(Once again I note that the incongruent Alfa Romeo
heading is there solely because I have yet to figure out how to change one page
heading without changing all of them ... and this began as a website of car
photos before it turned serious.)
We are blessed with a number of friends who love to read a wide range of
Christian literature. Not surprisingly, this
helps to make them well informed and interesting people. Better yet, when they
find a book especially beneficial
to their walk of faith, they enjoy sharing the title and favorite passages. And
many times they share the books
themselves. Thanks to them, we've been enriched by many books we might not
otherwise have read.
Their modeling is what prompts me to add this page of materials my wife and I
have found helpful.
Scripture Study
The Bible, by God -- No, I'm not being facetious.
Reading scripture is always the best starting point when we
want to know about faith matters. For casual reading
(as opposed to study in preparation to teach), I like
Eugene Peterson's The Message Remix, which
includes Old and New Testaments in modern language. For those new
to Bible reading,
may I suggest that you consider beginning with one of
the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke or John).
They describe the life of Jesus and tell us what he said
about himself. Moving next to the Book of Acts will
give you
a good idea of what the early church was like.
The Book of Romans will get you into a good study of theology.
Joshua and the Flow of Biblical History, by Francis
Schaeffer -- a wonderful study of the book of Joshua. I learned
much about how God works with individuals and groups from
reading this book.
Exposition of Ecclesiastes, by H.C. Leupold -- Ecclesiastes is an
excellent choice to introduce a seeker to the Living God,
especially with the help of this commentary. King Solomon
had everything a man could want, yet found it all just
chasing after wind. How does God fit in? That's what this
study is all about. Offers many opportunities to work current
issues into discussions of Solomon's discoveries about life.
Reversed Thunder, The Revelation of John & the Praying Imagination,
by Eugene H. Peterson -- This is an unconventional
look at the Book of Revelation. Here's what Peterson himself
writes about it: "This last book of the Bible takes the entire
biblical revelation and re-images it in a compelling,
persuading, evangelistic vision which has brought perseverance,
stamina, joy, and discipline to Christians for centuries, and
continues to do so."
The Servant Who Rules, by Ray C. Stedman -- An excellent study of
Mark 1-8.
The Ruler Who Serves, by Ray C. Stedman -- Part 2 of this very
fine study of the Book of Mark.
** There are many places to buy new and used books. My favorite is
www.abe.com. I've purchased dozens of
books from
that site and always been pleased. Amazon also has a
good selection of new and used books. Some of my favorites, like
those from Elton Trueblood, can only be purchased used.
I've found the individual booksellers who advertise through
abe.com to be reliable in assessing the condition of what
they offer.
Living Our Faith
The Lord's Prayers (also published as The Prayers of
Christ), by Eldon Trueblood -- I'll admit it, I'm a fan of Trueblood.
Discovered him recently and have made up for it by purchasing
every one of his books I can find. The Lord's Prayers is
one of the best helps for improving your prayer life you'll find. It is not
a book about one prayer; here Trueblood offers
accounts from the Bible of how and when Jesus prayed, and how he taught his disciples
to pray. Trueblood then applies
those accounts to our lives today. I'm a big believer in reading the Bible first for answers about the Bible, but
books by
insightful teachers like Trueblood add richness to our own studies. It's only 126 pages long. If I tried to outline line it by
eliminating anything that was unimportant, my outline would be maybe 124 pages.
To borrow a current cliche, it's all good.
Answering God and Praying with the Psalms,
by Eugene Peterson -- These two are next in line for favorite books about
prayer.
Peterson is one of those special teachers who has a gift of
revealing the heart of God to those of us who are looking
for a deeper understanding of spiritual truths.
The Predicament of Modern Man, by Elton Trueblood --
written right after the Second World War, it reads now like it was
written yesterday. We live in difficult times. This is a
good book to help with thinking where we are and what we as
believers can do to act as salt and light in the world. Chapter titles include: The Sickness of Civilization, The Failure of
Power Culture,The Impotence of Ethics, The Insufficiency of
Individual Religion, & The Necessity of a Redemptive Society.
Alternative to Futility, by Elton Trueblood -- A companion
book to the preceding one. Here Trueblood "presents his
prescription for restoring the total health of civilization,"
says the cover copy. His answer is a "redemptive fellowship," a
"creative society in miniature" that grows out of the
church. Are you frustrated with Churchianity? Read this, then get busy.
The Company of the Committed and The Incendiary Fellowship,
by Elton Trueblood -- Two more books that have much to offer
about how we can develop within our churches committed
believers who demonstrate a living faith. The Church is not
located in a church building or out in the world, it is in
people, wrote Trueblood. These books were written to help us, the
people, stand up and make a difference in the world.
Blue Like Jazz, by Donald Miller -- A very fine book!!
Miller is an excellent writer who works from the perspective of someone
who is two or three generations younger than me. His
book is about his growing faith, including discoveries about himself and
how he gets along with others. I related to what he had to say
about not feeling as though he fit into any church, though he grew up
in the church and held leadership positions. And I was
encouraged to read that he did finally become part of a faith family that
welcomed him, warts and all. We heard about Miller from
the college-age daughter of friends who found his book well
worth sharing, even with us old folks.
Searching for God Knows What, by Donald Miller. Seriously
folks, this guy is one of the best writers working. He combines a
great sense of humor with insight and wisdom. You can't
go wrong with any of his books.
