Books That Shaped Me

The most rigorously pressure-tested leadership text ever written. Every human dynamic I've faced — authority and rebellion, integrity under pressure, betrayal by trusted people, the long arc of building something that outlasts you — is documented here with unflinching honesty across 66 books and 1,500 years. David as warrior-king. Moses as the operator struggling with delegation. Nehemiah as project manager under political opposition. Jesus leading by subtraction of self. Paul as entrepreneur-pastor-strategist. Read it as Scripture first. Read it as literature, leadership, and life too.

The best theological case I've read for work as worship — not as something you do to fund 'real' ministry. Keller connects Genesis 1-2, the Fall, and Christ's redemption into a coherent doctrine of vocation. Foundational for anyone whose faith and work have felt like separate compartments.

On the Holy Spirit — the member of the Trinity most often ignored even by Christians. This book has deeply shaped my ongoing Awakening manuscript. Chan's argument: the early church expected the supernatural work of the Spirit; we've reduced Him to a theological abstraction. Required reading for anyone who suspects they're operating in their own strength.

The book that re-calibrates your view of who God is and what a life actually in love with Him looks like. Short and convicting. You finish feeling small in the right way. I re-read this when my own ambition starts to feel larger than my gratitude.

Chan's post-mega-church reckoning with what church is meant to be. Not an attack — a re-pointing to the New Testament church. Convicting for elders and anyone in leadership within a local church.

J.D. is my pastor at Summit Church. The clearest articulation I've read of why a small view of God produces a small life. Most Christians worship a God who is too small — not too big, TOO SMALL — and the solution is a bigger vision of who He is.

Greear's case that churches grow by sending, not hoarding. Anti-founder-syndrome theology in book form — the counterintuitive principle that applies to businesses too. The more you invest in developing and releasing others, the more the work multiplies.

The foundational text on what the gospel actually is — not 'how to become a Christian' but 'the daily news that reshapes every motive.' For the Christian whose ambition has quietly replaced their justification, this book is clarifying. Short, repeatable, worth re-reading annually.

The 20th century's most important work of lay theology. Lewis argues Christianity from first principles with the clarity of an outsider turned insider. Especially useful for skeptical friends who suspect faith is anti-intellectual — Lewis removes that barrier with rigor.

Gospel-centered framework for real behavioral and heart change. Argues that transformation isn't willpower — it's deeper worship. Chester's four liberating truths (God is great, glorious, good, and gracious — so we don't have to be, fear, look elsewhere, or prove ourselves) are worth the price of the book.

A biblical framework for entrepreneurs and creators. Starting something new is itself an act of worship and a reflection of the image of God. Practical without being preachy. Reframes the founder's work as legitimate calling, not sanctified ambition.

The counter-argument to 'do a million things.' Find the one thing God has gifted you to do exceptionally and pour yourself into it. Biblical case against hustle culture for its own sake.

Luther's doctrine of vocation for a modern audience. Every legitimate kind of work — CEO, electrician, janitor, parent — is a calling through which God serves others. Combats the sacred/secular divide that has made many Christians feel their work is second-tier.

A short theological defense of business as a legitimate God-honoring vocation. Grudem walks through the good of ownership, profit, competition, and inequality from a biblical lens. Helpful for Christian founders who carry guilt about being commercially successful.

For anyone in the middle third of their career asking 'is there more than this?' Buford's framework for transitioning from accumulation to contribution has shaped how I think about CHE, The Guild Nonprofit, and board service — and about when the business should be building toward something beyond the business.

Tebow's public disappointments became the doorway into his clearest writing on identity. When what you built, what you were known for, what you hoped for — all gets shaken — the only thing that holds is who God says you are. Worth reading before or during a hard season.

Tebow's playbook for living a life of purpose rather than drifting. Practical, direct, rooted in faith. Answered by someone publicly successful, publicly rejected, and still going.

Tebow's autobiography. The backstory of a life shaped by missionary parents, homeschooling, and the decision to live publicly as a Christian in hostile environments. For anyone raising kids in public roles, a useful read on the cost and fruit of visible faith.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer's life is the most useful story I know for grappling with faith and public action under evil. He could have stayed safe. He didn't. Worth reading for anyone wrestling with when the Christian is called to public stand vs. quiet faithfulness.

Piper's short, urgent argument against the American middle-class Christian default — nice career, nice house, nice retirement, dead soul. Re-orients the question from 'did you succeed?' to 'what did you spend your life on?' Uncomfortable in the best way.

The most useful diagnostic for why teams underperform. Absence of trust → fear of conflict → lack of commitment → avoidance of accountability → inattention to results. My team at CHE is actively working through this.

Ten shifts from traditional heroic leadership to co-elevation and teamship. I've been cataloging this for my team and layering it onto Five Dysfunctions — they map together surprisingly well. Anti-founder-syndrome at its core.

Organizational health as the biggest untapped competitive advantage. Four disciplines: cohesive leadership team, clarity, over-communicating clarity, reinforcing clarity. Most CEOs skim this and miss the point — reinforcement is 80% of the work.

Three virtues for great hires: humble, hungry, smart (emotionally). Has changed how I interview for senior roles. Almost everyone claims two of the three; the rare ones have all three.

