30 Must-Read Books for Church Leaders in 2025 (Recommended by Church Leaders)
Dec 19, 2024
Every year, I love asking fellow church leaders, preachers, and pastors what their favorite books were from the past year that they would recommend to other church leaders.
This year's response didn't disappoint.
So, as you look to what you plan on reading in 2025, consider grabbing these must-read books (recommended to you by fellow church leaders).
Let's jump in, shall we?
30 Must-Read Books for Church Leaders in 2025 (Recommended by Church Leaders)
These books are in no particular order except the first one. This is my personal favorite.
Friedman's Fables by Edwin Friedman
From Amazon:
Edwin H. Friedman has woven 24 illustrative tales that offer fresh perspectives on familiar human foibles and reflect the author's humor, pathos, and understanding. Friedman takes on resistance and other "demons" to show that neither insight, nor encouragement, nor intimidation can in themselves motivate an unmotivated person to change. These tales playfully demonstrate that new ideas, new questions, and imagination, more than accepted wisdom, provide each of us with the keys to overcoming stubborn emotional barriers and facilitating real change both in ourselves and others. Thought-provoking discussion questions for each fable are included.
The Flourishing Pastor by Tom Nelson
From Amazon:
Pastoral leadership is in crisis. It's not just that many pastors feel overwhelmed and stressed out; many have lost their way. With the risk of burnout at an all-time high, what pastors need is not just a new leadership strategy, but a new framework for ministry―one that will help them move from survival to flourishing.
In these pages, Tom Nelson looks to the biblical image of the shepherd leader in response to the contemporary context. If pastors are to lead congregations, then they must first learn what it means to be led by the Good Shepherd. Pulling from his years of experience as a lead pastor and president of a nonprofit, Nelson offers pastors and ministry leaders a timely vision for leadership that incorporates in-depth biblical teaching and whole-life discipleship. His wisdom and insight provide a roadmap for ministry resilience and longevity.
The Awe of God by John Bevere
From Amazon:
Do you long for an intimate relationship with your Creator, but He seems elusive? Perhaps it is because something utterly essential is missing—the fear of the Lord. Don’t let this frighten you. Fearing God is very different than being afraid of God. It’s the key to everything.
Holy Fear is not a topic you’ll hear much about these days. But if you want to build a faith that stands strong through troubled times, you cannot afford to ignore this book.
Notes From the Tilt-A-Whirl by N.D. Wilson
From Amazon:
What is this World? What kind of place is it?
“The round kind. The spinning kind. The moist kind. The inhabited kind. The kind with flamingos (real and artificial). The kind where water in the sky turns into beautifully symmetrical crystal flakes sculpted by artists unable to stop themselves (in both design and quantity). The kind of place with tiny, powerfully jawed mites assigned to the carpets to eat my dead skin as it flakes off . . . The kind with people who kill and people who love and people who do both . . .
This world is beautiful but badly broken.
Insurgence by Frank Viola
From Amazon:
Why does the allegiance that radical terrorists give to their false cause exceed the allegiance that most Christians today give to Jesus Christ?
In Insurgence, bestselling author Frank Viola presents a radical proposal for Christians. Namely, that we have lost the explosive, earthshaking gospel of the kingdom that Jesus, Paul, and the other apostles preached. Viola argues that we've lost this dynamic, titanic, living gospel and exchanged it for a gospel of religious duty or permissiveness and "easy believism."
God Has a Name by John Mark Comer
From Amazon:
What you believe about God sets the foundation of the person you will become.
In God Has a Name, pastor and New York Times bestselling author John Mark Comer invites you to rethink many of the prevalent myths and misconceptions about God and weigh them against what God actually tells us about himself. After all, what you believe about God will ultimately shape the type of person you become.
Think Like a Horse by Grant Golliher
From Amazon:
In Think Like a Horse, veteran “horse whisperer” and leadership expert Grant Golliher applies his hard-won horse sense to teach invaluable lessons anyone can use to live a fuller, more successful life.
Grant Golliher is what some would call a “horse whisperer,” able to get a wild horse to calmly accept a saddle and a rider without the use of force. Through training thousands of horses, many traumatized or abused, Golliher was able to learn essential lessons about communication, boundaries, fairness, trust, and respect—lessons that apply not just to horses but to humans as well. It’s why celebrities, Fortune 500 executives, professional coaches, supreme court justices, and even ordinary families from around the world flock to his Wyoming ranch every year to take part in what one CEO called “the most transformational experience I have ever encountered.”
Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer
From Amazon:
We are constantly being formed by the world around us. To be formed by Jesus will require us to become his apprentice.
To live by what the first Christian disciples called a Rule of Life—a set of practices and relational rhythms that slow us down and open up space in our daily lives for God to do what only God can do—transforms the deepest parts of us to become like him.
Beholding: Deepening our Experience in God by Strahan Coleman
From Amazon:
Move from a transactional experience with God to a transformational friendship with Him through prayer.
