books, books

Books I Am Reading Right Now

The Radical Reformission: Reaching Out without Selling Out By Mark Driscoll / Zondervan I’m reading through this one again, just because it is so extreme. It is not about the content as much as it is just the “DUH!” factor of how I didn’t connect things like this.

Seven Practices of Effective Ministry By Andy Stanley & Lane Jones   A practical book with lots of good advice. Definitely worth in-depth reading and thought. Has to be filtered against your own church’s identity though.

The Next Generation Leader By Andy Stanley & Lane Jones   Another of Andy’s books and it is quite good but much more business centered. I would scarcely even consider this a book on the church.

Ancient-Future Faith: Rethinking Evangelicalism for a Postmodern World By Robert E. Webber   It is taking me awhile to really process this book by the recently passed Bob Webber. It is definitely thought provoking.

Books I’ve Read This Year (200

The Quest: A Novel of Ancient Egypt By Wilbur Smith Smith is the Frank Herbert of Ancient Egypt novels. This is the fourth in his series on the eunuch Taita, and (IMHO) finally Taita gets what he deserves - a life of happiness with the love of his life. The history was sketchy, but it was like “FINALLY!” Other books in the series are: River God, The Seventh Scroll, and Warlock.

Books I Want to Read (and if you buy them for me, I’ll be your friend)

Why We’re Not Emergent By Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck

Christ & Culture Revisited By D. A. Carson

The Living Church By John Stott

The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World By David F. Wells, D.A. Carson, Voddie T. Baucham, Jr., Mark Driscoll, Timothy J. Keller, John Piper, Justin Taylor

Church Dogmatics (14 vols.) By Karl Barth

	The Physics of Superheroes By James Kakalios
	Confessions of a Reformission Rev.: Hard Lessons From an Emerging Missional Church By Mark Driscoll
	Communicating for a Change: Seven Keys to Irresistible Communication By Andy Stanley & Lane Jones A great book. I would classify it as catalytic. It is changing the way I think about preaching.
	Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why By Bart Ehrman
	One Step Closer: Why U2 Matters to Those Seeking God By Christian Sharen
	U2: Road to Pop By Carter Alan
	A New Kind of Christian By Brian D. McLaren
	Catch Me If You Can By Frank Abagnale, Jr.
	The Mother Tongue: english and how it got that way By Bill Bryson
	The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid By Bill Bryson
	A Short History of Nearly Everything By Bill Bryson
	I’m A Stranger Here Myself By Bill Bryson
	In a Sunburned Country By AUTHOR
	Breakout Churches By Thom S. Rainer This books was intriguing because it was essentially a Christanization of the book Good to Great, so it is hard to assess what exactly I thought of it without reading that much more substantial book. All the same, some great observations to take to heart.
	Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith By Rob Bell I’ve never actually read this book, but I have listened to it at least 6 times. Bell’s approach is amazingly poetic. It is far from perfect or deep, but it still diagnoses some truth to consider.
	They Like Jesus but Not the Church: Insights from Emerging Generations By Dan Kimball Emergent - what can I say? He diagnoses the situation in an amazing way - people like Jesus, but don’t know anything about him. After that, it just got repetitive.
	Organic Church: Growing Faith Where Life Happens By Neil Cole Cole’s book is catalytic. Consider the power of a church that took its identity from its community! It is hard to implement because it is not one of those books with steps, but like many emergent books, it really provoked some thought.
	Blue Like Jazz: Non-Religious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality By Donald Miller Unlike most Christian memoirs I have read, Miller’s books was honest and open. It did not come off as “be like me” but rather, “I want to be like Jesus and keep blowing it!” I love this book, and this is the third time I’ve read it.
	Desiring God, Revised & Expanded By John Piper Piper writes in a very dense style, so this one is taking me awhile, but it is good and very sound theologically.

Classics Worth Reading Over and Over Again

	Who is My Enemy? Welcoming People the Church Rejects By Nathan Rich I cannot even begin to express the impact this book had on my way of viewing “the world.” It is a must read for every minister.
	Biblical Preaching, Second Edition By Haddon Robinson This book more than any other gives a foundation for preaching from the Bible.
	Preaching to a Postmodern World By Graham Johnston Johnston is in every way Haddon Robinson’s successor in the way he presents the art of preaching in our current context. A must read.
	They Call Me Pastor By H.B. London
	On Being a Pastor: Understanding Our Calling and Work By Derek Prime & Alistair Begg Both this book and They Call Me Pastor are amazing works on the office of a pastor.
	Every Man’s Battle: Winning the War on Sexual Purity One Victory at a Time By Stephen Arterburn
	Too Busy Not to Pray, 10th Anniversary Edition, softcover By Bill Hybels
	Rediscovering Church: The Story and Vision of Willow Creek Community Church By Bill Hybels
	Essential Manager’s Manual By Robert Heller
	The Great Good Place: Cafes, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Bars, Hair Salons, and Other Hangouts at the Heart of a Community By Ray Oldenburg

Fiction Reading
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowlings
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowlings
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkhaban by J. K. Rowlings
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowlings
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowlings
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowlings
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowlings

I read all the Harry Potter books in one cycle because a number of people I
know are interested in them. I was not sure what to think about them, but having
read them I must say that J. K. Rowlings has a unique style that is fast-paced
and familiar. She allows you to develop the characters in your mind, which I
thought was quite well-done.

Eragon by Christopher Paolini
Eldest by Christopher Paolini

I read these two books on my plane trips to and from Montana. They helped me
pass the time but I was not terribly impressed. The authors developed some great
ideas but told them with a mediocre prose.

Without Remorse by Tom Clancy
The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy
Patriot Games by Tom Clancy

I started re-reading the Jack Ryan books just because I enjoy them so much.
Even though we are now separated from the Cold War context, these books are just
a great read. They’re a little outlandish at times, but what fiction isn’t?

River God by Wilbur Smith
The Seventh Scroll by Wilbur Smith
Warlock by Wilbur Smith

This has to be the only series of books from Wilbur Smith that I enjoy. I
love Egypt, and these books are all about Egypt, so it was only natural that I
would pick these up and start reading them. This is my fourth time through them,
and I have thoroughly enjoyed them every time.

I am also reading the Dune series once again, so here are the ones I have
read this year:
Dune by Frank Herbert
Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert
Children of Dune by Frank Herbert
God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert
Heretics of Dune by Frank Herbert
House Harkonnen by Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson
House Atreides by Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson
The Butlerian Jihad by Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson

I have a few of the Dune books left to read, but if you have read anything
from this series you know that they are dense and often difficult.