The Power of Reading Impactful Books
note: any links clicked on in this article are affiliate links and we will get a small commission off your purchases to support the work of ourbestlife.com.
Our Best Story is about life-on-life discipleship. On helpful analogy is what happened in the Civil War. Soldiers gathered at the Civil War camp and recovered from the days battle as they got ready to fight the following day. One of the key elements of the Civil War camp experience was getting re-armed . Soldiers would clean their firearms, get new ammo, and make sure their uniforms were intact. Impactful books can play that role for us in our day-to-day battles.
Following that model, one of the values of Our Best Life is sharing resources that will help us grow in our fight against mediocrity, obstacles, and the challenge of living lives on our own battlefields.
So with that in mind, I wanted to share with you 5 of the most impactful books of my life.
They are in no particular order and this is way far from being an exhaustive list.
Here we go!
Five Impactful Books of My Life (plus a bonus book)
Abraham Lincoln and the Men of War Times by A.K. McClure
I found this treasure a couple years ago when our family was vacationing near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The Midtown Scholar is probably the coolest bookstore I’ve ever visited. It is owned by the Mayor of Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania and it did not disappoint – three floors and one of the largest collection of rare, antique and vintage books in the country.
You can find signed volumes of some of the greatest writers in the history of the world all the way down to used copies of today’s mass marketed paperbacks. There is a huge collection of Civil War volumes, and tucked back in the very back of the rows of books I found this jewel!
It is a first edition and was written in 1892 by a man that worked very closely with Lincoln and documented how he interacted and leveraged the gifts of the key leaders that worked alongside him. Lincoln was a master at setting aside his personal agenda and opinions and allowing his leaders to contribute knowledge and wisdom to help him determine the next steps forward that best served the people of the country.
Lincoln even worked closely with men who had previously back-stabbed and fought against him if it meant he’d be better serving the people. This had a huge impact on how I view teammates and the greater purpose of serving people over serving self.
The Forgotten Ways by Alan Hirsch
This book radically changed my paradigm of missional church ministry. Alan sets forth a model of the church that values following Christ in being incarnational to the world. Jesus willingly left his Father’s side to live a difficult life providing creation a path back to the heart of God. As the church, we should be willing to do the same.
He deals with the schisms in the body, lays out a path to communitas (deepened commuity), teaches on the value of liminality (shared struggle),and presents the functions of Ephesians 4:11 as the model for viral church multiplication.
It was a game-changer for my paradigm of Church and how I express my ministry and build community. That’s why it made my list of impactful books.
Leadership by Rudolph Guiliani
No matter your political bent, you’ve got to respect the leadership of a man who transformed the largest city in America from one of the highest crime rates to one of the lowest among large cities. Rudy also helped millions of people navigate the war zone of September 11th and the chaos that followed.
Most people who worked for Rudy loved him because they saw how much he cared for the people of New York City.
This book walks you through Rudy’s system of leadership that transformed the city. His big message is that you can’t deal with the huge problems if you don’t have the little ones under control, so start there. A great model for leadership of people and especially for self-leadership. Even Jesus taught about the value of stewarding the small things.
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
Writers beware! This book will get you fired up about writing. Anne is an amazing writer of both fiction, non-fiction and memoirs. You may or may not like her political and/or spiritual views, I certainly struggle with many of them, but you can’t deny that this lady has an amazing perspective on writing.
From laying down your “shitty first draft” to finding your voice to knowing when your done, she takes you through the whole process. My confidence in and enthusiasm for writing was shifted to overdrive when I read this book.
Whether you are brand new to writing or a seasoned author, I’d highly recommend picking this up and consuming it. It is funny, witty, personal and inspirational. It is one of the most impactful books for writers I’ve found.
The Spiritual Man by Watchman Nee
Yes. Some call him an Eastern Christian mystic. Yes. The English translation is repetitive and simplistic. Yes. It sometimes requires reading the same passage three or four times to absorb it. And yes, this book radically changed my life. (my copy is a little worn out HA!)
Found in this book is the deepest, most comprehensive and logically defined concept of the tripartite man, body, soul, and spirit. Seriously, it rocked my world and helped me conquer the battle of placing my mind, will and emotion (soul) under the care of my spirit (the once dead component of my person which can communicate with the Holy Spirit.) This took me to the next level in fighting against the sinful flesh.
Intuition, emotion, affection, knowledge, wisdom, conscience – it all begins to make sense as you read through this work. If you want to take your understanding of man and his relationship with God to the next level, this is a good option. That’s why I put it on my impactful books list.
Bonus Book: One from Many by Dee Hock
Note: This was also published as “Birth of the Chaordic Age”
Warning: Dee is probably some degree of a post-modern universalist, so please don’t read this as a theology book. But, if you can get past that, it is a life-changing portrayal of love of man for humanity. This book presents a concept of a “non-monetary exchange of value” that is the closest non-christian example of Christianity I’ve ever heard.
The basics: there is value greater than economic value. As a matter of fact, there is a value that money can’t buy. We can exchange it with others and create a better world. Dee coined the term “Chaord.” It is the concept that there is a magic place somewhere at the intersection of order and chaos where transformational energy occurs. It is an earthly description of that magic place where law and grace intersect. Dee just didn’t know he was talking about God (wink.)
I have applied this principal in every area of my life and I will write more about it on The Campfire as time passes. In basic terms, movement and momentum must be initiated by a burst of energy. But without a sustaining system, that energy dissipates quickly into complacency and non-movement. If a sustaining system can intersect with the explosive momentum, viral multiplication can happen.
Conclusion: Impactful Books Can Shift the Direction of Life
I’ve got one thing to say – READ! And read impactful books. And when you’re done, read some more. Just absorbing wisdom from the people who have been there – done that can radically impact how you influence those around you. And read lots of different types of books. Represented in this short list are history, instructional, philosophical, spiritual and personal growth. Be strong. Don’t be afraid to read something out of the box. Ask the Lord for wisdom. All truth is God’s truth and if an atheistic scientist has stumbled upon something that is absolutely true – then it first belonged to God.
Now, don’t mistake what I am saying. You must Filter your reading through the Word of God and let that be your standard bearer. Be careful to weigh every concept. You will find truth in all sorts of places. God was big enough to speak through a donkey. Hell, Paul says all creation reveals the glory of God.
Happy Reading!
