Read Any Good Books Lately

I love to read, and I consider myself to be a fairly fast reader. That is what an undergraduate degree in British literature will do for you. I try to keep up to speed on what is new and worth reading in the Christian book world, but recently I have been bored by a lot of what I’ve found. Apparently our church culture is changing in such a way that every pastor of a church over 2000 people feels as if he has a book in him. This has led to an influx of mediocre and un-revolutionary books on the shelves today. Most of these works have intriguing titles (and equally engaging subtitles) but lack the kind of content that would make one want to read it over and over again. Ultimately, that’s what I’m looking for…something that I can’t even completely digest in the first go round, the kind of book that continues to yield dividends with every reading.

A few works that have fallen into this category for me over the years have included:


“Trilogy” by Francis Shaeffer


“Celebration of Discipline” by Richard Foster


“Mere Christianity” by C.S. Lewis


“Contemplative Prayer” by Thomas Merton


“Let The Nations be Glad” by John Piper

Now…I realize that every author is not C.S. Lewis, but there has been some really good stuff to come out in the past year or two that I think is well worth your time and money. Here are a few that come to mind.


1. Anything by Timothy Keller: Pastor Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City is probably the one contemporary author that I am most excited about. In the past few years he has released three books that are equally powerful and potentially life-changing. His first book “The Reason for God” is one of the best works on Christian apologetics I’ve ever read. This is the kind of read that strengthens your faith and gives you a profound confidence to share that faith with others. Also check out “The Prodigal God” and “Counterfeit Gods” which are equally great. One of the things I love about Keller’s writing is the fact that he writes exegetically. In other words, it’s almost as if you are reading one of the best sermons you’ve ever heard.


2. Francis Chan: Chan has gotten a lot of attention as an author, pastor and conference speaker and his book “Crazy Love” has been crazy-popular. While “Crazy Love” is a good book, the one I’d really recommend is called “Forgotten God.” In “Forgotten God,” Chan explores how we’ve neglected the Holy Spirit in our personal lives and in our churches. This book just made me really happy because his words articulated something I had been feeling for a long time but had had a hard time defining.


3. Richard Stearns: Stearns is President of World Vision, a non-profit relief organization. His book “The Hole in Our Gospel” is an eye-opening look at how we neglect the fullness of the gospel of Jesus and in doing so miss the mission that we have been called to. I have not met a person who has read this book and not been greatly challenged. In many ways this book has changed the way we do ministry at Rush Creek.


Yesterday I started a book that I have been looking forward to for some time. “Radical” by David Platt is a look at how we define success in ministry in comparison to how Jesus would have defined success. Platt is Pastor at The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, AL. While I haven’t finished “Radical” yet, already I have been challenged by the content. This is the kind of book that scares you…in a good way. It’s scary because recognizing the fullness of the gospel and how far we fall from it can only instigate change in our lives and churches. I pray this is what happens.

With all this said, let us never search for a book to replace Scripture. I know that I have been guilty of that at times. Maybe the Bible isn’t written in a way that engages you on an aesthetic level, but the wealth of its contents goes far beyond anything written by Lewis, Piper or Tozer. If you truly want to grow in Christ and be challenged to live out His call on a daily basis…there is no better source than His actual words. When was the last time you read through the gospels and actually saw for yourself what Jesus had to say? Maybe stop there before you pick up anything mentioned above.