For a while now, leadership has been a buzzword in church…leadership! It is the top subject of Christian ministry, more than pastoral work or care. Why is that?
While leadership can seem like one elusive characteristic or trait, it’s more than just a single quality. Leadership encompasses what it takes to guide a group of people or organization, communicate effectively and step up during difficult times and it requires self-discipline, as well.
Even if you lead without a shadow of a doubt, we can all become better leaders through reading and exposure to new perspectives.
To help encourage your growth as a church leader, here are 78 books to help you in every area of leadership you are working to strengthen within yourself and your church.
SECTION 1: SELF LEADERSHIP
The hardest person to lead is yourself. You have no perspective on yourself, even when your self-awareness is very good! When you learn to guide yourself first, you become a better leader, with Christ-like character, which in return, your team and congregants benefit from. A better you blesses your church.
1. Start With Why by SIMON SINEK
This one is about the discovery of your purpose! The book gives practical steps to find your inner motivation.
2. Managing Oneself by PETER DRUCKER
Written by one of the best leaders of all time. who’s considered the father of modern management, this short book will reward you with its insights.
3. Emotional Intelligence by DANIEL GOLEMAN
Written 25 years ago, this well-researched,neuroscience-based book discusses how self-awareness, self-discipline, and empathy will help you rise above the crowd.
4. Enemies Of The Heart by ANDY STANLEY
Some emotions are hard to deal with as a pastor. Stanley writes on these four enemies: guilt, anger, greed, and jealousy. One of several very pertinent books from Stanley.
5. Primal Leadership by DANIEL GOLEMAN
Leaders need to develop the ability to show compassion, collaborate with others and be self-aware. This book is a must-read for all leaders.
6. 8 Keys to Self-Leadership: From Awareness to Action By DARIO NARDI
This book is useful in the sense that it helps use the gifts and talents you already possess. And it will challenge you to keep growing!
This short read (less than 150 pages) will guide you, using a personal road map, in order to eliminate barriers and limiting factors in your life. So go read it!
8. Self Leadership: The Art of Becoming a Leader By RYAN REED
The book begins with this question: are you a leader others will follow into hell? While you want to bring people to heaven and not hell, you do want to become the leader that people will follow you anywhere!
New to the John Maxwell Team, Elmore wrote this great book for anyone who is aspiring to be a great leader.
10. Under the Unpredictable Plant: An Exploration in Vocational Holiness By EUGENE H. PETERSON
The Message’s translator offers insights and wisdom in this perineal book. He wrote it while he was going through some major ministerial crisis.
11. Leadership from the Inside Out: Becoming a Leader for Life By KEVIN CASHMAN
“Develop the whole person to grow the whole leader” is his slogan. This book will do just that.
12. The Spiritual Leader: A Guidebook for Pastors and Christian Leaders By PAUL CHAPPELL
Biblical influence is an essential part of your role as a pastor. You will be challenged to live out your calling after reading all 300 pages.
13. The Spiritual Life of a Leader: A God-Centered Leadership Style By BOB BAILEY
You’ll enjoy this one if you want to serve spiritual needs and sharpen your skills at the same time.
14. The Life-Giving Leader: Learning to Lead from Your Truest Self By TYLER REAGIN
Matching your personality and your calling is fundamental to serving your church. You can then release the life-giver in you!
The stories of fallen Christian leaders are too common and become subjects of irony, sarcasm, and gossip. You don’t want to be that story, and this road map of self-examination will be VERY helpful.
SECTION 2: ASPIRING LEADERS
Starting off in leadership is not always easy yet, it is necessary! These books will help you in your formative years as a leader.
16. The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth: Live Them and Reach Your Potential by JOHN MAXWELL
Maxwell has written many bestsellers focused on leadership. You can choose any of them but this one is about growth and that is something you want for your church and yourself.
17. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by STEPHEN R. COVEY
Over 25 million sold can’t be wrong. Period!
18. Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting Out of the Box by THE ARBINGER INSTITUTE
Change your mindset, change your outcomes. This book will help you change how you think way more than change your behavior. And that just might be what you need.
19. Leading from the Inside Out: The Art of Self-Leadership By SAMUEL D. RIMA
Living out your full potential is a hard thing to do. As a pastor himself, Rima gives practical steps to live out your best.
Blanchard’s name doesn’t need any presentation. And excuses are not part of his language. This one is so worth it.
21. The First-Time Manager by JIM MCCORMICK
If you’re new at leading and managing, this step-by-step guide will be more than useful to you.
22. Crucible Leadership: Embrace Your Trials to Lead a Life of Significance by WARWICK FAIRFAX
Crucible moments are those when trials, hardships, and failures mold us into who you become. This book will help you uncover your way in leadership through the lessons learned.