How can time with God be a source of peace in a loud and distracting world? In Beholding, spiritual director and poet Strahan Coleman invites readers to discover the joy of being with God, not just working for Him. As they inhabit the art of resting in God’s presence, prayer becomes not only a place of seeking, but becoming.
Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes by E. Randolph Richards and Brandon J. O'Brien
From Amazon:
Understand Scripture on Its Own Terms
What was clear to the original readers of Scripture is not always clear to us. Because of the cultural distance between the biblical world and our contemporary setting, we often bring modern Western biases to the text.
How Full is Your Bucket? by Tom Rath and Dan Clifton
From Amazon:
How did you feel after your last interaction with another person?
Did that person -- your spouse, best friend, coworker, or even a stranger -- "fill your bucket" by making you feel more positive? Or did that person "dip from your bucket," leaving you more negative than before?
The #1 New York Times and #1 BusinessWeek bestseller, How Full Is Your Bucket? reveals how even the briefest interactions affect your relationships, productivity, health, and longevity. Organized around a simple metaphor of a dipper and a bucket, and grounded in 50 years of research, this book will show you how to greatly increase the positive moments in your work and your life -- while reducing the negative.
Elders and Leaders: God's Plan for Leading the Church by Gene A. Getz
From Amazon:
Strong leadership in the church is exactly what God had in mind. However, very few people understand the biblical pattern for church leadership. Elders and Leaders unravels the mystery and alleviates the confusion surrounding this critical topic. In the first part of the book, author Gene Getz lays the historical and biblical groundwork for the position of elder. In the second part, he shares how he has applied or has seen these principles applied over the years.
Build Fire by Vladimir Savchuk
From Amazon:
STORMS, SHIPWRECKS, SNAKEBITES—THE APOSTLE PAUL OVERCAME THEM ALL. SO CAN YOU!
Life’s challenges come in many forms. And while they may not be literal shipwrecks or snakebites, unexpected setbacks and spiritual attacks can leave you feeling disoriented, defeated, and unfulfilled.
In Build Fire, Pastor Vlad Savchuk shares valuable life lessons and empowering strategies for experiencing true joy and passion in the midst of adversity.
The Titus Ten by Josh Smith
From Amazon:
Everything in a man’s life hinges on the kind of man he is.
Yet, none of us is naturally a godly man. That's something we have to learn, pursue, and cultivate. We need a manual to help us.
Preaching Sticky Sermons by Brandon Kelley and Joe Hoagland
From Amazon:
Preaching remains relevant even as America becomes less Christian. Preaching Sticky Sermons is a practical and accessible book for pastors young and old. Kelley and Hoagland reveal how to make your sermons stick. They focus on four main areas of creating a sermon: Preparation, writing, delivery, and evaluation. This book will help you write sermons that stick not only on Sunday but also throughout the week.
Dynamic Drive by Molly Fletcher
From Amazon:
In a world fixated on fleeting success, Molly Fletcher, renowned keynote speaker, podcast host, and entrepreneur, invites you to challenge the status quo and redefine your understanding of drive so that you can achieve greater fulfillment and purpose-driven success.
This isn’t just another self-help theory: Dynamic Drive is your practical guide to unlocking your true potential. Through her decades of experience working with top athletes and peak performers across industries, renowned keynote speaker and leadership expert Molly Fletcher has created a proven formula backed by research that outlines the seven keys to sustainable success.
Unoffendable by Brant Hansen
From Amazon:
Unoffendable, now revised and updated with two new chapters, gives you a concrete, practical way to live life with less stress. In our easily offended, cancel-culture society, learn how to replace perpetual frustration and anger with refreshing humility and gratitude.
It turns out giving up your "right" to be offended can be one of the most freeing, healthy, simplifying, relaxing, refreshing, stress-relieving, encouraging things you can do. It's a radical, provocative idea: We're not entitled to get offended or stay angry. The idea of our own "righteous anger" is a myth. It is the number one problem in our societies today and, as Dallas Willard says, Christians have not been taught out of it. But what if Christians were the most unoffendable people on the planet?
Recreated to Be like God: Making Disciples in the Image of Jesus by Curt Erskine
From Amazon:
A GUIDE TO CONFORMING DISCIPLES INTO GOD’S IMAGE
Why is it so important that we be and make disciples of Jesus? Can’t we just be “saved” and go to heaven when we die?
In Recreated to Be like God, Curt Erskine explains how God originally created humanity to be His image bearers. However, after the fall, our ability to function as the image of God was ruined. We must be restored to our original design.
Swimming Against the Current by Riley Gaines
From Amazon:
America’s most sought-after voice in the fight to save female sports shares her unbelievable story and inspires readers to embrace common sense and truth in discussions about women's rights.
Riley Gaines has been called many things: Collegiate athlete. All-American. Champion. But in 2022, everything changed. The narrative shifted. Now, critics smeared her as: Transphobic. Narrow-minded. Evil.
What changed? Riley gave the truth a voice. She stood up, spoke out, and dared to ask questions -- not just for herself, but for all female athletes who refuse to accept an ideology where "inclusivity" for trans-identifying male athletes now means treating women unfairly.