The Law of the Lid — your organization never rises above your leadership capacity — is the single most important leadership idea I've internalized. It's why founder syndrome is so expensive.

Leadership as influence, not position. The 5 levels framework gave me language for what I was doing at Bobbitt — moving people through position → permission → production → people development → pinnacle.

The most practical playbook for operating businesses between $5M and $500M. The One-Page Strategic Plan, Rockefeller Habits rhythms, and the 4 decisions (People, Strategy, Execution, Cash).

Level 5 Leadership, First Who Then What, the Hedgehog Concept, the Flywheel. These aren't just frameworks — they're diagnostics. When CHE evaluated its divisions, we used Hedgehog to clarify what we're truly best at.

Eight CEOs who crushed the S&P by thinking about capital allocation differently. Less a finance book and more a CEO-posture book — capital allocation IS the CEO's job.

The foundational book on founder syndrome — except Gerber called it 'working in the business vs. on the business.' If you're an electrician, plumber, contractor, or any trade founder, required reading.

Navy SEAL leadership translated for the executive suite. If anything goes wrong in your organization, you're the reason. No excuses. The Prioritize and Execute chapter alone is worth the book.

Welch's autobiography as CEO of GE. Candor, the vitality curve, differentiation, workouts, and the discipline of making tough people calls. I don't agree with everything Welch did — but every sitting CEO should wrestle with it.

Ramsey's 20 years of running Ramsey Solutions — from broke to ~$300M revenue — distilled into practical principles for business-leader-entrepreneurs. Least academic, most honestly practical for owner-operators.

The Visionary + Integrator duo thesis — why the founder-CEO almost always needs a second-in-command operator to scale past the founder's bandwidth. One of the most useful hires-you-haven't-made-yet frameworks I've encountered.

EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) — a structured framework for running a growing business. Vision/Traction Organizer, weekly Level 10 Meeting, Accountability Chart. Practical and accessible.

Four meeting types (daily check-in, weekly tactical, monthly strategic, quarterly off-site) and why mixing them destroys productivity. Changed how I structure my calendar.

Lencioni's clearest articulation of the four disciplines an executive must obsess over. Short fable format, CEO-directed, rings true every revisit.

The best primer I've found for non-financial managers. Three statements, the ratios that matter, and financial decisions for operations. Gave my early team language they didn't have before.

Open-book management — teaching every employee to think like an owner by showing them the numbers. Jack Stack took SRC Holdings from bankruptcy to billion-dollar success by turning line workers into financially-literate teammates.

The A-Method. Topgrading-style chronological interviews. Catches in one interview what 4 traditional interviews miss. Highest-ROI hiring change I've made.

Caring personally AND challenging directly. Most leaders default to ruinous empathy or obnoxious aggression. Scott's 2x2 gave me language for feedback that my teams still reference years later.

How visionary companies preserve their core while stimulating progress. Relevant when you're asking 'what do we never change?' vs. 'what do we constantly evolve?'

For anyone considering the acquisition path vs. the startup path. SBA-backed acquisition mechanics, search-fund economics, seller due diligence, and the 'acquisition entrepreneur' posture. Aligned with what I did at CHE.

Dobson's distilled counsel on the practical architecture of marriage. Not glamorous, not trending — just steady, Scripture-rooted wisdom on the decade-to-decade work of staying married well. I've recommended it to multiple couples I've counseled.

The clearest theological framing I've read on why marriage is designed to be hard — and why that hardness is the point, not the problem. Keller's argument: you marry a stranger, and the covenant becomes the place you learn to love them. Worth re-reading every few years.

Parenting eventually hits the questions you don't want to answer — about suffering, justice, unfairness, why prayer 'didn't work.' Dobson helps you sit with those questions honestly with your kids instead of performing certainty you don't have.

The book that shaped how I think about raising sons in particular — their need for a battle to fight, an adventure to live, a beauty to rescue. Not every page aged equally well, but the core framing has stuck with me for years. Pairs with the Guild book project.

Hansel's book on choosing joy in chronic pain and real difficulty is one of the most underrated books on spiritual resilience I've read. The argument: joy is a discipline, not a mood. You practice it. You don't wait for it.

Willard's magnum opus on what Jesus actually taught about the Kingdom of God and how that reshapes a life. Dense. Slow. Worth it. The book I underline in most heavily on the spiritual formation shelf.

The practical companion to Divine Conspiracy. How spiritual formation actually works — the interior renovation of thought, feeling, will, body, social self, and soul. Willard makes 'grow spiritually' concrete in a way almost no one else does.

The practical manual. If Willard is the theology of formation, Whitney is the operating manual: prayer, Scripture, fasting, solitude, silence, journaling, worship, serving, stewardship. I come back to this one regularly.

Comer's modern read on the world/flesh/devil as the three forces deceiving us — told for an audience shaped by smartphones and streaming. If 'spiritual disciplines' feels abstract, Comer makes it immediate.

Ortlund's meditation on the heart of Christ — specifically for the exhausted leader. If you've been operating from fear or performance for too long, this book reframes Jesus's actual posture toward you. Short. Transformative. Every CEO-Christian I've recommended it to has come back thanking me.