Each year thousands of management and leadership books are published. And while each of them may provide valuable information, there are some that stand out and speak to you in ways that have immediate impact on your ministries. The editors of Church Executive magazine seek your opinion about recent books related to your work and mission. Let other church leaders know which recently published church leadership and management titles you have read that are thought-provoking and insightful. Which of these books would you recommend to your peers? You may vote for multiple books. At the conclusion of the voting process one person will be chosen at random to receive a copy of each book presented.

Hill Country Bible Church (HCBC) of Austin, TX is about making the name of Jesus famous, whatever it takes. In a culture of cleverly written strategies and tried and true models, they’ll try whatever works. In the words of John Herrington, the director of Church Planting in the Hill Country Association, “We started with great intentions of reaching the city; our strategy was to use a model, but a model reaches a certain type of people. So we asked the question, ‘How do we create churches that make sense to the people to whom we’re being sent?’”

“To an outsider, the actions of Mr. Watts during church might have appeared eccentric at worst, the ludicrous yet harmless actions of someone who wasn’t right in the head. But to those who knew the man, it was evident that Mr. Watts wasn’t a changed man. He still paced at night. He still glared at us with a smoldering disdain that, like hot lava, would inevitably surface. Somewhere, somehow, he’d strike again. It was just a matter of time,” writes Rebecca Nichols Alonzo, author of The Devil in Pew Number Seven.

Ever have a good idea — well you thought it was — shot down in a meeting with your colleagues that left you thinking, “What happened?” It happens on management teams every day, and on church staffs too.