I thought I would start by adding a few of my favorite books in a list and then give my reasons why I most enjoyed them.
I am very aware that sometimes one person can read a book and it changes their life and they can give it to another person and the book seems as dry as sawdust. Some of these books on this list might also be the dry ones if you read them today but in two years time you might think it is like gold! Well then, lets get on with it:
Here are some of my favorite Books:
J.I. Packer – Knowing God (Just read it! It can be quite deep at times. I think it is best read in a small group reading it chapter by chapter with discussion afterward.)
Don Carson – The difficult doctrine of the Love of God (Shows very insightfully why Christians miss each other, have different denominations and even hate each other because of a misunderstanding of the Love of God)
John Piper – Desiring God (What would a list be without a book by John Piper. This book is often difficult to read, but always eye opening. Just as Jesus shows us that everyones real struggle is a heart attitude, so Piper shows us that our actions in life and our enjoyments in Life should always be the same thing and can’t ultimately be unless they are rooted in a love and passion for God and Jesus Christ.)
Lindsay Brown – Shining like stars (This is a book of inspiring biographies of students from around the world in AFES. but what makes it really brilliant are his wonderful insights into how these stories show good and bad theology at work in practice)
Joel Green (ed) – Hearing the New Testament (heavier book on one of my favorite topics, Hermeneutics – which in lay language is another way of saying “methods to read the Bible”)
Lingenfelter/Mayers – Ministering Cross-Culturally (This book takes your typical personality types and shows how cultures have “personality types” and how to deal with the conflicts and misunderstandings that come with that.)
Tim Keller – The Prodigal God (This book is a piece of “prophetic” writing to our modern world. Keller takes Jesus’ famous parable about the Father with 2 sons and shows us how we are all older brothers or younger brothers scorning and rejecting our Father. Although it is the scandalous younger brother who ends up closer to the truth.)
Philip Yancey – What’s so amazing about grace (A list without a book or two on the topic of grace always feels rather empty to me. Yancey shows us just why we cling to revenge and justice when Grace is the thing that frees us. Without Grace (not cheep grace, but an almost scandalous grace) Christianity becomes a meaningless religion)
I must run, but there are a few books to start with. I think I will include some much lighter ones in future, but this is a good start.