Checking In by Michelle Williams
From Amazon:
"I need help."
Those three words saved Grammy Award–winning singer Michelle Williams's life. After decades of sweeping her anxiety and depression under the rug--even during her years in the spotlight with Destiny's Child--Michelle found herself planning her own funeral. Realizing that she needed immediate help and could no longer battle her anxiety and depression alone, she checked herself into a treatment facility. When she came home, she was energized and determined to check in on a regular basis with herself, God, and others.
Holiness for Ordinary People by Keith Drury
From Amazon:
Holiness is not a special category, reserved only for a few select Christians. God intends for every Christian to live a holy life! In simple, practical terms, master teacher Keith Drury explains how every Christian can live a Christ-like life. He presents clear biblical insights and deals candidly with the obstacles that confront Christians in their everyday lives. Holiness for Ordinary People will inspire you to become the person God intends you to be.
When the Sparrow Falls by Neil Sharpson
** Because you should read fiction, too! **
From Amazon:
Life in the Caspian Republic has taught Agent Nikolai South two rules. Trust No One. And work just hard enough not to make enemies.
Here, in the last sanctuary for the dying embers of the human race in a world run by artificial intelligence, if you stray from the path―your life is forfeit. But when a Party propagandist is killed―and is discovered as a “machine”―he’s given a new mission: chaperone the widow, Lily, who has arrived to claim her husband’s remains.
Before the Coffee Gets Cold Series by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
** Another fiction submission. **
From the first book's description:
If you could go back in time, who would you want to meet?
In a small back alley of Tokyo, there is a café that has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. Local legend says that this shop offers something else besides coffee—the chance to travel back in time.
Over the course of one summer, four customers visit the café in the hopes of making that journey. But time travel isn’t so simple, and there are rules that must be followed. Most important, the trip can last only as long as it takes for the coffee to get cold.
Solito by Javier Zamora
From Amazon:
Trip. My parents started using that word about a year ago—“one day, you’ll take a trip to be with us. Like an adventure.”
Javier Zamora’s adventure is a three-thousand-mile journey from his small town in El Salvador, through Guatemala and Mexico, and across the U.S. border. He will leave behind his beloved aunt and grandparents to reunite with a mother who left four years ago and a father he barely remembers. Traveling alone amid a group of strangers and a “coyote” hired to lead them to safety, Javier expects his trip to last two short weeks.
Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink
From Amazon:
From Jocko Willink, the New York Times best selling author of Discipline Equals Freedom and Leadership Strategy and Tactics, an updated edition of the blockbuster bestselling leadership book that took America and the world by storm, two U.S. Navy SEAL officers who led the most highly decorated special forces unit of the Iraq War demonstrate how to apply powerful leadership principles from the battlefield to business and life. Now with an excerpt from the authors' new book, THE DICHOTOMY OF LEADERSHIP.
Managing Leadership Anxiety by Steve Cuss
From Amazon:
You Can Learn to Handle the Onslaught of Internal and External Pressures
Does anxiety get in the way of your ability to be an effective leader? Is your inability to notice when you and those around you are anxious keeping you "stuck" in chronic unhealthy patterns? In Managing Leadership Anxiety, pastor and spiritual growth expert Steve Cuss offers powerful tools to help you move from being managed by anxiety to managing anxiety.
The Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt
From Amazon:
Something has been going wrong on many college campuses in the last few years. Speakers are shouted down. Students and professors say they are walking on eggshells and are afraid to speak honestly. Rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide are rising—on campus as well as nationally. How did this happen?
Taking Action by Renhard Bonnke
From Amazon:
God uses manpower.
We need God’s power.
God works when we work.
Millions of people all over the world have been introduced to Jesus through the ministry of Reinhard Bonnke. In Taking Action he describes how we too can be an extension of God’s love to the world by partnering with the Holy Spirit.
Enemy Access Denied by John Bavier
From Amazon:
Imagine your life if you could walk free from sin and keep Satan out of your personal and business affairs. What is the key? In this bestselling book, formerly titled The Devil's Door, John Bevere reveals that the greatest form of spiritual warfare for any Christian is the powerful force of an obedient life. Enemy Access Denied will give you a fresh revelation of how God supplies a security system in the Spirit and prompt your heart and mind to find hidden sins and identify rebellion. As you're challenged to be holy, you'll discover how grace gives you the power not to be a slave to sin anymore.
Switch on Your Brain by Dr. Caroline Leaf
From Amazon:
Understand the impact of your thought life on your brain, body, and lifestyle
The vast majority of the illnesses that plague us today are a direct result of our thought life. What we think about truly affects us both physically and emotionally. Our culture is undergoing an epidemic of toxic thoughts that, left unchecked, create ideal conditions for illnesses.
What is your must-read book for church leaders right now?
I'd love to hear from you. Send me a tweet and let me know what book you hope other pastors and church leaders will read in 2025.
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