Books Every Leader Should Read

Because Surge is a Network primarily concerned with multiplication in general and church planting specifically, I thought it would be helpful to give a list of the books I have found most helpful to my church planting progress. There are several categories of books that have helped me navigate the church planting waters so I will break them down that way.

Theological:
Systematic Theology by Dr. Wayne Grudem – Far and away the most readable and scripturally explicit Systematic that i have ever seen. Accessible for nearly anyone in your church but still deep enough to be challenging.

The Church by Edmund Clowney – The Grandfather of Gospel Centrality and Redemptive/Historical Hermeneutics takes a systematic look at Ecclesiology, very helpful.

Vintage Church by Mark Driscoll – A more accessible writer, Driscoll breaks down the function, call and necessity of the local church in a way that anyone in your church can understand and get excited about.

Desiring God by John Piper – This is a must-read for all Pastors who want to continue to be a Christian while they plant their churches.

Church Models:
Total Church by Tim Chester and Steve Timmis – These two British planters unpack a house church model that isn’t restricted to the house church. They do an incredible job of focusing on Gospel, Community and Mission and not on their particular application of those things.

Simple Church by Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger – If you are starting fresh and don’t want to end up with a church cluttered with a thousand ministries and pathways, this is the book to read. Rainer does an excellent job balancing simplicity with complexity.

The Trellis and The Vine by Colin Marshall and Tony Payne – I haven’t read this yet but I hear it’s about pastoring people well.

Practical Leadership:
The Unity Factor by Larry Osbourne – An invaluable resource for anyone with a troublesome board or staff.

Good to Great by Jim Collins – I know this is a secular book with secular ideas about secular business but if you want to see your church be a healthy and growing organization, it’s a must read.

Moneyball Michael Lewis – Im a baseball fan so I’m partial to this one but Lewis shows how an organization with money or a history of success made it work with efficiency and knowing what to count.

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell – In typical Gladwellian fashion, he helps you to see the everyday world in ways you never have before. For those of us trying to make something out of nothing, you can’t afford to skip this book.

Axiom by Bill Hybels – I know I’m not supposed to like this guy but he is about as good a practical leader as anyone in the world. Really good principles of leadership in this book.

Books I need to read so that I can recommend them to you:
Deep Church by Jim Belcher

Sticky Church by Larry Osbourne

Culture Making by Andy Crouch

Influencer by Patterson, Grenny, Maxfield, McMillan and Switzler

So what am I missing?