Books I read in 2025

I posted an automatically generated graphic from Goodreads on social media which catalogued the handful of books I had read on my kindle, but omitted the books I had physically read or listened to on audible.

A few people asked for recommendations from that short list, so I decided to put out the big list… all 26 books in my order of personal preference (John Smith’s book was the hardest to read but the most helpful personally, the Gino Wickman and Tony Hsieh are pretty standard business books that I could take or leave. The Tony Hsieh book is actually made more interesting, tragic, and ironic when you search his name and see how his story ended.)

So here they are:

The Origins, Nature, and Significance of the Jesus Movement — Kevin John Smith
This is not an easy read but is very personal for me. Most Aussie Christians would not recognise the name “Kevin John Smith”, but the moment you mention “John Smith,” “Smithy”, or the God Squad Motorcycle club, which he helped to found, they instantly know who you mean. Smithy tries to make sense of the organisations that were founded around the same time by people like him, my dad, Athol Gill, John Hirt and more and frames the Jesus movement not as the birth of a religion, but as a first-century revitalisation movement emerging in a time of deep social and spiritual strain. He says that through the Aussie Jesus people movement, Jesus reshaped identity, authority, and community through lived practices, not abstract belief alone. This book is John’s thesis and a gift he has left us as he sought to make sense of his experience and the experience of many of us who were influenced by the Jesus people movement of the 60’s. 70’s and 80’s in Australia.

The Church and Its Vocation: Lesslie Newbigin’s Missionary Ecclesiology — Michael W. Goheen
Lesslie Newbigin was probably the most influential thinker in the 20^th Century about the mission of the church. This book draws together his extensive writings into one cohesive picture. At its heart is the conviction that the church exists as a people sent, not an institution to be preserved. The church’s calling is faithful presence within culture, bearing witness to another story rather than retreating or dominating. This book keeps pressing the question of vocation: what the church is for in the world God loves. It helped me and I keep reflecting on it.

A Thicker Jesus: Incarnational Discipleship in a Secular Age — Glen H. Stassen
Stassen exposes how easily Jesus is thinned down into ideas, inspiration, or private belief. He calls us back to a “thicker” Jesus whose life, ethics, and communal practices form a whole way of being human. The book presses discipleship back into public, embodied life rather than leaving it safely abstract. In many ways it is a relief to read it – naming the kind of Christianity I am committed to.

The Rise and Fall of Dispensationalism — Daniel G. Hummel
I grew up in churches that were deeply influenced by dispensationalism and I lead a movement that continues to be influenced by it. The book is helpful for understanding how theological frameworks shape not just belief, but how Christians read the world. Hummel traces how dispensationalism rose from the margins to shape much of modern evangelical imagination. He shows how theology, culture, politics, and institutions all played a role in its dominance and eventual decline. It is a very helpful introduction to the impact of church history on our current experience.

Practicing the Way: Be with Jesus, Become Like Him, Do as He Did — John Mark Comer
This book is a helpful introduction to what it means to build your life around Jesus’ teaching and practices. Comer reframes discipleship as apprenticeship — a way of life slowly formed by shared practices. Spiritual formation is not about information, but about habits that shape desire, attention, and love. The book is a clear call to resist being formed by hurry and distraction and instead order life around Jesus. I recommend it to anyone who wants to wrestle with how faith can be lived out.

The Familiar Stranger: Rediscovering the Holy Spirit in a World That Has Lost Its Wonder — Tyler Staton
Staton names the quiet gap between talking about the Spirit and actually living with attentiveness to the Spirit’s presence. He presents the Holy Spirit not as a doctrine to master, but as God actively at work in ordinary life. The book gently reopens space for expectancy, discernment, and wonder. It is written personally and accessibly and while it doesn’t really deliver on its core promise, it is well worth a read and I found it helpful.

