book looks

I’m one of those embarrassing guys who, upon entering someone’s home for the first time, feels an uncontrollable urge to snoop through their book and CD collections. Who are these people? What makes them tick? What do they listen to? What do they read? What, no Enya?

In the interest of allowing you this intimate look into my own living room book collection, I’m beginning the process of publishing my reading lists from the past few years. I’ve kept a fairly up-to-date journal of my reading materials and want to share them with you.

This space will highlight books that are especially meaningful to me either now or in the past. It might be a fun place to share some of your own as well. To wit…

Reading List, 2001

“Listening to the Saints: A Collection of Meditations from the Devotional Masters”, compiled by J. Manning Potts, ©1962
“On the Pilgrim’s Way: Conversations on Christian Discipleship During a Twelve-day Walk Across England”, N. Nelson Kraybill
“The Path”: Creating Your Mission Statement for Work and for Life”, Laurie Beth Jones
“Conversations with Jesus: Unexpected Answers to Contemporary Questions”, Harold Fickett
“How the Irish Saved Civilization”, Thomas Cahill
“The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind”, Mark Noll
“The Embarrassed Believer: Reviving Christian Witness in an Age of Unbelief”, Hugh Hewitt
“Kicking Habits: Welcome Relief for Addicted Churches”, Thomas Bandy
“Voices in the Night: The Prison Poems of Dietrich Bonhoeffer”, Edited/Translated by Edwin Robertson
“Silent Conversations: Reading the Bible in Good Company”, Dr. Bill Apel
“Reinventing Sunday: Breakthrough Ideas for Transforming Worship”, Brad Berglund
“Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal, and Delight in Our Busy Lives”, Wayne Muller
“The Inescapable Love of God”, Thomas Talbott
“Wilderness Spirituality: Finding Your Way in an Unsettled World”, Rodney Romney
“The Confession of Saint Patrick”, translated by John Skinner
“Wisdom of the Celtic Saints”, Edward C. Sellner
“The Cry of the Deer: Meditations on the Hymn of St. Patrick”, David Adam
“Travelling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith”, Anne Lamott
“In Living Prayer”, Robert Benson
“Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy & Fairy Tale”, Frederick Buechner

Reading List, 2002

“The Wisdom of the Celts”, David Adam
“The Music of What Happens, Celtic Spirituality: A View from the Inside”, John J. O’Riordain
“Opening the Bible”, Thomas Merton
“Bread in the Wilderness”, Thomas Merton
“Alcoholics Anonymous”, Bill W. & Dr. Bob
“Religious Affections”, Jonathan Edwards
“The Singer Trilogy”, Calvin Miller
“The Edge of Glory”, David Adam
“A Cup of Coffee At the Soul Café”, Leonard Sweet
“Into the Depths of God”, Calvin Miller
“Abba’s Child”, Brennan Manning
“The Wounded Healer”, Henri Nouwen
“Praise of Folly”, Erasmus
“Pop Culture Wars: Religion & the Role of Entertainment in American Life”, William Romanski
“The Bible Jesus Read”, Philip Yancey
“Walk On-The Spiritual Journey of U2”, Steve Stockman
“Beyond the Worship Wars: Building Vital and Faithful Worship”, Thomas Long
“Blended Worship: Achieving Substance and Relevance in Worship”, Robert Webber

Reading List, 2003

“The Cost of Discipleship”, Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“Destiny and Deliverance”, selected authors
“Forward to Freedom”, David Adam
“Subversive Spirituality”, Eugene Peterson
“Beyond Liberalism and Fundamentalism: How Modern and Postmodern Philosophy Set the Theological Agenda”, Nancey Murphy
“Celtic Christianity: A Sacred Tradition, A Vision of Hope”,Timothy Joyce
“The Cloister Walk”, Kathleen Norris
“Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail”, Robert Webber
“The Road Less Travelled”, M. Scott Peck
“The Seven Story Mountain”, Thomas Merton
“The Music of Creation”, John Michael Talbot
“Turning Points”, Mark Noll
“Honest to Jesus”, Robert Funk
“A New Kind of Christian”, Brian MacLaren

Reading List, 2004

“The Call”, Os Guinness
“Making Sense of Church”, Spencer Burke
“The Making of a Mystic”, Helen R. Bakkensen
“Invitation to Catholicism, Alice Camille
“The Camerons”, Robert Crichton
“The Cloud of Unknowing”, Anonymous
“Here and Now”, Henri Nouwen
“Dakota”, Kathleen Norris
“Ancient-Future Faith: Rethinking Evangelicalism for a Postmodern World”, Robert Webber
“The Poet, The Warrior, The Prophet”, Rubem A. Alves
“Waiting for God”, Simon Weil
“Screwtape Letters”, C.S. Lewis
“Reaching Out Without Dumbing Down”, Marva Dawn
“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”, J.K. Rowling
“Harry Potter and the chamber of Secrets”, J.K. Rowling
“Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”, J.K. Rowling
“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”, J.K. Rowling
“Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”, J.K. Rowling
“Welcoming But Not Affirming”, Stan Grenz
“People of the Truth: The Power of the Worshipping Community in the Modern World”, Robert Webber & Rodney Clapp
“How Green was My Valley”, Richard Llewellyn
“City Prayers”, Martin Wallace, Bishop of Liverpool
“Streams of Living Water: Celebrating the Great Traditions of the Christian Faith”, Richard Foster

Reading List, 2005

“The Younger Evangelicals: Facing the Challenges of the New World”, Robert Webber
“An American Conversion”, Deal Hudson
“The Book of Mystical Chapters-Meditations on the Soul’s Ascent from the Desert Father’s and other Christian Contemplatives”, translated by John Anthony McGuckin
“Between Noon and Three”, Robert Farrar Capon
“Dark Night of the Soul”, St. John of the Cross
“Here and Now”, Henri Nouwen
“Patrick”, Stephen Lawhead
“Practicing the Presence of God”, Brother Lawrence
“The Imitation of Christ”, Thomas a Kempis
“Confessions”, St. Augustine
“Word, Church, and Sacrament”, Father Louis Bouyer
The Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church
“A Brief History of Just About Everything”, Bill Bryson
“Undaunted Courage”, Stephen Ambrose
“Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation”, Parker J. Palmer
“Crossing the Threshold of Hope”, Pope John Paul II
Harry Potter: The Half-Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling

I started a new ministry in 2006 that makes hobbling together my reading list especially challenging. Secondly, the high stress nature of the first two years made recreational reading just that, recreational and, as such, almost non-existent. I’ll try to reintegrate the lists from 2006 and 2007. Until then, however, I share my reading lists from 2008-2011 almost all of which contain books from my master’s degree required reading lists.

Reading List, 2008