the best books

I believe that you can tell a lot about a person by what they like to read. So here is a little insight to my personality. (You should read these books, too. They are great!)

Postmodern Youth Ministry- Tony Jones (Not only a great book on Youth Ministry, but on the change to Postmodern thought.)

Amazing Grace- Jonathan Kozol (A comprehensive book on poverty written through the author’s encounters with people in the community. Very interesting, entertaining, and educating.)

Blue Like Jazz- Donald Miller

Lord of the Flies- William Golding (For the love of symbolism…)

Dangerous Wonder & Messy Spirituality- Mike Yaconelli (Changed my life, that’s all I can say)

Adventures in Missing the Point- Brian McLaren & Tony Campolo (This book gave my thoughts a voice.)

Jesus with Dirty Feet- Don Everts

Hurt- Chap Clark (The best book on youth and youth culture I have ever read. Anyone who works with youth or cares about teens needs to read this book.)

Night- Elie Wiesel

Velvet Elvis- Rob Bell

The Cost of Discipleship- Dietrich Bonhoeffer (A classic. Read this book with some other people so you can discuss it as you go.)

Brave New World- Aldous Huxley

Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?- Beverly Tatum, PhD (If you are interested in racial issues, read this!)

Irresistable Revolution- Shane Clairborne, JUST READ IT

Embracing Grace- Scot McKnight, because I longed for a fuller picture of the gospel for a long time and this book helped me find it. It’s not the most well-written book, but some of the info is amazing.

Emerging Churches- Gibbs & Bolger, this is a great resource on the emerging church and it has not only helped me understand the movement but my own personal theology and beliefs- if you are wondering about the emerging church, read this one

The End of Poverty- Jeffery Sachs, Everyone should be required to read this book. I thought it was going to be very academic but instead it was a great read. Learn about economics, governments, politics and how the world can change for the better. Read this before the next election to help decide if our politicians are making good decisions in foreign policy and foreign aid.

Kingdom Come- Allen Wakabayashi, Every Christian NEEDS to read this book. This is a great short-read on the theology of the kingdom of God and what it means to participate in that kingdom. Help love, mercy, and justice spread on this earth. I think I’ll be teaching from this book a lot in the next few years.