A rut I was in early in ministry was to seek out the books that were trendy instead of choosing the books I should actually have been reading at the time.

Now I think all reading is good development – you could even read the Hunger Games and it could help your ministry and stretch your mind. But I think we have to be careful not to chase after the trendy books (Christian and secular alike) when the best stuff we should be reading sits idle on the shelf or gathers digital dust at the bottom of our Kindle.

I appreciate the larger conversation that takes place in Christianity when someone stirs the pot with a book that all of us our reading – but my encouragement to you today is to make sure you crack open that book that will really help you.

So what should you be reading? My first thought was to push you toward a few books that I would consider must-reads, even classics in youth ministry. But instead of doing that … I think you already know your next book.

So put down that latest-and-greatest book from whoever the hot author is right now and pick up the title you should be reading. An incredible you is waiting at the end of the book!

JG