by Steve Lutz & Amy Nichols

 

Good deals on these books can be found at heartsandmindsbooks.com, wtsbooks.com, and amazon.com

 

Devotionals

My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers

Utmost is still the gold standard in daily devotionals. Brief, but heart-searching and biblical.  It is a great way to kick-start your time with God in the Word and in prayer. 

 

The Valley of Vision, Arthur Bennett

A rich collection of poetic, passionate, heart-searching, theologically rich Puritan prayers.  Meditate on these prayers as a launchpad for your own prayers. 

 

See also: I Exalt Thee, Jerry Bridges; A Godward Life, John Piper

 

Christian Life

The Prodigal God, Tim Keller

The entire book is an exposition of the parable of the Prodigal Son. The reader is led to hear the story again for the first time. Keller brings out the power of the Gospel with devastating force & compelling comfort.

 

The Pursuit of God, A.W. Tozer

God can seem so remote, far off, and unknowable. How do we overcome that? This book has helped millions of people draw closer to the God who is there, who is knowable, who loves to reveal himself to us. For those who want to go beyond knowing about God, to experiencing God!

 

Desiring God, John Piper

Heart-stirring, mind-stretching, and thoroughly biblical, Desiring God expounds on the core belief that “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.”  This is the starting point for Piper.  The much shorter The Dangerous Duty of Delight also opens up this truth and points us to the true, lasting joy that is in God alone.

See also: When I Don’t Desire God, and Don’t Waste Your Life

 

Love Walked Among Us, Paul Miller

A powerful study of following Jesus’ example in loving others, applying the gospel to our everyday interactions with others.

See also: A Praying Life

 

The Enemy Within, Kris Lundgaard

“Straight talk about the power and defeat of sin.”  This is very readable, practical, biblical help with battling sin, what the Bible calls “the flesh.” If you’ve ever cried out “Why do I keep on sinning?!” read this book and you will be helped.

 

How Can I Change?, C.J. Mahaney & Robin Boisvert

This book is a brief, readable and practical aid in the struggle to become more like Christ.  It works well in small groups too.

 

Discipline of Grace, Jerry Bridges

A grace-oriented approach to devotions, prayer, fasting, and other spiritual disciplines to make us holy like Jesus. Bridges himself says this replaces his more well-known “Pursuit of Holiness,” because POH wasn’t grace-centered enough. He explores the various spiritual disciplines in a way that avoids guilt or duty.

Also check out: Transforming Grace. If you’ve ever struggled with the meaning of grace, this book is a great resource.

 

Blue Like Jazz, Donald Miller

Very thoughtful and readable. The subtitle says it all: “Nonreligious thoughts on Christian Spirituality.” If you’re burned out on Christian books, wondering what it looks like to be a Christian in an increasingly post-Christian society, this book is for you.

 

From Fear to Freedom, RoseMarie Miller

Is your Christian life characterized by a love-hate relationship with a God whom you can never seem to please? By a constant sense of nagging guilt or shame? By the sense that you can never do enough for God or others? By a lack of joy and peace that others seem to have? This book will help you break out of that deep rut by a fresh discovery of the Gospel.

 

When People Are Big and God Is Small, Ed Welch

Many people are paralyzed by what the Bible calls the “fear of man.”  We are consumed by what other people think of us. We’re shy, withdrawn, fearful of really putting ourselves out there.  This book helps us see that when our view of God is made right, we are freed from fear and able to love and serve others.

See also: Running Scared and Addictions: A Banquet in the Grave

 

Seeing With New Eyes, David Powlison

Anyone thinking about psychology, psychiatry, social work, or any form of counseling should read this book. Powlison makes a powerful & thoughtful case for a thoroughly biblical approach to treating the human condition.

See also: Speaking Truth in Love

 

Relationships: A Mess Worth Making, Tim Lane & Paul Tripp

See also: Instruments in the Redeemers Hands

 

A Journey Worth Taking, Charles Drew

How do we find our calling, direction, and purpose in life? How does God direct our lives? A Journey Worth Taking answers these questions from a thoroughly Christian perspective.

See also: The Call, Os Guinness; Step By Step, James Petty

 

Spiritual Leadership, J. Oswald Sanders

Spiritual leadership is different than natural leadership, and Sanders shows from Scripture the qualifications of a leader, and ways to become a leader.

See also: Leading With a Limp, Dan Allender; In the Name of Jesus, Henri Nouwen; LeadershipNext, Eddie Gibbs

 

The Gospel of Ruth, Carolyn Custis James

The Gospel of Ruth is an in-depth look at the life of Ruth and what it means to be a woman of God.  It’s also a great story of how God is definitely “for” women. 

Also check out: When Life and Beliefs Collide

 

Missional Living and Theology, on Campus & Beyond

The Master Plan of Evangelism, Coleman

Breaking the Missional Code, Stetzer and Putman

ChurchNext, Eddie Gibbs

Finding God at Harvard, Kelly Monroe Kullberg

Organic Church and Cultivating a Life for God, Neil Cole

The Blueprint, Jaeson Ma

This book is more of a story than a blueprint, but that's in it's favor. The first third is about starting campus prayer movements. The second third is about power evangelism and healing (do what you want with that). The book’s real value is in part three, which tells the story of rapidly expanding missional communities on college campuses, primarily on the West Coast. I have some problems with his theology of church and methods, but still find the book a helpful read.

 

Let the Nations Be Glad, John Piper

Piper takes his core belief and applies it to Missions and Worship: “Missions exists because Worship does not.”  If you want to grow in your understanding of missions and worship, dig in to this.