The Prophetic Imagination — Walter Brueggemann
Brueggemann describes the prophetic task as helping communities see that the dominant story is not the only story. Prophetic faith names injustice honestly while also awakening hope rooted in God’s future. The book calls for imagination shaped by Scripture rather than captivity to the present order. This is the second time I’ve read it and find it very helpful.

Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership: Seeking God in the Crucible of Ministry — Ruth Haley Barton
I don’t find leadership a light thing, and this book, which draws on the life of Moses, is very helpful in naming the heart of what it means and gives practical help. Barton speaks directly to the inner cost of leadership. She reminds leaders that attentiveness to God is not optional but essential for sustainability. The book invites a slower, deeper way of leading rooted in spiritual integrity. We used this as the basis of our discussions at our Pastors and Families retreat.

The Sacred Canopy: Elements of a Sociological Theory of Religion — Peter L. Berger
Don’t read this if you are not secure in your faith. It is challenging and forces us to face how faith is produced. Berger explains how societies rely on shared frameworks of meaning to make sense of life and hold chaos at bay. Religion, he argues, once provided a “sacred canopy” that stabilised identity, morality, and purpose. As that canopy fragments, belief becomes fragile, chosen, and anxious — a diagnosis that still feels remarkably current.

Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI — Yuval Noah Harari
AI does feel like a big deal, and reading this book won’t change that. Harari traces how shared stories and information systems enable human cooperation at scale. He suggests that meaning, not truth alone, holds societies together. The book raises urgent questions about agency, power, and responsibility in an AI-shaped future. Anyone interested in big picture thinking about the moment we are in will find this book thought-provoking.

Revitalization Movements: Some Theoretical Considerations for Their Comparative Study — Anthony F. C. Wallace
I got onto this through John Smith’s thesis and found it helpful, particularly in connection with Peter Berger’s work and some of the other books I read this year. Wallace offers language for understanding what happens when cultures experience deep disorientation. His idea of the mazeway — the mental map by which people interpret reality — helps explain both breakdown and renewal. The book provides a powerful lens for understanding religious movements as attempts to restore coherence and hope.

Hard New World: Our Post-American Future (Quarterly Essay) — Hugh White
White argues that the global order shaped by American dominance is fading, giving way to a more fragile and contested world. He focuses especially on China’s rise and what this means for nations like Australia. The book presses the need for realism, restraint, and moral clarity in uncertain times. Gets you thinking.

Making Disciples in the Twenty-First Century: How the Cell-Based Church Shapes Followers of Jesus — Joel Comiskey
Comiskey insists that disciples are formed through relationships, not programs. Small, intentional communities become the space where belief, character, and mission are integrated over time. The book challenges churches to measure faithfulness by depth of formation rather than size or activity. It helped me reflect on our church’s small groups and how they could be improved.

Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty — Daron Acemoglu & James A. Robinson
This book makes a compelling case that institutions — not geography or culture alone — shape whether societies flourish or fracture. Inclusive systems distribute power and opportunity; extractive systems concentrate them. It offers a sobering lens on justice, participation, and the long-term consequences of how power is organised. It related strongly to some of the other things I was reading this year.

The Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering — Malcolm Gladwell
Gladwell revisits social change and argues it is increasingly engineered rather than accidental. Environments, narratives, and networks shape behaviour more deeply than we often realise. The book raises uncomfortable questions about influence, manipulation, and moral responsibility. Again, it related to many of the other things I read this year.

Postliberal Protestants: Religion and American Public Life — Hunter Baker
This is a very American book, but I read it after seeing Michael Bird’s recommendation. It is also primarily focused on Baptist ecclesiology, which is helpful for me. Baker explores a growing dissatisfaction with both secular liberalism and thin religious engagement. Postliberal thought emphasises story, formation, and community over abstract principles. The book helps explain shifting patterns of Christian public witness and got me thinking about what it means for Australia.

