Over the years, I have found consistent reading to be an invaluable resource for personal and leadership growth.
Each year, I try to read books on a variety of subjects, including spiritual growth, leadership, history, and more. (I add these titles to my list of recommended reading a couple times each year.)
Some books, of course, stand out in their helpfulness more than others. Below are six memorable and helpful titles from last year:
- The Revival Journey: Experiencing God’s Reviving Presence by John Van Gelderen—As the subtitle suggests, this book places an emphasis on Christ and His presence as the center and essence of revival. It is refreshing and convicting.
- We Would See Jesus: Discovering God’s Provision for You in Christ by Roy and Revel Hession—The title for this book is taken from John 12:21 where men approached the disciple Philip and said, “Sir, we would see Jesus.” It develops the truth of Galatians 2:20 that fruitful Christian living is the result—not of great effort and striving on our part, but of Christ in us.
- Reset: Living a Grace-Paced Life in a Burnout Culture by David Murray—Those of us with a Type-A personality sometimes need to be reminded to slow down and be more intentional in stewarding God’s gifts to us. I’ve read a few similar books over the past several years and appreciated this one this past summer.
- Grace Gone Wild: Getting a Grip on God’s Amazing Gift by Robert Jeffress—This is an excellent resource that addresses the distortion of grace that basically claims, “I’m under grace, so I can live however I want.” This is something I have preached on and written about over the years (especially in Grace for Godly Living), and I found this book to be a good treatise, full of scriptural insight.
- The Indwelling Life of Christ: All of Him in All of Me by Ian Thomas—This book is similar to a couple of the titles above, and it may have been my favorite read this year. It’s relatively short, but contains fifty, three-page chapters with practical, devotional thoughts on our position in Christ and walking in Him.
- 10 Power Principles for Christian Service by Warren W. Wiersbe and David W. Wiersbe—I enjoyed this excellent book several years ago and read it again this year. One of my favorite quotes from it is “No matter how we or others may evaluate what we do, ministry that’s based on biblical principles will meet human needs and glorify God.”
I hope some of these titles are helpful to you as you plan your reading for this new year.
