I love books. Charlie "Tremendous" Jones said, "You are the same today as you'll be in five years except for two things: the books you read and the people you meet." I would add to this "the choices you make" but perhaps that is too obvious to even mention. I get his point. Did you know that the average millionaire reads a book a month? That may not seem like a lot, but most Americans haven't read a nonfiction book since their high school or college graduation! [1] Leaders are readers, regardless of age or profession. What sort of person do you want to be in five years? Start reading NOW to become that sort of person. Here's my personal library: My library on LibraryThing. I started tracking what I've read back in 2009, and it turned out that 2011 was one of the worst years in my life. I stopped tracking what I read, because I read almost nothing during that horrible period. Once I got back on the reading bandwagon, things started improving - or maybe I started reading when things started improving. Either way, there seems to be a strong correlation with my quality of life and quantity of good quality books I'm reading. People sometimes ask me how I find time to read. I ask them how they find time to watch TV. To each his own. But - this goes back to the choices you make, doesn't it?
Hot, Flat, and Crowded by Thomas L. Friedman *loaner from Brent (29 April 2012) Wasted Faith by Jim Elliff (9 Feb 2012) *discussion book for M. Martin & L. Carr Vertical - daily devotional reading (ongoing) Next on my "to read" list:
What in the World is Going On by Dr. David Jeremiah *loaner from Phyllis Knowing Christ Today: Why We Can Trust Spiritual Knowledge by Dallas Willard
Life in the Spirit by A.W. Tozer Fasting by Jentezen Franklin Finished Reading (date finished): 2012 Excerpt from The Next Christians: The Good New about the End of Christian America (April 2012) Forgotten God: Reversing our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit by Francis Chan (listened to unabridged audiobook, April 2012) The Investment Answer: the Five Key Decisions Every Investor Needs to Make by Daniel C. Goldie & Gordon S. Murray *loaner from Brent (April 2012) Crazy Love by Francis Chan (March 2012)
The God Conversation by JP Moreland & Tim Muehlhoff (March 2012)
Cultural Elites: The Next Unreached People Group by Eric Metaxas (March 2012)
2011 - I stopped tracking my reading in Sept 2010. Restarted in Feb 2012. 2010 The Pursuit of God / The Pursuit of Man by A.W. Tozer (Sept 10) The Power of a Whisper by Bill Hybels (Sept 10) The Christian Atheist: Believing in God but Living As If He Doesn't Exist by Craig Groeschel (Aug 10) The Principle of the Path by Andy Stanley (Aug 10) The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis (July 10) re-read of this classic Liberty & Learning: The Evolution of American Education by Larry P. Arnn (July 10) Liberty & Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto by Mark R. Levin (June 10) - highly recommended TrueFaced: trust God and others with who you really are by Bill Thrall, Bruce McNicol, and John Lynch (May 10) The Me I Want to Be by John Ortberg (Apr 10) Three Philosophies of Life by Peter Kreeft (Mar 10) Jonathan Edwards on Knowing Christ, selected sermons of Jonathan Edwards (Feb 10) Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk by Peter L. Berstein (Jan 10) review Confessions of a Tax Collector: One man's Tour of Duty Inside the IRS by Richard Yancey (Jan 10) review The God Who Smokes: Scandalous Meditations on Faith by Timothy J. Stoner (Jan 10) review 2009 Empire of Illusion by Chris Hedges (Read half this book. Too much anti-Jesus bias and too depressing to finish. Glad I borrowed rather than bought it! Dec 09) Too Small to Ingore: Why the Least of These Matters Most by Dr. Wess Stafford (Dec 09) Switch by Chip & Dan Heath (Dec 09) Is There Historical Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus? William Lane Craig and Bart Ehrman Debate (Nov 09) End the Fed by Ron Paul (Nov 09) - best non-theology read this year! Made to Stick by Chip & Dan Heath (Oct 09) Your Presence, Oh God, or I Die! (Oct 09) The Knowledge of the Holy by A. W. Tozer (Oct 09) - re-read of this classic - highly recommended The Hole in Our Gospel by Rich Stearns (Oct 09) - recommended for the mission minded The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence (Sept 09) A Revolution Without Dancing is a Revolution Not Worth