I turned 42 last week, which is hard to believe in some ways, and in other ways, I feel like my life is really just beginning.

The older I get, the more I’m reminded how precious and important each day is but not for the reasons I thought at 30. At 30, it was about building, gaining, moving up a ladder of some kind. At 42, my focus is on relationships, adding value to others, and being a great friend, dad, and husband.

I was talking to someone who I’ve known for most of my life, and he said, “It is amazing how we change and how priorities shift.” And he’s right, and that’s a good thing.

Favorite books:

Last week I finished up Winn Collier’s fabulous biography on Eugene Peterson,  A Burning in My Bones. I appreciated how raw and honest this book was. I have read several of Peterson’s books, including his memoir (which is fantastic as well). So many times, I found myself thinking, “I’m so glad Eugene Peterson struggled with this too. I’m so glad that was a battle for him as a pastor as well.” Definitely, one pastor should add to their summer reading list. 

1 book every pastor should read this summer.
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I also slowly worked my way through Pete Scazzero’s latest book, Emotionally Healthy Discipleship: Moving from Shallow Christianity to Deep Transformation. I have benefitted greatly over the years from Scazzero’s writing and speaking. This book was a breath of fresh air for me to understand not only how to continue growing as an emotionally healthy disciple but also how to implement this more into the culture of a church to produce emotionally healthy disciples and leaders. This is one I will come back to again and again.

Two books every pastor should read.
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Favorite blog posts:

Jeff Haden shared on Inc.’s blog 14 Things Everyone should before turning 40 (similar to my thoughts here and here.). This list is spot-on, especially numbers 7, 10, 13, and 14. I wish I knew some of these things earlier in life, but then it takes hitting some snags and learning some of these lessons the hard way.

Jared Wilson’s blog on Pastor, Your Body Keeps the Score is right and what many pastors are experiencing. I think more and more pastors need to pay attention to their souls and their bodies. Learning to listen to it when it speaks to you, understanding the feelings you have, the tightness in your stomach, and what that is communicating to you. The implications for leaders are huge on this and also can serve as a guide for your pace and workload.

Pew Research released a fascinating new study on The Future of World Religions: Population Growth Projections, 2010-2050. So many implications for pastors and churches to think through and be prepared for in the future.

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It’s that time of year again, time to share my top lists of the year. Monday, I shared the top sermon downloads from Revolution Church. Tuesday I shared the books that almost made my “best of the year” list. And yesterday I shared the albums that almost made my “best of the year” list.

To see my list of favorite books from past year, simply click on the numbers: 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012.

To make this list, it does not have to be published in 2013, I only needed to read it in 2013. As always, this list was hard to narrow down, but here are the top 13 books of 2013. Buckle up book worms:

13. How to Deliver a TED Talk | Jeremy Donavan

If you speak for a living or are a pastor, this is a must read book. Donavan takes the best and worst of TED Talks and breaks them down into do’s and don’ts for speakers. You can read my review here.

12. Innovation’s Dirty Little Secret: Why Serial Innovators Succeed Where Others Fail | Larry Osborne

I love Larry Osborne’s stuff. It is so simple and straightforward. In this book, he looks at why some churches and organizations works and others don’t. His chapter on mission statements is worth the price of this book. You can read my review here.

11. Eat Move Sleep: Why Small Choices Make a Big Difference | Tom Rath

Health books are everywhere. Good health books are hard to find. This is one of the great ones. Two things stood out in this book: One, every choice we make matters. They all impact every part of our life. Two, Tom Rath looks at how to eat, move and sleep so that those choices make the most positive impact in our lives. You can read my review here.

10. Sex & Money: Pleasures that Leave You Empty and Grace that Satisfies | Paul David Tripp

There are some authors you should read everything they write. Tim Keller is one of them and Paul David Tripp is another one. No matter the book, you should read their stuff. Tripp takes the two biggest temptations and sins in our culture and shows how they leave us empty. Definitely a convicting book. You can read my review here.

9. Boundaries for Leaders: Results, Relationships, and Being Ridiculously in Charge | Henry Cloud

The primary message of this book for leaders is you get what you create and what you allow. You can read my review here.

8. Chasing Francis | Ian Cron 

I read this book one Saturday night, one of those hard, dark Saturday nights many pastors have. I could not put this book down as it resonated with me on so many deep levels. So, when you have that dark night, this is a book to read. Here’s my review of it.

7. The Pastor’s Justification: Applying the work of Christ in Your Life & Ministry | Jared Wilson

This book is very similar to Paul David Tripp’s book Dangerous Calling. A challenge to pastors to apply the gospel they preach to their own lives and hearts. A great book for doing the deep dive for a pastor and confronting their idols. It also helps that Wilson is hilarious in this book. You can read my review here.

6. Discipleshift: Five Steps that Help Your Church to Make Disciples who Make Disciples | Jim Putnam, Bobby Harrington, & Robert Coleman

The effects of this book will be felt at Revolution for years to come. As we’ve moved more and more towards a missional community model, this book has helped us hone our system of making disciples. This graph has been huge for us. You can read my review here.

5. Give them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids with the Love of Jesus | Elyse Fitzpatrick and Jessica Thompson 

If you are a parent or will be a parent, this is the one parenting book you have to read. It shows you how to parent to your child’s heart, which is the only way to change a child and see them become who God created them to become. You can read my review here.

4. Leadership as an Identity: The Four Traits of Those Who Wield Lasting Influence | Crawford Loritts

What set this book apart was that it had very little “here’s what a leader does” advice. This book is all about what influences and shapes a leader. Ultimately, what shapes a leader will eventually come out in their actions. You can read my review here.

3. A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World | Paul Miller

This is the book on prayer.  So good. I love the idea of prayer cards and have since created them on Evernote to use. You can read my review here.

2. In Search of Deep Faith: A Pilgrimage into the Beauty, Goodness, and Heart of Christianity | Jim Belcher

This book almost made the jump to #1, it was close. This book is part parenting book, part history, part travel, and faith. It shows the roots of Christianity and how to bring those into your family. One thing Katie and I want is for our kids to know the history of Christianity and that it is not a faith that just appeared in the last 100 years. You can read my review here.

1. Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action | Simon Sinek

I love leadership books, so it makes sense that one of them is #1. A leadership book was #1 last year too. This book was insanely good. If you are a leader, this is the one book you have to read in 2014. So good. You can read my review here.

Tomorrow you’ll get my last list of the week: the top 13 albums of the year.

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