Every year, it is pure joy for me to share my favorite books. I continue to revel in my good fortune to be part of a community that prizes the “discipleship of the mind.” This year’s group includes a commentary, missions, theology, leadership, and two biographies.
Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: John 1-10 edited by Elowsky and Oden (IVP)
I continue to feast on this series. Fifteen volumes from the Patristic period now dot my bookcase. This volume features my two favorite church fathers, John Chrysostom and Augustine. Their analysis is always crisp and deeply insightful. A sample of the former’s reflection on John 1:14: “For he became Son of Man who was God’s own Son, in order that he might make the sons of men to be children of God. For when the high associates with the low, it does not lose its own honor at all. Instead, it raises up the other from its excessive lowness.”
The New Friars by Scott Bessenecker (IVP)
After visiting a Cairo garbage village under Scott’s tutelage two summers ago, I could hardly wait for this book to be published. Between Scott and Randy White, our Global and Urban Project Directors respectively, we are blessed with two passionate leaders and gifted authors. In this book, Scott profiles young Christians who voluntarily embrace downward mobility in order to have solidarity with the poorest of the poor. An inspiring and convicting narrative.
He Came Down from Heaven by Douglas McCready (IVP)
As a believer who has long pondered the nature of the trinity, the subtitle of this book – The Preexistence of Christ and the Christian Faith – caught my eye. Not for the faint of heart, McCready takes his readers on a scintillating ride through the Old Testament (including the use of wisdom in Wisdom literature), the Gospel of John, Paul’s writings (e.g. Philippians 2 and Colossians 1), Hebrews, and Revelation.
Leading Change by Kotter (Harvard Business School Press)
This durable classic, published a decade ago, lays out eight steps essential to change management. The Cabinet is currently walking though its central points of:
- Establishing a sense of urgency,
- Creating a guiding coalition,
- Developing a vision and strategy,
- Communicating the change vision
- Empowering staff for broad-based action,
- Generating short-term wins,
- Consolidating gains and producing more change, and
- Anchoring new approaches in the culture.
Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin (Simon and Schuster)
Pulitzer Prize winning author Goodwin has written a fabulous tome about Abraham Lincoln’s leadership characteristics. Generous, humble, shrewd, far-sighted, and resilient, this is a must read for all who seek to lead. One minute, Lincoln seems hopelessly naïve, oblivious to the machinations of others. The next, he is fully in control of the situation, out-thinking everyone. What strikes me most is his graciousness and mercy towards those who opposed him.
Khrushchev: The Man and His Era by William Tubman (Norton)
Buffoon? Survivor? Genius? Leader of the Soviet empire for nearly a decade, Nikita Khrushchev was one of the more complex figures of his time. At times religious and sentimental, he was more often brutal and self-protective. In 900 pages, Tubman clearly demonstrates the truth of the old adage: “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. “
