#8:Move: What 1,000 Churches Reveal about Spiritual Growth
by Greg L. Hawkins
One of the church’s primary responsibilities is to foster genuine spiritual growth in people’s lives. Today’s pastors bring tremendous effort and passion to this task, but they are often disappointed by people who sit in the pews for years, knowing about Jesus but never really knowing him. In 2004, Willow Creek Community Church in suburban Chicago undertook a three-year study to measure spiritual growth called the REVEAL Spiritual Life Survey. Over the next six years, additional data was collected from over a quarter million people in well over a thousand churches of every size, denomination, and geographic area. Move presents verifiable, fact-based, and somewhat startling findings from the latest REVEAL research, drawing on compelling stories from actual people—congregation members of varying spiritual maturity, as well as pastors who are equally candid as they share their disappointments and their successes. It provides a new lens through which church leaders can see and measure the evidence of spiritual growth. The local church is uniquely equipped to foster spiritual growth and challenge people to pursue a life of full devotion to Christ. Move helps pastors and church leaders inspire and direct that challenge with confidence as they lead their congregations to move closer to Christ.
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#7:How to Wow Your Church Guests: 101 Ways to Make a Meaningful First Impression
by Mark Waltz
For every innocent man sent to prison, there is a guilty one left on the outside. He doesn’t understand how the police and prosecutors got the wrong man, and he certainly doesn’t care. He just can’t believe his good luck. Time passes and he realizes that the mistake will not be corrected: the authorities believe in their case and are determined to get a conviction. He may even watch the trial of the person wrongly accused of his crime. He is relieved when the verdict is guilty. He laughs when the police and prosecutors congratulate themselves. He is content to allow an innocent person to go to prison, to serve hard time, even to be executed.
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#6:The Five Levels of Leadership
by John Maxwell
True leadership isn’t a matter of having a certain job or title. In fact, being chosen for a position is only the first of the five levels every effective leader achieves. To become more than “the boss” people follow only because they are required to, you have to master the ability to invest in people and inspire them. To grow further in your role, you must achieve results and build a team that produces. You need to help people to develop their skills to become leaders in their own right. And if you have the skill and dedication, you can reach the pinnacle of leadership-where experience will allow you to extend your influence beyond your immediate reach and time for the benefit of others.
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Listen to the complete podcast now: The Top 10 Books of 2011 for Church Leaders Podcast
P.S. For more book recommendations, leadership articles, and more, Subscribe Today to the FREE Church Leader Insights Newsletter – click here.
© Nelson Searcy. All Rights Reserved.
About Nelson Searcy
Nelson Searcy is an experienced church growth strategist, pastor, church planter and coach, consulting with churches around the world. As founder of
Church Leader Insights and the
Renegade Pastors Network, he has personally trained more than 3,500 church leaders in over 45 denominations through live events, seminars and monthly coaching. Nelson is also the Founding and Lead Pastor of The Journey Church, with locations across New York City and in Boca Raton, FL. Nelson and his church routinely appear on lists such as “The 50 Most Influential Churches” and “The 25 Most Innovative Leaders.” He is the author of over 100 church growth resources and 18+ books, including
The Renegade Pastor: Abandoning Average in Your Life, Ministry and
The Difference Maker: Using Your Everyday Life for Eternal Impact, and
At the Cross with the People Who Were There. He and his wife, Kelley, have one son, Alexander.