Art & Creativity
If You Can Cut You Can Collage: From Paper Scraps to Works of Art, by Hollie Chastain (2017)
Church & Culture
Live, Laugh, Love: The Secret History of White Christian Women and the World They Made, by historian Kristin Kobes du Mez (2026), author of Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation (2020). Hear more from this author in the company of others on The Convocation Unscripted podcast with Jamar Tisby, Diana Butler Bass, and Robert P Jones.
Coaching and Colleagues
Getting Naked: A Business Fable about Shedding the Three Fears That Sabotage Client Loyalty, by Patrick Lencioni (2009).
How Not to Waste a Crisis: Quit Trying Harder, by Tod Bolsinger, author of Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory.
Go Put Your Strengths to Work, 6 Powerful Steps to Achieve Outstanding Performance, by Marcus Buckingham (2007). Offeres a helpful framework for understanding how to put your strengths to work in, I would argue, any setting. For reference, my top five strengths include Learner, Maximizer, Self-Assurance, Intellection, and Activator. Knowing yours can be quite useful In a coaching relationship.
Governance
Reinventing Your Board: A Step-by-Step Guide to Implementing Policy Governance, by John Carver and Miriam Carver, Jossey-Bass 2006. A resource that has proven useful to me in numerous nonprofit and church board settings.
Leadership
Strong Ground: The Lessons of Daring Leadership, the Tenacity of Paradox, and the Wisdom of the Human Spirit, by Brent Brown (2025), author of Daring Greatly: How the Courage to be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent and Lead (2012). Prefer a podcast, you might enjoy The Curiosity Shop with research professor Brene Brown and organizational psychologist Adam Grant, a Vox Media podcast.
Leadership without Easy Answers, by Ronald A. Heifetz, Belknap Press 1998. Indispensable.
Social Justice
Just Mercy A Story of Justice and Redemption, by Bryan Stevenson, 2014 book, 2019 movie.
Through My Enemy’s Eyes: Envisioning Reconciliation in Israel-Palestine, by Salim J. Munayer and Lisa Loden, Authentic 2014. A helpful model for facing entrenched conflict.
Up Next
Joyful Anyway, by Kate Bowler (2026, mental health awareness, happiness, personal success), author of Everything Happens for a Reason and Other Lies I’ve Loved. I’m part way through the audiobook version.
Leading a Transforming Community: Foundations, Practices, and Strategies for Opening to God Together, by Ruth Haley Barton (2026)