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What are the the books that are shaping the thinking of the people who want to lead The United Methodist Church?

During the discernment process to elect bishops, the epsicopal candidates in the Northeastern Jurisdiction listed books that have made a difference in their lives.

Newly elected Bishop Martin McLee said influential books in his life include Watchman Nee's "Spiritual Man" and Cornel West's "Race Matters."

Bishop Mark Webb lifted up Henri Nouwen's "Life of the Beloved," Richard Foster's "The Challenge of the Disciplined Life," by Rick Rusaw and Eric Swanson's "The Externally Focused Church," and "To Transform a City" by Eric Swanson and Sam Williams.

Bishop Sandra Steiner Ball said her favorite books are "Soul Feast" by Marjorie Thompson, "A Failure of Nerve" by Edwin H. Friedman and "Resurrecting Excellence" by L. Gregory Jones and Kevin R. Armstrong.

From the Baltimore-Washington

Conference, the Rev. Rodney Smothers, who is known as a voracious reader, selected "Leadership in the Wesley Spirit" by Lovett Weems, "Tribes" by Seth Godin, "Journey in the Wilderness" by Gil Rendle, "Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home" by Richard Foster and several others.

The Rev. Laura Easto said her thoughts and ministry have been influenced by Henri Nouwen's "In the Name of Jesus," Doris Kearns Goodwin's "Team of Rivals: the Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln," Jame Surowiecki's "The Wisdom of Crowds," and Anne Lamott's "Plan B."

Other books that candidates listed as

"influential" include:

• "Spirit of Life" – Jürgen Moltmann
• "Letters from a Skeptic" – Gregory Boyd
• "Exclusion and Embrace" – Miroslav Volf
• "The Cross and the Lynching Tree" – James Cone
• "I and Thou" – Martin Buber
• "Why Should Anyone be Led by You?" – R. Goffe and G. Jones
• "Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix" – E.H. Friedman
• "Spiritual Disciplines" – Howard Thurman
• "Cost of Discipleship," Dietrich Bonhoeffer
• "To Know as We are Known," Parker Palmer.