The Man’s Guide to Women — John Gottman & Julie Schwartz Gottman
Warning: This is not a Christian book and has quite graphic advice for every aspect of relationships. That said, I was interested in it because it is grounded in decades of research and focuses on what actually sustains relationships. Trust, attentiveness, and emotional safety matter far more than technique. It offers practical guidance for loving well over the long term. Leeanne and I listened to it together and found it helpful to talk about.

Theology in the Age of Scientific Reasoning — Nancey Murphy
I’m very interested in trying to explain the truth of Christianity to people who are profoundly shaped by a secular “scientific” worldview. This is what Murphy attempts to do as she challenges older models that tried to ground theology on foundations that could not be questioned. She proposes a humbler, postfoundational approach where theology reasons faithfully within a broader web of knowledge. The book models a constructive engagement between faith and science without reducing either to the other.

Faith Seeking Action: Mission, Social Movements, and the Church in Motion — Leonard Leffel
Leffel connects theology with social movement theory to show how faith naturally presses outward into action. The church is most alive when belief, community, and practice are held together. The book frames mission as participation in God’s ongoing work of renewal. I found it a bit abstract but helpful.

What on Earth Is the Church? — Kevin Giles
Giles calls the church back to its identity as a shared, relational community. He questions hierarchical models that distance leadership from participation. The book presses toward a vision of church that reflects mutuality, presence, and shared responsibility. It is particularly helpful for its direct attention to the influential ecclesiology behind Sydney Anglicans.

Five Views on the Gospel — edited by Michael F. Bird
You would think the gospel is a simple thing… turns out it’s not as simple as you might think. This collection places different gospel frameworks side by side, revealing both overlap and tension. It resists simplistic answers and invites careful listening. The book encourages humility in how the good news is named and lived. It is a heavy but shortish read. Only for those who enjoy wrestling with theology.

Rocket Fuel: The One Essential Combination That Will Get You More of What You Want from Your Business — Gino Wickman & Mark C. Winters
All organisations need different kinds of leadership and this book clarifies the often-messy relationship between those who lean towards vision and those who lean towards execution. They believe that when visionary and integrator roles are named and honoured, organisations gain health and momentum. It offers practical wisdom for teams navigating complexity. Interesting but a bit abstract for me.

The Air We Breathe: How We All Came to Believe in Freedom, Kindness, Progress, and Equality — Glen Scrivener
This is not new thinking but very helpful. Scrivener shows how deeply Christian ideas have shaped Western moral instincts, even where faith has been rejected. Values like dignity, compassion, and equality are traced back to the story of Jesus. The book invites reflection on what happens when we keep the fruits but forget the roots.

Cross Purposes: Christianity’s Broken Bargain with Democracy — Jonathan Rauch
If you have ever wanted to read a book by someone who is not a Christian challenging the church to be true to its calling, you will enjoy this. Rauch explores how Christianity and democracy have become entangled in ways that weaken both. He argues that faith contributes best when it offers moral formation without coercion. The book calls for civic humility and renewed pluralism.

Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose — Tony Hsieh
Hsieh’s story shows how culture shapes organisations from the inside out. Purpose, belonging, and growth are not distractions from success but central to it. The book offers a compelling vision of leadership rooted in values rather than control. As I mentioned in the intro, I had no idea about the Zappos story and while this book is fascinating, it is really the bewildering story of a young man who was too successful too quickly that puts this book into perspective… you will need to find out more about Tony Hsieh on the internet because that story is not told in its pages.

Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business — Gino Wickman
Wickman provides tools for moving from vision to consistent action. Clarity, discipline, and accountability reduce chaos and fatigue. The book is practical, structured, and focused on sustained health rather than quick wins. I put this book last in the list because it mirrors many of the business books I have read over the years… The truth is, though, that while the ideas aren’t new, they are helpful, and it did get me thinking about work I still need to do.

So there you have it… the books that shaped my thinking in 2025.

I could do more of these kinds of lists if they are helpful. I have made a point of keeping a personal list of the books I read in a particular year so could go back in time a year at a time if that is something you would be interested in reading.