EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK: Recent Reads
Books I have found helpful, nourishing, or inspiring
A long time ago I heard the expression, “Leaders are readers.” 
Leaders, especially Christian leaders, should read. So should young people who want to be leaders.
Because I write for a living, those who aspire to this vocation sometimes ask me how to make that happen. I tell them to become voracious readers. It is only by reading great writers that you can know if your own writing measures up.
I also recommend that you read eclectically, even promiscuously. If you are a salesman, don’t just read books on selling. Read fiction. Read great narrative non-fiction. If you are a pastor or ministry leader, read a business book on strategic planning or accounting, or a novel about power. (Robert Penn Warren’s All The King’s Men comes to mind.) Read books that both deepen your strengths and strengthen your weaknesses.
To that end, from time to time I am going to use this “Editor’s Notebook” column to highlight books I have read recently that have either nourished or challenged me. I hope you find this list helpful.
Now I Lay Me Down To Fight by Katy Bowser Hutson. Many readers may know Katy Bowser Hutson as one of the members of the band Rain For Roots, which has released a number of highly regarded albums for children and adults. This book of poetry and short, poetic essays is a journey through her own bout with cancer. The book is moving, sad, and funny – often all at the same time.
The Kingdom, The Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals In An Age of Extremism by Tim Alberta. Alberta is the son of a preacher and a committed Christian himself who makes a living in the secular media. He currently writes for The Atlantic, and is former chief political correspondent for Politico. This book, when added to his New York Times bestseller American Carnage (which I also recommend) cements his position as America’s finest chronicler of the frontier between politics and religion.
Theo of Golden by Allen Levi. Theo is friendly and kind. He is also wealthy and mysterious. When he arrives in the little town of Golden, he puts these qualities to work. This novel – as the book’s cover asserts – brings to life the power of “creative generosity, the importance of wonder to a purposeful life, and the far-reaching possibilities of anonymous kindness.” And it’s beautifully written a true pleasure to read. (ProTip: Buy this book from The Rabbit Room and support a great ministry in the process.)
Access to MinistryWatch content is free. However, we hope you will support our work with your prayers and financial gifts. To make a donation, click here.
Blue Ocean Strategy: How To Create Uncontested Market Space and Make The Competition Irrelevant by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne. This book was published in 2015 and has already sold 3.5 million copies, so I’m obviously late to the party. But I discovered it this year and read it slowly, marketing it up heavily as I went. The basic metaphor of the book is that most organizations operate close to shore, where the waves batter them and obstacles are all around. The goal should be to get out beyond the reach, into the blue ocean, where you can unfurl your canvas and really sail. I have found this book to be helpful as I think about the future of MinistryWatch. It is not a “Christian book,” but its concerns with serving other people and discovering what is unique about your organization should resonate with Christian leaders.
The Need To Be Whole: Patriotism and the History of Prejudice by Wendell Berry. This is not Wendell Berry’s best book. (My vote for that honor would be The Art of the Commonplace in the non-fiction category and Jayber Crow in the fiction category.) But this book does have many of the virtues we have come to expect from Wendell Berry, who may be America’s best living writer. For those who are familiar with Berry’s canon, think of this book as a companion to The Hidden Wound and The Unsettling of America.
