James Lawrence designed the Growing Leaders course and wrote the book to accompany it. In it he includes a resource list. He does not agree with all the books listed, but they are all worth reading.

Leadership Today

What is Christian leadership?

• Walter Wright, Relational Leadership, Paternoster, 2000
• Henri Nouwen, In the Name of Jesus, DLT, 1989
• Leighton Ford, Transforming Leadership, IVP, 1991
• Derek Tidball, Builders and Fools, IVP, 1999
• Bill Hybels, Courageous Leadership, Zondervan 2002
• Michael Jinkins, Transformational Ministry, St Andrews Press, 2003
• Jim Collins, Good to Great, Random House, 2001
• Max DePree, Leadership Jazz, Bantam Doubleday, 1993

The leadership challenge

• Viv Thomas, Future Leader, Paternoster, 1999
• Bob Jackson, Hope for the Church, Church House Publishing, 2002
• Graham Tomlin, The Provocative Church, SPCK, 2002
• Michael Moynagh, Changing World, Changing Church, Monarch, 2001
• Eddie Gibbs and lan Coffey, Church Next, IVP, 2001
• Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Church, Zondervan, 1996

Growing Leaders Know They’re Chosen

• Philip Yancey, What's So Amazing About Grace? Zondervan, 1997
• Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy, Fount, 1998
• Henri Nouwen, The Way of the Heart, DLT, 1999
• John Piper, Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist, IVP, 1996
• Robert Warren, An Affair of the Heart, Highland Books, 1994
• Patrick Klingaman, Finding Rest When the Work is Never Done, Cook, 2000

Growing Leaders Discern God’s Call

• Pamela Evans, Driven Beyond the Call of God, BRF, 1999
• Os Guinness, The Call, Nelson, 2001
• Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Life, Zondervan, 2002
• John Adair, How to Find Your Vocation, Canterbury Press, 2000
• Stephen Covey, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Simon & Schuster, 1991
• Mick Isbister and Martin Robinson, Who Do You Think You Are? Zondervan, 1999

Growing Leaders Develop Christ-Like Character

• Dallas Willard, The Spirit of Disciplines, IVP, 1996
• John Ortberg, The Life You've Always Wanted, Nelson, 2003
• Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline, Hodder, 1980
• Gordon MacDonald, Ordering Your Private World, Highland Books, 1988
• Gordon MacDonald, Renewing Your Spiritual Passion, Thomas Nelson, 1989
• Eugene Petersen, Working with Angles, the Shape of Pastoral Integrity, Eerdmanns, 1987
• Bill Hybels, Making Life Work, IVP, 1998

Growing Leaders Cultivate Competence

Leaders discern, articulate, and implement vision

• Steven Croft, Transforming Communities, DLT, 2001
• Aubrey Malphurs, Developing a Vision for Ministry in the 21st Century, Baker, 1999
• George Barna, The Power of Vision, Regal Books, 2002

Developing people

• Paul Stanley & Robert Clinton, Connecting, NavPress, 1992
• John Mallison, Mentoring to Develop Disciples and Leaders, SU, 1998
• Ted Engstrom, The Fine Art of Mentoring, Trinity Press, 1989
• Keith Anderson & Randy Reese, Spiritual Mentoring, Eagle, 2000
• Paul Fenton, Someone to Lean On, SU, 1998
• James Houston, The Mentored Life, NavPress, 2002

Leadership and handling change

• Gilbert Rendle, Leading Change in the Congregation, Alban Institute, 1997
• Michael Fullan, Change Forces, Falmer Press, 1993
• Spencer Johnson, Who Moved My Cheese? Vermillion, 1999
• Lee Bolman & Terence Deal, Reframing Organisations, Jossey-Bass, 1997

Growing Leaders Lead in Community

• Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, SCM Press, 1954
• Gilbert Bilezikian, Community 101, Zondervan, 1997
• Steven Croft, Transforming Communities, DLT, 2001
• Jean Vanier, Community and Growth: Our Pilgrimage Together, Paulist Press, 1999
• R. Katzenbach and D.K. Smith, The Wisdom of Teams, HarperBusiness, 2003
• R. Meredith Belbin, Management Teams, Heinemann, 1996
• Patrick Lencioni, The Five Dysfunctions of Teams, Jossey-Bass, 2002

If you have read any of these titles, or any other leadership book you would recommend, how about writing a short review? We would be pleased to publish it here. Send your book review to the This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .