“As a general rule, cliches are to be avoided. The statement that leaders are readers is an exception to that rule.” These are the straightforward words with which Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr. opens the chapter, “Leaders Are Readers” in his excellent book “The Conviction to Lead.” In further explanation, he clarifies that “the reason for this is simple—there is no substitute for effective reading when it comes to developing and maintaining the intelligence necessary to lead.”
The value of reading was impressed upon me back when I was a boy in the 80s and early 90s as my dad paid me “a penny a page” to read books. Even though my book selection left substantial room for improvement, besides why money “burned a hole in my pocket”, the habit of reading books did something that I did not necessarily understand at the time. Looking back, I’m grateful for Dad’s standing offer along with the advice that books written before the upheaval of the 1960s were better than otherwise. Years later, my faculties of discernment got much better and the mere habit of reading was intentionally cultivated into a spiritual discipline, by the grace of God and for His glory alone.
Once again, the following list is provided as a means of encouragement to you in the deliberate pursuit of a “forward-leaning mind” as it includes books that I’ve read personally along with books that I’ve read aloud to my wife or am currently reading. May your heart be stirred up and challenged in the old-fashioned spirit that affirms “readers are leaders and leaders are readers” to the praise of God’s glory in Christ Jesus indeed.
2020/2021
“New Morning Mercies: A Daily Gospel Devotional” by Paul David Tripp
“Rooted in Christ” by Paul Chappell
“The Family at Church: How Parents Are Tour Guides for Joy” by Scott Brown
“The Bravehearted Gospel” by Eric Ludy
“The One Year Bible: King James Version”
“Fault Lines: The Social Justice Movement and Evangelicalism’s Looming Catastrophe” by Voddie T. Baucham, Jr.
“Live Not by Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents” by Rod Drehr
“Divided Nation: Cultures in Chaos & a Conflicted Church” by Ken Ham
“We Will Not Be Silenced: Responding Courageously to Our Culture’s Assault on Christianity” by Erwin W. Lutzer
“Rekindling the Romance: Loving the Love of Your Life” by Dennis & Barbara Rainey
“The Babylon Bee Guide to Wokeness: How to Take Your Wokeness to the Next Level by Canceling Friends, Breaking Windows, and Burning It All to the Ground”
2021/2022
“The Most Important Place on Earth: What a Christian Home Looks Like and How to Build One” by Robert Wolgemuth
“Focus on the Future: Your Family, Your Faith, & Your Voice Matter Now More Than Ever” by Tim Clinton
“Disciplines of a Godly Man” by R. Kent Hughes
“The One Year Bible: English Standard Version”
“Byzantium” by Stephen Lawhead
“Where Do We Go From Here? How Tomorrow’s Prophecies Foreshadow Today’s Problems” by David Jeremiah
“Courageous: 10 Strategies for Thriving in a Hostile World” by Robert Jeffress
“No Reason to Hide: Standing for Christ in a Collapsing Culture” by Erwin W. Lutzer
“The Vanishing American Adult: Our Coming-of-Age Crisis and How to Rebuild a Culture of Self-Reliance” by Ben Sasse
“The King Has Come: The Real Message of Christmas” by James Montgomery Boice
2022/2023
“Living Zealously” by Joel R. Beeke & James A. LaBelle
“Instructing a Child’s Heart” by Tedd & Margy Tripp
“Let the Nations Be Glad! The Supremacy of GOD in Missions” by John Piper
“The Legacy: What Every Father Wants to Leave His Child” by Steven J. Lawson
“The MacArthur Daily Bible” (NKJV)
“The Church in an Age of Crisis: 25 New Realities Facing Christianity” by James Emery White
“AWE: Why It Matters for Everything We Think, Say, & Do” by Paul David Tripp
“Miracle in Shreveport: A Memoir of Baseball, Fatherhood, and the Stadium That Launched a Dream” by David & Jason Benham with Till Ellsworth
“Seeing God as a Perfect Father…and seeing you as loved, pursued, and secure” by Louie Giglio
“The Vanishing Ministry in the 21st Century: Calling a New Generation to Lifetime Service” by Woodrow Kroll
“Meat for Men” by Leonard Ravenhill
“Like the Shepherd: Leading Your Marriage with Love and Grace” by Robert Wolgemuth
“Fellowship of the Burning Heart” by A.W. Tozer
“Manhood: The Masculine Virtues America Needs” by Josh Hawley
“The Christmas We Didn’t Expect” by David Mathis
2023/2024
“Indestructible Joy for the Next Generations” Edited by David and Sally Michael
“Holiness Day by Day” by Jerry Bridges
“The Ever-Loving Truth: Can Faith Thrive in a Post-Christian Culture?” by Voddie T. Baucham, Jr.
“The Conviction to Lead: 25 Principles for Leadership That Matters” by Albert Mohler
“The Warrior Poet Way: A Guide to Living Free and Dying Well” by John Lovell
“Keeping Your Wife Your Best Friend: A Practical Guide for Husbands” by Clarence Shuler
“Who Am I? Solving the Identity Puzzle” by Martyn Iles
“Strange New World: How Thinkers and Activists Redefined Identity and Sparked the Sexual Revolution” by Carl Trueman
“The One Year Bible: New International Version”
“The One Year Bible: King James Version”
“If You Can Keep It: The Forgotten Promise of American Liberty” by Eric Metaxas
“Lead: 12 Gospel Principles for Leadership in the Church” by Paul David Tripp
“Leading by conviction” affirms Al Mohler, “demands an even deeper commitment to reading and the mental disciplines that effective reading establishes. Why? Because convictions require continual mental activity. The leader is constantly analyzing, considering, defining, and confirming the convictions that will rule his leadership.” So true indeed as the testimony of Holy Scripture bears witness along with manifold life and ministry experience (1 Tim.4:12-16).
May this list encourage your heart to cultivate the discipline of reading good books in order to acquire the wisdom, vision, and courage needed to be counter culturally radical at intentionally passing on the faith to the next generation. This is one of the many ways that together we can be devoted to “Advancing the Cause of Christ to the Ends of the Earth…Beginning Right at Home.”