Pretty aggressive title to help you become, well, a leader!
24. Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know By ADAM GRANT
Rethinking and unlearning are new superpowers for the pastor leading a church in a new era.
25. In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership By HENRY J. M. NOUWEN
Being relevant, powerful, and spectacular are pitfalls the Christian leaders should stay away from. You need to (re)read this.
26. Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by GREG MCKEOWN
The title of this powerful book says it all. If you regularly feel overwhelmed in your leadership, invest time and money right here.
In the same vein as the previous one, this one is promoted as “This book is for anyone who yearns for relief from the pressure of overload.”
28. On Becoming a Leader by WARREN BENNIS
“Leaders are made, not born” was coined by Bennis. His book is referenced by many of today’s top leaders.
29. True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership by BILL GEORGE
This is a blueprint for developing leaders. It will help you map out a plan to harness your professional growth.
Leadership in this new area requires new demands of leaders. This book is here to help you adapt at the same rate of change in our churches!
SECTION 3: COMMUNICATION
Communication is the heart of leadership. You preach on Sunday, you offer wise counsel to your churchgoers, you cast vision to your leaders. All of these things rely on your ability and capacity to communicate. These works will be very useful for improving your communication skills as a leader.
31. Communicating for a Change by ANDY STANLEY
Stanley is recognized as one of the best communicators of his generation and in this book, he unpacks “Seven Keys to Irresistible Communication” as the subtitle puts it.
The authors, with humor, fun, and facts, will help you become the best storyteller you can be.
In this book, Andrei studied communicators and read different studies in order to share their communication secrets. He did the work for you, use it!
34. Digital Body Language: How to Build Trust and Connection, No Matter the Distance by ERICA DHAWAN
This new book is on the Wall Street Journal’s bestseller list, and it will equip you to communicate on any platform.
This book tells you how to build a bridge between “you” and “them” when you communicate. Every time, it works.
36. How to Win Friends and Influence People By DALE CARNEGIE
The classic amongst classics. 6 ways to make people like you is a fun read.
37. Everyone Communicates, Few Connect: What the Most Effective People Do Differently by JOHN C. MAXWELL
Connecting and communicating are two different concepts and you’ll not only learn the difference but master them with some practice.
Small talk is an efficient way to start building rapport with people.
From Amazon: “Discover your communication style and elevate consciousness at work to build trust, strengthen collaboration, relieve stress, and improve wellbeing.”
40. I Said This, You Heard That – Workbook by KATHLEEN EDELMAN
Although this is a video series, I’ll post it as a “book’! You’ll be able to access an assessment that will greatly improve your communication.
New book with a very interesting title! This quick read (160 pages) will put back “Christ” in your Cristian communication.
These 7 steps are a perfect start to your journey to become a more confident and effective communicator.
43. Reversed Pyramid: The Punch Point Principle in Speech, Answer and Text By STEFAN WACHTEL
A new vantage point in communication. Refreshing and worth the read. You’ll learn to communicate your ideas with great clarity.
While the wisdom may be old, it’s still unbelievably relevant. This harder read is a great lesson in persuading others. This one gets the job done.
SECTION 4: LEADING PEOPLE
Churches are built on the sacrifice and investment of many, not on the talents of a few. Most churches are led by paid staff but run by volunteers and teammates. An efficient pastor like you developing a knack at growing teams will be highly successful.
45. Leaders Eat Last by SIMON SINEK
Do you want your ministry to matter? Do you want to inspire others? This is a must-read. Don’t forget to take notes.
46. How to Win Friends and Influence People by DALE CARNEGIE
Time-tested, result-proven, and easy to read. Go get it!
47. Dare to Lead by BRENE BROWN
Brown’s words on courage, vulnerability, and bravery will dare you to lead as you can. And should.
48. Uncommon Leadership By BEN NEWMAN
Studying athletes, coaches, CEOs, and more, Newman gives us more than a glimpse of these individuals.
Using the 5 roles (psychologist, team leader, problem solver, communicator, and manager) effectively is key in making your church move forward. This book will give you the “how-to” tools!
50. Spiritual Leadership: Moving People on to God’s Agenda by HENRY T. BLACKABY AND RICHARD BLACKABY
Their take on spiritual success is very different than business success. Just for that, this well-regarded book is worth it.
This series of books is a great addition to any spiritual leader’s reading list who is serious about learning the most important principles true faith leaders possess.
52. Multipliers, Revised and Updated: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter By LIZ WISEMAN
Learning how to focus on unlocking people’s genius traits is a remarkable ability. Wiseman will help you with that.
