What’s On Your Reading List?

As part of a clutter clean-up I just emptied out my bedside table, and amongst all the pictures from the kids and pencil stubs and receipts and other junk, there was a good pile of books. These books were all originally placed in my bedside table “to be read later”.

My non-fiction reading is pretty slim. Before bed I usually read some science-fiction drivel that I can nod off to without missing much, but I’ve recently taken the end of my quiet time to read some non-fiction, and it’s been very fruitful.

(note: none of these links are affiliate links, I won’t get anything if you click them, I’m just linking so you can look at descriptions and reviews)

Right now I’m reading Think Biblically: Recovering a Christian Worldview by John MacArthur. Pretty intense and rather cerebral but well worth it. It’s a series of essays by MacArthur and others on various topics and how they relate to the Christian worldview.

In the pile, in no particular order:

Following Jesus Without Embarrassing God by Tony Campolo - A signed copy I bought when we went to hear him speak a number of years ago, but never read. Campolo’s doing some odd things now, but he was a real driver behind my early Christian faith.

How A Man Prays For His Family by John Yates - Another one that’s been on the pile a long time. Picked it up in hopes of motivating my (still) flagging prayer life. This one will likely be one of the next ones I read.

Jesus: Knowing Our Savior by Max Anders - A study book on basic questions about Christ. I’m not sure why this one is still in my pile, I might peruse it, but I don’t think I’ll be taking the time to wade through it. It looks rather dry.

How to Be Pentecostal Without Speaking In Tongues by Tony Campolo - One that was put in the pile when I was asking questions about the physical spiritual gifts (tongues, healing). I’m not sure how relevant it will be, but Campolo is always entertaining. It reviews poorly, I might just skip through it for his major points.

Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality by Donald Miller - I hate to jump on the bandwagon, but a very good friend and former mentor loves this book and I want to see what all the fuss is about. It’s soon to be a major motion picture. (Really).

Mighty Men: The Starter’s Guide to Leading Your Family by John Crotts - It’s only 30 pages long, more or a pamphlet than a book. I am leading a talk on “Supporting your wife” at the next homeschool dads’ get-together and I plan on basing it on this book.

a.k.a. Lost: Discovering Ways to Connect with the People Jesus Misses Most by Jim Henderson - MrsPages read this and said it was worthwhile. We have always struggled with personal evangelism, both from a “how do we do it?” point of view and a “how important is it?” point of view. Now that we home/simple/whatever-church, that struggle has come to the fore again. It looks like an interesting read. I’m looking forward to this one.

Starting a House Church by Larry Kreider and Floyd McClung - Recommended as a good overview of house church information. I find we’re not really following what most of the house-church gurus are touting as a model, but it might be worth a read anyway.

Handbook for House Churches by Dick Scoggins - That link is a web page with the full text of the book and a downloadable PDF is you want it.

Restoring the Early Church by Mike and Sue Dowgiewicz - That link is to their website. All of their material is free to download. The graphics may look cheesy, and the formatting can be difficult to read sometimes, but it is well worth the effort. These folks have been incredibly influential on us in recent years. That graphic on top of their site, with their priorities listed (it used to be concentric circles, now it’s a pyramid) is a wonderful concept to take to heart. Seriously. Read something by these people. Get past the “small press weirdos” look and feel, these are some wise folks.