 

The Next Christendom and The New Faces of Christianity, Philip Jenkins

A massive shift in the demographics of Christianity is happening, and few in the West are even noticing. Christianity’s global center is no longer in Europe or North America, but in the ‘Global South’: Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Jenkins  mixes in demographics, projections, anecdotes, and implications in these fascinating books. Jenkins is a world-class historian and a Penn State professor to boot!

 

To Live in Peace: Biblical Faith & the Changing Inner-City, Mark Gornik

Gornik has led successful urban renewal efforts in the name of Jesus Christ, and draws on his experience to call other Christians to love the poor and oppressed in our cities.

 

Understanding and Defending the Faith

The Reason for God, Tim Keller

A great book on the top “defeaters,” or most common obstacles to the gospel.  Whether you’re struggling with your own doubts about God and Christianity, or want to be more prepared to help others, this is a fantastic resource. 

See also: Simply Christian, N.T. Wright

 

Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis

This is the starting point for Lewis.  By “mere” Christianity, he’s trying to get at the basics; the boiled-down, tested-over-time, agreed upon truths of what it means to be a Christian.  He speaks brilliantly and incisively.  Very helpful for personal growth and dialoging with others.

 

The Case for Christ, The Case for Faith, & The Case for a Creator, Lee Strobel

Don’t take IH or Religious Studies classes without reading these!  The Christian faith is reasonable, and these books clearly lay out the many reasons to believe the Biblical understanding of Jesus Christ and his life and work.

 

Misquoting Truth, Timothy Paul Jones

This is a response to Bart Ehrman's book Misquoting Jesus, and is an excellent "average Joe" introduction to the field of textual criticism (how we got the Bible that we have), and how people like Ehrman are raising so many questions over it.

See also: Lost in Translation, Nicholas Perrin; Jesus & the Eyewitnesses, Richard Bauckham

 

How to Stay Christian in College, & Ask Me Anything: Provocative Answers for College Students, J. Budziszewski.  The titles pretty much say it all. This is the time to wrestle with life’s big questions & your faith!

 

Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament, Christopher Wright

Many of us have a hard time reading the OT.  Around Exodus 35, we wonder why it seems so foreign, & so hard to apply to our lives.  We don’t know what to do with 2/3 of the Bible. This book helps us understand how ALL of the Bible (not just certain passages) is connected to Jesus, and how the OT can be truly encouraging in our everyday Christian life.

See also: The Drama of Scripture, Bartholemew & Goheen; How to Read the Bible for All It’s Worth, Fee & Stuart

 

Knowing God & Concise Theology, J.I. Packer

We should always be ready to give a reason for the hope that we have. Do you understand why you believe what you believe? Can you express the basics of Christian theology and doctrine, such as the difference between justification and sanctification? Both of these books masterfully equip us with good, practical theology.

 

Death by Love, Vintage Jesus, Vintage Church, Mark Driscoll

See also: The Radical Reformission and Confessions of a Reformission Rev

 

Culture Making, Andy Crouch

From the back cover: “It is not enough to condemn culture. Nor is it sufficient merely to critique culture, copy culture or consume culture. The only way to change culture is to create culture.” This isn’t just for artists, but for anyone made in the image of God (that’s you).

 

Listen to the Critics

UnChristian, Kinnaman & Lyons

The authors are Christians, but they help us listen to the critics. Why are non-Christians in the West so turned off to Christianity? The answer, unfortunately, is US. Combined with some helpful recommendations for going forward.

See also: Lost and Found, Stetzer

God is Not Great, Christopher Hitchens

The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins

Letter to a Christian Nation, Sam Harris

Misquoting Jesus; Jesus, Interrupted; God’s Problem, Bart Ehrman

Why read books by people who make their living off of bashing Christianity? Because people are reading them, and their arguments filter down to your friends, neighbors, and coworkers. People don’t even have to read these guys—just watch them on Colbert. In order to respond to them, read them. Historic Christianity has never been afraid of the hard questions, and none of the things these guys say is new in the least.

Hitchens is the best writer, and in my opinion, the one most seriously to be reckoned with. Dawkins is the angriest, and has offended even other atheists by leaving his specialty of science to argue philosophy. Ehrman is to be pitied, since he was apparently not served well by his stint in evangelicalism.

 

Fiction

Perelandra, C.S. Lewis

Lewis himself thought that this was his best book.  That’s reason enough to read this, the second book in his “Space Trilogy.”  The whole trilogy is worth reading, but Perelandra can be read on its own. It is a fictional story, but like Narnia, communicates rich and powerful truth in a compelling way.  The portrayal of Good is as sweet as I’ve ever read in literature; the portrayal of Evil is palpably bone-chilling.

Also check out: The Great Divorce

 

The Collected Works, Flannery O’Connor

O’Connor worked in the ‘Southern Gothic’ milieu. Her fiction is thought provoking, and challenges shallow views of sin, grace, redemption, and faith. Not a ‘Christian writer’ per se, but better than that: an excellent writer who was Christian.

 

Your Best Life Now, Joel Osteen

That guy’s trying to be funny, right?

 

Broaden Your Horizons

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen R. Covey

This book continues to be relevant to anyone who wants a holistic and integrated approach to solving personal and professional problems.

 

Getting Things Done, David Allen

Read this book. Adopt the system. Get your life organized. Done.

 

The Tipping Point, Blink, and Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell

Each of these books has been a bestseller. Gladwell’s charm is in taking seemingly everyday, ordinary occurrences, and showing the reader how phenomenal they are, and how we can harness them.

 

Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything, Tapscott & Williams

Open-sourcing is the best way to gather and organize information. Get on board now.

 

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