53. The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else In Business By PATRICK LENCIONI
Lencioni has written many leadership books, appears in many big Christian leadership conferences and this work is a great summary of his powerful writings.
54. Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us By DANIEL H. PINK
Money is not the only motivator for employees. You know this. Learn more about other important factors, like purpose and betterment.
55. Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits By LESLIE CRUTCHFIELD and McLEOD GRANT
The authors relate studies on wonderful and impactful non-profits (isn’t your church one?!) and what drove them to prominence.
56. Doing Good Better by WILLIAM MACASKILL
The book is a discovery of what motivates volunteers and donors. If you want to lead your teams well, this is a must-have.
Helping volunteer reach their full potential is essential in churches. You will learn the power of volunteer leadership in this one.
From Amazon: The authors “show you how to lead your volunteers in practical and unexpected ways, how to leverage their quirks, and how to equip them to become incredible at what they do.”
The title of this impactful read really sums it up. Whether it’s you doing the work or finding the right person to manage this essential aspect of church leadership.
SECTION 5: LEADING ORGANIZATIONS
Your church needs various strategies to move forward. These books are about that.
61. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by PATRICK LENCIONI
Churches function on teams, many of them led by unpaid volunteers. Knowing what breaks teams and builds them up then becomes a necessity. This book will help you with this.
62. Intentional Living: Choosing a Life that Matters by JOHN MAXWELLl
Business leadership guru of the 21st century, man of faith, pastor. Living life with purposeful intention and actions changed his life and the lives of millions of other people. Worth every penny.
63. Spiritual Leadership for Church Officers: A Handbook By JOAN S. GRAY
This handbook should be read along with elders, leaders, and deacons from your church.
64. Spiritual Influence: The Hidden Power Behind Leadership by MEL LAWRENZ
With 30 years of ministry, you gain a wealth of experiences. You’ll learn how to use this hidden power of influence which allows you to make a difference and create a lasting impact.
65. The Extraordinary Power of Leader Humility: Thriving Organizations & Great Results by MARILYN GIST
You may imagine leaders as being strong, powerful, self-sufficient. That may be true in many cases but Gist declares that humility is what will get you the results you want. The book will give you clear examples and insights to put into action. A new classic.
As a pastor, caring for your people is a must. This book includes 9 ways to ensure you are doing so.
Objectives and Key Results, OKR is a business value to measure growth. It may not always apply to your church world, but it will be useful in seasons of growth.
Balancing is the keyword of this book. Balancing your people, mission, and yourself is necessary for the extremes of leadership.
69. The 21 Irrefutable Laws Of Leadership by JOHN C. MAXWELL
21 leadership lessons explained by one of the best, what more can you ask for? You and your church need this.
70. The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups by DANIEL COYLE
For your church to grow and live in unity, a strong culture needs to be set and you’ll learn just how to do that with this riveting read, featuring anecdotes from some of today’s most successful groups.
71. Who Not How by DAN SULLIVAN & DR. BENJAMIN HARDY
HOW and WHO have the same letters but when it’s time to handle the newness of a challenge, you usually go with the first. The authors explain why you should go with the latter.
72. Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory by TOD BOLSINGER
This new season of ministry is uncharted territories begging to be discovered. You’ll discover practical tools and great insights in this one.
73. The Five Levels Of Leadership: Proven Steps to Maximize Your Potential by JOHN C. MAXWELL
Perhaps not his most famous book but you will instantly recognize yourself in many of his descriptions, but mostly, you’ll discover ways to develop yourself.
SECTION 6: LEADING THROUGH CHANGE, CRISIS & DIFFICULT TIMES
When times get tough, leaders step up. Let these powerful books help guide you through the hard times and seasons of change.
74. Leadership in Turbulent Times by DORIS KEARNS GOODWIN
This is a once-in-a-lifetime book. Kearns, who worked for Lyndon B. Johnson, traces the life of four presidents and how they led through turbulent times. Don’t miss this great read.
75. Abraham Lincoln: Lessons in Spiritual Leadership By ELTON TRUEBLOOD
He led the country in arguably its toughest crisis yet. Even if most historians can’t determine where Lincoln stood religiously, it is clear that his moral standards guided him. Truly a great read for any leader during hard times.
76. Leading Change By JOHN P. KOTTER
Kotter’s 8 step-process is legendary. Let this book help you manage any crisis your church may face with a proven process.
77. Forged in Crisis: The Making of Five Courageous Leaders By NANCY KOEHN
Learn important lessons through observation and other people’s wisdom. This book will inspire courage in the depth of your soul.
Pandemic, moral failure, or church liabilities. Crisis. Tough times. Maxwell has seen it all and he shares his moral wisdom accompanied by a solid character.
