I recently had the privilege to read some great stuff in the leadership genre. It was so good to me I thought I would give you a snap shot of what’s available if you are looking for something to good to read for developing church leaders.

Basic Christianity by John Stott, Downers grove Illinois

This work by Dr. Stott is a call to biblical understanding of church leadership in the New Testament. God has chosen to use John Stott to bring to light areas of church leadership that we must pay close attention to. The significance of this work is that the author looks at servant leadership in the life of the Apostle Paul in Corinth. It is a reminder to us that God is at work in our weakness. We live in a day when leadership has gone astray in the local church. A call to biblical understanding and truth is needed to correct our pulpits.

The Empowered leader by Calvin Miller, Nashville TN

This text is a good look at the life of God’s Man, David the King of Israel. Dr. Miller captures key points in leadership for the pastor preacher to look at. This work will refresh and encourage you to do great things for God. Often time’s church leadership is hard to navigate, the significance of this work is that it gives you a biblical example to look at from one of God’s greatest men. The author believes that we can learn from David’s life lessons on how to serve God effectively. In our age net working, making mistakes, dealing with difficult people and things like delegation are all-important to the preacher and must happen in the life of our ministries. Dr. Miller helps us to look through the lenses of God’s man and see how he walked through the issues of leadership.

Transforming Leadership by Leighton Ford, Downers grove Illinois

Brother Leighton Ford does a book for all leaders in ministry in this work. This book is written to reach a crowd that desires to lead in ministry. Leighton’s background is in the Para-church movement, and I believe he writes to encourage another generation of Para-church babies. It comes off as another book on leadership, nothing that we haven’t already heard. One of the bright spots in this work is the fact that Leighton is an awesome leader with years upon years of experience. If anybody understands the dynamics of the task, he does. In addition to all of this, he is a devout Christian with a passion for Jesus.

Pastoral ministry according to Paul, James W. Thompson, Grand Rapids Michigan

The significance of this work is that the author looks at Pastoral leadership in the life of the Apostle Paul. The writer reveals Paul’s theology and his approach to servant leadership in the church. This work specifically applies to the local pastor and his assignment to preaching, teaching and leading a congregation. This is the kind of work that helps the practitioner to become a better theologian and yet remain a true shepherd. With this work we can see how Paul felt about the various churches and how he went about to serve them with his doctrine.

Brothers we are not Professionals, John Piper, Nashville Tennessee

Every Pastor in America needs to have a copy of this book. Dr. Piper addresses the greatest enemy to the work of pastoral ministry, “professionalism”. There is a subtle push today to make us CEO’s and presidents. John Piper in this work makes it known that God clearly called us to be shepherds, not professionals. This work helps the preacher with his leadership and calling. John Pipers ability to draw us back to the record in Acts, helps us to re-evaluate what the early Pastors did and how they relied on God for direction and instruction. They were true to doctrine and did nothing but what God wanted them to do.

Revolution in Leadership, Reggie Mc Neal, Nashville Tennessee

This book is written for the church leader that is tired of the status quo. It is a challenge to rethink leadership in the body. Reggie McNeal challenges us, not with new ideas and programs but with a fresh view of what made the early church so vibrant and relevant. It is clear that Mc Neal has a passion for the church and those called to leadership. The passion for leaders comes through in this book. His insights for church leaders and clear approach to scripture keeps you grounded in a biblical effort to know what God says about leadership. He attempts to bridge the gap between the first century and the 21rst century.

Well I hope something intrigued you with this short tour of some great books. I was thoroughly blessed by the journey. Leadership in the North American Church of Christ today matters, so lets keep reading.