Ep. 14 | Five Books You Should Read in 2025

Bart highlights 5 books to read in 2025 to help you revitalize your church!

1. Canoeing the Mountains - Tod Bolsinger

Subtitle: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory

Think of Lewis and Clark showing up at the Rocky Mountains with canoes - that's exactly what it feels like trying to lead a church today with methods that worked decades ago. Tod shows us how to adapt when our old playbook isn't working anymore, mixing practical leadership wisdom with deep spiritual insights about leading change in uncharted territory.

“Most of our congregations are filled with people who are blessed by what was done in the past. Leadership today is most effective, not by the way we solve problems, but by the questions we ask.” HOW WILL WE GET OVER THESE MOUNTAINS?

2. Reclaiming Glory - Mark Clifton

Subtitle: Creating a Gospel Legacy Throughout North American

If your church has struggled you’ve and wondered if there's still hope, Mark Clifton's "Reclaiming Glory" is going to give you both the inspiration and the practical steps to believe again. Drawing from his real-world experience revitalizing struggling churches in Kansas City, Mark walks you through exactly how to help a declining church rediscover its mission and become a vibrant presence in its community again.

“A replanting pastor is seeking to reclaim ground for God’s glory, ground that has been under enemy control for years - if not decades. Changing music style, adding coffee and updating your outdoor signage won’t get the job done. This ground will only be won back by prayer, the power of the Holy Spirit and real hand-to-hand spiritual combat.”

3. Our Iceberg is Melting - John Kotter

Subtitle: Changing and Succeeding Under Any Conditions

Here's a bunch of penguins living on an iceberg who discover their home is about to melt, which is basically the perfect story to understand why change in your church is so urgent right now. Just like these penguins had to convince their colony to move before disaster struck, Kotter's fable shows leaders how to help their people understand why staying put in old ways isn't an option anymore and how to get everyone moving in a new direction together.

WELCOME: Handle the challenge of change well and you will prosper. Handle it poorly and you put yourself and others at risk.

4. What Healthy Churches Do - Bart Blair

Subtitle: 3 Things Healthy Churches Do and the Fuels That Sustain Them

Make Disciples. Grow Disciples. Send Disciples.

Just like your body needs healthy circulatory, nervous, and respiratory systems to thrive, I want to show you how healthy churches need three essential systems working together: making disciples (circulatory), growing disciples (nervous), and sending disciples (respiratory) out into the world. This isn't just theory though - I give you practical, down-to-earth ways to build these systems in your church, showing how things like prayer, hospitality, and generosity become the fuel that keeps your church growing and thriving.

5. The D.R.E.A.M. Church - Brian Moss

Subtitle: 5 Proven Strategies For Building a Healthy Disciple-Making Church

If you're looking for real-world advice from someone who's actually been there, Brian Moss shares how he took a struggling church of thirty-five people and turned it into a thriving congregation by following what he calls the D.R.E.A.M. principles. What makes this book so helpful is that Moss doesn't just give you theory - he walks you through practical, proven strategies that churches of any size can use to reach their community and help every member grow in their faith.