A selection of recommended books in no particular order (except that the most recently added are at the top) |
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- Post-Rapture Radio: Lost Writings from the Failed Revolution at the End of the Last Century, Russell Rathbun - This book sets new standards for Christian Fiction. Click the title for my in-depth and insightful review.
- My Faith So Far: A Story of Conversion and Confusion, Patton Dodd - A very interesting, and challenging, spiritual memoir covering the author's life from age 18-20. Very well-written, and highly recommended.
- The Last Word and the Word After That - A Tale of Faith, Doubt, and a New Kind of Christianity, Brian D. McLaren - The third book of the "A New Kind of Christian" trilogy. A must read for McLaren fans (or hell fans)
- What Saint Paul Really Said, N. T. Wright - A fantastic examination of the Gospel as Paul taught it, and the impact that it had on the 1st Century Culture. This book, though not very thick, is quite thought-provoking, and kept me busy for most of the winter.
- Wild At Heart - Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul, John Eldredge - I'm not really into "men's" books, and The Sacred Romance bored me to tears. However Wild At Heart is a truly great book, and not just for men.
- Who is My Enemy - welcoming people the church rejects, Rich Nathan - A challenge to the church in reaching out (not shutting out) postmoderns, feminists, gays, new-agers and liberals.
- The Story We Find Ourselves In - Further Adventures of a New Kind of Christian - Brian D. McLaren - This book, following Neo's adventures after A New Kind of Christian, will probably stretch you a bit. But, I believe we could all stand some stretching.
- If This Be Love - The Journey of Two People Toward Each Other in Love and Marriage, Calvin Miller - an autobiographical story of the Millers' marriage. It's out of print, but worth it if you can find it used.
- The Matrix and Philosophy - Welcome to the Desert of the Real, edited by William Irwin - Volume 3 in the "Popular Culture and Philosophy" series, it contains 20 essays examining some of the philosophical and theological questions raised by the movie, "The Matrix." If you have any interest in modern philosophical thought whatsoever, this is worth reading. And, it won't take any of the enjoyment away from watching the movie for the 47th time.
- Live To Tell, Brad J. Kallenberg - I haven't read this yet, but the review I read was enough to add it to my "will read" list.
- A New Kind of Christian - A Tale of Two Friends on a Spiritual Journey, Brian McLaren - This book is a must for all who are trying to reconcile their faith with today's post-Christian culture. Written in novel format, mainly a dialog between a burned-out pastor and a high school science teacher.
- The Challenge of Jesus - Rediscovering Who Jesus Was and Is, N.T. Wright - A look at Jesus through the eyes of those he walked among, and what it means for us today.
- Following Jesus - Biblical Reflections on Discipleship, N.T. Wright - A collection of his sermons; a perfect introduction to NT Wright.
- The Millennium Myth - Hope for a Postmodern World, N.T. Wright - Prepared for the Y2K madness, but still applicable, dealing with how the Gospel encounters the 3rd millennium culture.
- Created for Community - Connecting Christian Belief with Christian Living, Stanley J. Grenz
- Revisioning Evangelical Theology - A Fresh Agenda for the 21st Century, Stanley J. Grenz - A good discussion of postmodern theology
- Church on the Other Side, Brian McLaren - formerly known as Reinventing Your Church
- A Peculiar People - the church as culture in a post-christian society, Rodney Clapp -
- Resident Aliens - Life in the Christian Colony, Stanley Hauerwas and William H. Willimon - follow the link for my review of the book
- Ancient-Future
Faith: Rethinking Evangelicalism for a Postmodern World,
Robert E. Webber - People
of the Truth: A Christian
Challenge to Contemporary Culture,
Robert E. Webber & Rodney Clapp - Church that Works, David Oliver and James Thwaites - It's not what you think; this book doesn't deal as much with how to do church, as how the church can empower Christians in the workplace, and about God's high calling for us to work
- Worship Evangelism - Inviting Unbelievers into the Presence of God, Sally Morgenthaler - An awesome book, exploring the evangelistic qualities of the Church being the Church, particularly to a postmodern culture
- Future Worship - How a Changing World Can Enter God's Presence in the New Millenium, LaMar Boschman - This is not just another book on postmodernism; Boschman provides a unique analysis of how the changes in how we communicate affect our church "experience," and how we should adapt to how the world communicates.
- Kneeling on the Promises - Birthing God's Purposes Through Prophetic Intercession, Jim W. Goll - Fantastic book on the practical side of prophecy; follow the link to my review
- The Final Quest, Rick Joyner - A prophetic vision of The Church that is very revealing. Now available in a new edition called The Vision that includes the sequel The Call.
- The God Chasers, Tommy Tenney - If this book doesn't inspire you to seek God, I don't know what will
- The Imitation of Christ, Thomas a Kempis - This book by a 14th century Catholic monk is by far the best devotional book I have ever found. It is available in various translations; I highly recommend finding one in "modern" English - the old "King James" language gets clumsy. Thomas Nelson released a pretty good version, in it's Royal Classics series. The old Moody Press version is also good.
- Desire of the Everlasting Hills - The World Before and After Jesus, Thomas Cahill - A great companion read to NT Wright's The Challenge of Jesus; Cahill provides a great analysis of the culture of 1st Century Israel, and also does a great retelling of the Gospel, as Paul intended it.
- Healing Spiritual Abuse - How to Break Free from Bad Church Experience, Ken Blue - Everyone should read this, whether you think you've experienced spiritual abuse or not.