Having (Sept 09) A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society by Eugene H. Peterson (Sept 09) - highly recommended Leadership and Self-Deception by The Arbinger Institute (Aug 09) review The Day of Small Beginnings (Aug 09 - re-read. First reading about 6 years ago.) The Cry of the Soul: How our emotions reveal our deepest questions about God by Dr. Dan B. Allender & Dr. Trempter Longman III (started Aug 3, gave up around p. 100 on Aug 18. I didn't connect with this book, but MBTI Feelers might.) The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller (Aug 09) - recommended Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God by Dallas Willard (Aug 09) - highly recommended Death by Love: Letters from the Cross by Mark Driscoll & Gerry Breshears (July 09) - highly recommended Belief Matters: Grappling with the Essentials of the Christian Faith by Pete Briscoe (July 09) - not recommended Jesus and Philosophy: New Essays edited by Paul K. Moser (June 09) Show Me God: What the Message from Space is Telling Us about God by Fred Heeren (May 09) Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman (May 09) Life's Healing Choices by John Baker (May 09) - not recommended Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely (Apr 09) Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress Free Productivity by David Allen (Apr 09) The Road to Serfdom by F.A. Hayek (Mar 09)
The Life You've Always Wanted: Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People by John Ortberg (Mar 09) Prayer: Does it Make any Difference? by Philip Yancey (Feb 09) Samson and the Pirate Monks by Nate Larkin (Feb 09) The Reason for God by Tim Keller (Jan 09) - highly recommended God is Closer Than You Think by John Ortberg (Jan 09) Unread books on my shelf: God is Good, God is Great: Why Believing in God is Reasonable and Responsible edited by William Lane Craig & Chad Meister
The Gospel According to Job: An Honest Look at Pain and Doubt from the Life of One Who Lost Everything by Mike Mason Agile Project Management with Scrum by Ken Schwaber Agile Software Development with Scrum by Ken Schwaber & Mike Beedle Going Rogue: an American Life by Sarah Palin (received as Christmas gift - not sure I can bring myself to read this one!) Spiritual Warfare in a Believer's Life by Charles Haddon Spurgeon (started Mar 10 - put aside) The Confessions of St. Augustine by St. Augustine (started Dec 09 - put aside) Books I don't own that look interesting: While Shepherds Watch Their Flocks - Timothy Laniak reviewed Just Do Something - Kevin Deyoung reviewed Total Truth by Nancy Pearcey Shadow Boxing by Henry Malone (VisionLifeMinistries) - LeRoy recommendation Counterfeit Gods by Tim Keller A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller Messy Spirituality by Michael Yaconelli Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, by Wayne Grudem and John Piper God, Marriage, and the Family, by Andreas Kostenberger New Men, Soft Patriarchs: How Christianity Shapes Fathers and Husbands, by W. Bradford Wilcox Blue parakeet by Scott McKnight Love and Respect by Emerson Eggerichs Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall & Denver Moore The Barbarian Way The Cross of Christ by John Stott George Mueller of Bristol by A.T. Pierson Life After Life - Moody Life After Death & Beyond David Chilton - The Great Tribulation (Matthew 24 exegesis) Randy Alcorn - In Light of Eternity / Treasure Principle Dennis Rainey - Building Your Mate's Self Esteem Gene Getz - Sharpening the Focus of the Church Louis Smeades - Forgive and Forget (not recommended) John Ortberg - The Valley of Vision David Halberstam - The Best & The Brightest Jeffrey Marx - Season of Life Flannery O'Connor (something by this author) CMP's Top 10 list Top 15 list from C. Freeland (I think): 15. Pensees, Blaise Pascal (can be read through Peter Kreeft, Christianity of Modern Pagans) Pascal’s book is as timeless and as relevant as many ancient proverbs. In fact, it serves more like a proverbial apologetic work with short pithy statements of life and truth designed to get one to think. Not an apologetic work in the classic sense, but one for those who are looking for a different approach through the path of wisdom before reason. Pascal was Catholic, but, as one Catholic has put it, too Protestant to be Catholic. 