6 Books That Have Shaped Me as a Ministry Leader

6 Books That Have Shaped Me as a Ministry Leader

Aaron Buer

Digital giving apps and tools

I love ideas.

I’m constantly searching for innovations and solutions.

I’m the type of person who is never satisfied with the status quo but at the same time, I’m not an inventor.

I’m not the type of person who thinks up all the answers sitting alone in a dark room. I’m a finder. I discover the innovations and solutions my ministry needs through the ideas of others. I’m guessing you’re like me. Most of us aren’t inventors but we know a good idea when we see it.

This is why reading is so important for leaders. Most of the innovations and solutions I’ve implemented over the last 5 years have come from books. I’ve stolen ideas and I’m proud of it! I’m pretty sure the authors would be honored. I mean, that’s why they wrote the books right?

So, you might be thinking, what are the books I should be reading? Where can I find these great ideas? Well, here are 6 books that have deeply impacted me as a leader.

team_player-lencioni

The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni

For my ministry environment, collaboration and teamwork are paramount. It’s all about hiring the right people, empowering them to do great work and helping them function as a healthy team member.

How exactly do you pull this off?

Well, The Ideal Team Player is a great book for learning how to hire the right people and develop great team members. Just a heads up, the first half of The Ideal Team Player is a fable illustrating the principles of the book. The setting for this fable is a construction company and true to form, there is a fair amount of bad language. Just giving you a heads up.

When it comes to learning how to function as a healthy team, The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni is also a great resource. It’s one of the best organization leadership books I’ve found. While, we’re talking about Lencioni, I would recommend reading everything he’s written. He’s that good.

deep and wide andy stanley

Deep and Wide by Andy Stanley

If you’re looking for a manual on how to build a vibrant local church, this is your book. You might think of this book as Andy’s manifesto on church. You probably won’t agree with every idea in the book but it is a fantastic read.

While we’re on the subject of Andy Stanley, he has an older book that made a big impact on me as a ministry leader. This book is called 7 Practices of Effective Ministry. If you’ve ever wondered, what exactly should I be doing as a ministry leader, this book will give you a great framework. And, it’s an easy read.

think orange reggie joiner

Think Orange by Reggie Joiner

One of the co-authors of 7 Practices of Effective Ministry is Reggie Joiner, who leads the reThink Group. They put on the Orange Conference and have produced a billion great resources on leadership and family ministry. Reggie is another author that I will read anything from because he’s a brilliant ministry strategist.

A good place to start if you’re unfamiliar with Orange principles is Think Orange.

If you’re looking for ways to improve your children’s or student ministry I have two other recommendations: It’s Just a Phase and Creating a Lead Small Culture. It’s Just a Phase is great for parents, youth pastors and children’s workers. The Lead Small book is the best book I’ve ever read on what it looks like to be a great small group leader.

renovation of the heard dallas willard

Renovation of the Heart by Dallas Willard

My senior pastor has taught us that the most important thing we bring to the table as ministry leaders is not our skills, abilities or even spiritual gifts but rather a vibrant relationship with God. For this reason, this book by Dallas Willard might be the most important book on this list. Warning: It’s uncomfortable and challenging to read but it is worth it. What really matters in ministry leadership is that we possess a faith that is truly worth passing on.

integrity henry cloud

Integrity by Henry Cloud

Along these same lines, character is absolutely crucial in ministry leadership. If one of my employees is lacking in skill competency or cultural fit, we can probably improve these areas. If the issue is character, we have a big problem.

This book is helpful in creating a sustainable pace of leadership that keep us and our families healthy. I highly recommend it. I also think Cloud’s book Boundaries is a good read.

growing young kara powell

Growing Young by Kara Powell

This is a book I’m working through right now. I picked it up for two reasons. First, Powell and the Fuller Youth Institute team are responsible for the book Sticky Faith which has had a massive impact on the way churches and student ministries serve students and emerging adults. Secondly, this is a book on how to help young people discover and connect your church. This is an area that my church is working hard to improve. Like most churches, college students and emerging adults are our weakest demographic.

There you go, 6 books that have deeply impacted the way I lead in ministry. I am hopeful that one or more of these recommendations will help you innovate, take the next step or find a solution to a problem facing your church.

I would love to hear about books that have impacted your church and your leadership. Please leave your recommendations in our comments.

Discover how our Groups tool can help you organize and manage one-on-one meetings effectively.

Explore Groups Tool

Looking for an easy-to-use software to help manage your church?

We'd love to show you what we built!

Join 10,000+ happy churches using Breeze ChMS™.

Name
loves Breeze

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!
Name
loves Breeze

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!
Name
loves Breeze

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!
David P.
loves Breeze
St. Pauls United Methodist Church

Breeze has been incredible. Their customer service, commitment to innovation, and their product are top-notch. I love the features, the ease of use and the mobile applications.

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!
Karen M.
loves Breeze
Hillcrest Church

All of our database needs have been more than met, it's easier to use than the last database we had, and the price is amazing - what a value this has been to our church! All of our staff can use this software and they do regularly. We use it to track…literally anything a church could possibly need to track regarding it's attenders.

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!
Chris K.
loves Breeze
Crossroads United Methodist Church

Breeze has been a great asset to our church and congregation. Especially from an administrative standpoint, it has been the most adaptable and easiest church database I have ever used. The features from blast emails to giving on-line, and texting have been one of our greatest assets. Thank you!

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!
Ed R.
loves Breeze
Church Admin

We switched from a major, web-based ChMS to Breeze and our decision is confirmed every day. We are a medium size church and we use Breeze for contributions, member management, event checkin and a few other applications custom to our church. I had trouble getting any staff to use our previous ChMS but almost all staff are using Breeze. The product is very well designed, extremely easy to learn and use and customer service is incredible.

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!
Ellen G.
loves Breeze
Grace Church

Breeze has opened the communication highway for our congregation and staff, with very little training. Because members can update their own records and search easily for other members - and map their locations, send emails and text right from Breeze, they love it and our data is more real-time accurate. Our ministries are stronger, because they can trust the data in Breeze, which is easily accessed anywhere, anytime.

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!
Steve H.
loves Breeze
First Presbyterian Church of Ramsey

Breeze is the first ChMS my volunteers have actually embraced. That's because it's so easy to use. The software is very flexible and gives us the opportunity to make decisions based on actual data we've collected and not just hunches or stories we believe to be true.

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!
Allicia B.
loves Breeze
Ellel Ministries Canada

I cannot say enough about Breeze. Their customer service is so friendly, you feel like you have friends and family helping you get started, they're prompt to reply and will do whatever they can to help you get things sorted out. It's been so easy to learn, our staff is loving it and best of all even our staff who are not computer savvy find it a breeze (pun intended). We are just thrilled by our choice.

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!
Kevin D.
loves Breeze
Central Baptist Church

From the start of our process looking for an online solution, Breeze has exceeded all our expectations. Fast data import, fast and friendly customer support, and we can’t say enough about how much we like the program itself. Very well designed and user friendly. On a scale of 1-10, Breeze gets a 15 from us!

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!

Rated 4.9 stars – 700+ reviews