Ruthless Trust, The Ragamuffin's Path to God, by Brennan Manning
-- A sequel to The Ragamuffin Gospel. Manning discusses
how to overcome our primary obstacle to living fully within
God's love -- the lack of "ruthless trust."
The Return of the Prodigal Son, by Henry Nouwen -- The themes are
homecoming, affirmation, and reconciliation. Nouwen's
book has much to say to anyone struggling with how to love
and/or forgive those who need it most -- those who do unloving
things to others.
The Safest Place on Earth, by Larry Crabb -- You may be catching a
theme here in my reading. This is another book that explores
how the church can become what God intended it to be, a
place where imperfect people receive support and compassion
in dealing with our weaknesses. A safe place where lives are
forever changed as we deepen our relationship with God and
others.
Encouragement, The Key to Caring, by Lawrence J. Crabb, Jr. and
Dan B. Allender -- Yes, Lawrence J. and Larry are one and the
same Crabb. The authors write about how to go beyond
"surface community" in our churches, so we can become encouragers
of one another. It's easy to be critical or withdrawn. It's
not so easy to offer encouragement in healthy ways. I found this
book, well, encouraging.
Connecting, by Larry Crabb -- Another excellent book on how to
connect with others. Many of us are "disconnected souls" writes
Crabb. "What we need is connection! What we need is a
healing community!"
Under the Unpredictable Plant, An Exploration in Vocational Holiness,
by Eugene Peterson. While this book was written
mainly to those in paid ministry, and I'm not, I found it spiritually
uplifting. Peterson uses the story of Jonah to discuss what it
means to
hear God's call. Now that has to be relevant to all of us who claim to be His.
A Severe Mercy, by Sheldon Vanauken -- Includes letters by C.S.
Lewis. A love story, a search for faith, and a growing friendship
with C.S. Lewis are the basis of this book that is best read
with a box of Kleenex nearby, even if, like me, you're too tough
to cry.
The Case for Christ, A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence
for Jesus, by Lee Strobel -- The title pretty
well tells the story. What it leaves out is that
Strobel was not a believer when he began his investigation. Now he is.
I liked it so well I bought several copies to give away.
Coming Soon -- Favorites from several other authors, including
Philip Yancey (or is it Tom Clancy? I get them confused).
Hot Picks, Well Worth Your Time
Finding the Future: Six Tough Questions for the Church, by Reggie
McNeal -- Found this one by accident (or divine intervention,
take your pick). The author looks at the
universal church, as practiced American style, and then delivers what is
promised by the
book's title, six tough questions for the church.
But he doesn't stop there; he also delivers excellent insights into how church
leaders
can move from Churchianity to practical Christian
living in the 21st century. I love his concept of "life counselors"
to greet and
work with new people at a church (McNeal compares them to
personal trainers who set up individual exercise programs with
people who join a gym for the first time and who need someone
to work with them to accomplish their goals. If you are serious
about your faith, you have
to ask why so many good people, followers of Jesus, have such a
difficult time in and with the institutional
church? This book is for them ... and us. It's a call to action, not a
criticism. So don't buy it unless you want to be part of the solution.
The New Thought Police, Inside the Left's Assault on Free Speech
and Free Minds, by Tammy Bruce -- One evening, when my
wife and I were staying In an Oregon hotel, I turned on the
TV. I then indulged in some typically male channel flipping. That
stopped when I came to a woman speaking to a college
class -- the kind of thing you only see on obscure cable channels.
She was obviously very smart, so much so that I dropped the
channel clicker and began to listen. Turned out it was Tammy
Bruce, discussing her new book to a hostile group of
students. This self-described lesbian feminist former president of NOW was
berating her old companions and being slammed in return. She
was accusing them of a left-wing version of McCarthyism aimed
at the right ... mainly at Christians. They were calling her
a turncoat. She was actually defending a Christian's right to reject
the left's politically correct agenda. When we returned
home, I bought the book. This is an eye-opener, written by a left-wing
insider who met the enemy (us) and found that some of us are
pretty cool. Isn't it time that some of us meet this (former)
enemy and find out what makes her cool? At the same time,
you'll get an excellent explanation of the left's agenda for the
U.S. and what they're doing to beat us into submission. We
can bury our heads in the sand, or we can become an army of
informed, committed, caring, connected followers of Jesus.
The choice is ours.
East of Eden, by John Steinbeck -- How, you ask, can a guy like
Steinbeck be on a reading list for people who seek to grow
in their Christian faith? For starters, he's one of the
great writers of the 20th century. What makes a great writer great
is the ability to create realistic characters in realistic
settings. This sort of book helps us know what non-believers are
thinking and struggling with. In this case, however,
the book has even more to offer. This is Steinbeck's modern version
of Cain and Able. It's all about good and evil and our
ability to choose between the two. Any pastor who has used too many
sermon illustrations from Tales of Narnia or some
other favorite would do well to build a sermon around the biblical message
found in East of Eden. As a bonus, while preparing
your sermon you get to read an American classic.
Kurt Vonnegut has a lot to say about the human condition, too, but that might be
stretching it for this list. I will confess, though,
to having all of his novels and collected short stories.
igure
out how to modify the navigation bars on this template, so "Product" is Webese
for "Here are the Alfa pix."O