14. Letters from a Skeptic, Gregory Boyd An incredibly engaging work that is a published account of Greg’s letters back and forth with his father who was an unbeliever at the time. While I disagree with Boyd’s contention that God does not know the future in his defense of evil, it is a great book and will make you think and believe more deeply. 13. How Do You Know You’re Not Wrong, Paul Copan Paul Copan deals with common objections to Christianity that most Christians find hard to answer. From “Animals have rights just like humans do” to “You can’t prove that scientifically” Paul helps the Christian as well as the skeptic get answers that represent a Christian worldview. 12. Reasonable Faith, William Craig A master at dealing with the existence of God, Craig provides a good, readable apologetic at an intermediate level. 11. Scaling the Secular City, J. P. Moreland This is a general apologetic work that comes from a philosophical perspective. J.P. Moreland is one of the most prolific and able defenders of the faith and this work is his most comprehensive achievement in the area of apologetics. 10. Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics, Norman Geisler This represents a lifetime tour de force of Norman Geisler. Just about every topic in Apologetics is covered in this massive work, from “Presuppositionalism” to “Resurrection Claims in Non-Christian Religions.” This is a significant reference work no matter what tradition you are from. 9. Case for Christ, Lee Strobel This is a great book for the Christian or the seeker. It is probably the most popular apologetic work over the last decade, taking the title away from Evidence that Demands a Verdict. 8. Reason for God, Tim Keller According to many, this apologetic work by Keller is the apologetic for the postmodern generation. Whether this is true or not, it presents a solid, popular-level work that can be given to non-believers. 7. Evidence that Demands a Verdict, Josh McDowell Although not as popular as it once was, for the last quarter of a century this work has served as the primary “go-to” apologetic for Evangelical Christianity. It is still a must have. 6. The Analytic Theist, Alvin Plantinga This will be a much more advanced work for those who are dealing with deep philosophical thinking. Plantinga has been hailed as one of the world’s greatest living philosophers. This is a basic reader to get you familiar with his works. 5. The God Who is There, Francis Schaeffer Schaeffer’s works could all be put on this list, but this particular work is representative of a timeless defense from a timeless scholar. 4. Faith Has its Reasons, Rob Bowman and Kenneth Boa The best book for one who’s desire it is to understand not only what apologetics is, but how it is to be done. The authors give a great overview of all the different Christian apologetic methods asking the question “How are we to defend the faith?” They then discuss and defend Presuppositionalism, Fideism, Evidentialism, and Classical approaches to the defense of the faith. For the young, aspiring apologist, this is the first book that should be read. 3. The Resurrection of the Son of God, N. T. Wright Simply put, this is the most comprehensive work on the resurrection of Christ ever produced. Whatever you think of N. T. Wright, there is no debate that this is an immensely valuable contribution to the Christian witness. 2. The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus, Habermas and Licona Simply a must have for everyone. The resurrection of Christ is the central issue of Christianity. If Christ rose from the grave, Christianity is true; if he did not, it is false. Everyone needs to have a good defense of the resurrection and this work represents the best of the popular options. Get it! 1. Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis How can I do justice to what might be the most significant and influential apologetic work in all of Christianity? All I can say is that if you have not read Mere Christianity, shame on you. Endnote [1] Source: Jerold Jenkins, www.JenkinsGroupInc.com 1/3 of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives.
42 percent of college graduates never read another book after college.
80 percent of U.S. families did not buy or read a book last year.
70 percent of U.S. adults have not been in a bookstore in the last five years.
57 percent of new books are not read to completion.
70 percent of books published do not earn back their advance.
70 percent of the books published do not make a profit.
|