Church leadership is a critical aspect of ministry and the life of any local congregation, but there are so many churches that approach it differently and in varied ways. Some of those approaches are beneficial, others not as much. But the New Testament lays out a solid and necessary approach to church leadership in the form of elder or overseers and deacons.

Our church is currently examining these two offices describes in the New Testament and evaluating how we are doing in in comparison to the letters from Paul to the Philippians and to Timothy and Titus, along with Acts 6, where we see the first examples of deacons.

To that end, we are reading Aeaxander Strauch’s excellent work called Ministers Of Mercy: The New Testament Deacon. In this detailed examination of this office, Strauch looks deeply at the occurrences of the term “deacon,” and the examples and descriptions of this role in the New Testament.

I read this book for the first time in college, in a class on pastoral ministry. It has been very good to read it again, along with several other men who are serious about following the instructions the New Testament gives us, especially in the area of church leadership.

This is a book worth your time to read, especially if you play any role in the leadership of your church. You can get a copy at Amazon. I highly recommend that you do. You’ll be challenged, and encouraged, and blessed as you read it.

Leadership can be difficult for some. Over the years, I have experienced ups and downs when it comes to my own leadership abilities. A lot of it has do to with where I am personally, I think, and how I am either growing or not growing. When I do have seasons of better leadership success, I too often don’t stop to examine why this might be the case. But fortunately, someone has.

John Maxwell has written a small book detailing the leadership skills of successful people. He looks at the “5 Levels of Leadership,” a topic that he has taught more than any other, and shows how the successful leader has an intimate knowledge of this hierarchy of leadership ability. And I can recognize my own leadership growth in the structure he lays out in this brief book.

It’s a short and easy book to read, giving the basic overview of the 5 Levels, and whetting your appetite for more. From here, the supply of information Maxwell has written on leadership is nearly inexhaustible, and you can learn a lot just by reading his books. And if that isn’t enough, you can pick up even more knowledge from partnering with the John Maxwell Company for a deeper leadership training experience.

But How Successful People Lead is an excellent place to begin. I highly recommend you pick up a copy and read it. You can get it from Amazon for next to nothing, so go grab a copy now.

One of my favorite areas of personal growth and improvement is the area of leadership. Several years ago, I was introduced to the leadership works of John Maxwell when I attended an InJoy conference, and have been hooked on his books ever since. Last fall, I had to opportunity to pick up several of his titles that I didn’t already possess, and have been reading through them this year.

Three or four of them are on the topic of success, and this one, Success 101, is succinct and easy to read. It also has a plethora of usable insights and quotes that I know will come to mind as I need them, and as I grow in this area.

I highly recommend you read some of John Maxwell’s works, and you can pick this one up at Amazon for just a few dollars.

This year, I am trying to ficus my life down and be more simplistic in what I do, to be more unhurried. And I learn best by reading, so I have gathered a list of books about rest, and Sabbath, and living unhurried, and biographies of those who have done so, to help me understand and achieve more of this in my own life.

One of the books I have decided to reread is Kim Thomas’ book, Living In The Sacred Now. This is a book with a series of very short chapters that are devotional in nature. She describes what it looks like to be immediately present in the moment, and not focused on what is behind, or what is to come.

I first read this about ten or twelve years ago, but I think it has a lot to offer for my thought process, especially in this area of my life. You may be interested in it as well. If this is an area you struggle in, I suggest you grab a copy and read it. You can’t get it from Amazon directly, but you can find it from several third party sellers there.

One of my favorite books of the Bible is the letter to the Hebrews. This is an informative letter, detailing the supremacy of Jesus over every other mode of worship, the Law of Moses, the priesthood, and more. It’s a wonderful piece of Scripture.

But it is unclear who the author is. Traditionally, Paul has been held in that regard, or possibly Apollos. There are even a few out there that believe it was Priscilla, who is mentioned as one of Paul’s coworkers in Acts. That’s possible, but unlikely.

One other option is Luke. Luke is someone that I have never really considered as a possibility, and most of the classes I had in college held to the traditional view of Paul’s authorship.

I am very interested to dig into David Allen’s Lukan Authorship Of Hebrews. This promises to be a very interesting journey, and I’m more excited about this book than I have been about a book in a long time.

If you would like to read Allen’s Lukan Authorship Of Hebrews, you can pick it up on Amazon.

Last weekend, we held a seminar at our church called The Cross Or The Crescent? Understanding The Differences Between Christianity And Islam. It was very informative. One of the books I picked up from that seminar was Muhammad’s Monsters, which strives to be a guide for understanding the radical nature of Islamic extremists.

Although it was published over a decade ago, and some of the material was very dated, it was still an interesting book. I have a chapter or two left to go before I finish, and I expect that it will be wrapped up before the weekend hits.

It’s a bit more difficult to read, simply because so many of the Arabic and Islamic terms are unfamiliar, and I have to keep referring to the glossary in the back, but it’s worth the effort.

If you are interested in taking a look at Muhammad’s Monsters, you can pick it up from Amazon.

A couple of years ago, I read 7 Men, a book containing seven brief biographies of great men. Digging into what made these men so great, author Eric Metaxas did a phenomenal job of creating interest in each of the men depicted, and I followed up with other biographies of some of them.

Now Metaxas has released 7 Women. This book does the same thing. It identifies seven great women, and discovers what it was that made them so great. So far, the book is excellent. And I plan on posting a full review in a week or two, after I finish reading it.

In the meantime, you can pick up either 7 Men or 7 Women on Amazon. Enjoy reading it!