Reading for 2008
Here is the list of stuff I read in 2008:
- The Heart of Evangelism by Jerram Barrs. I had to read these first three books for a seminary class on Evangelism and Discipleship. This one was a very good book, drawing heavily from Acts. From the back cover: "You can learn to witness comfortably in your own circumstances so that sharing Christ doesn’t feel like a chore."
- Beginning Well: Christian Conversion & Authentic Transformation by Gordon T. Smith. Mediocre.
- Following the Master: A Biblical Theology of Discipleship by Michael J. Wilkins. This one was decent. It looks at examples from the four gospels and examines Jesus’ brand of making disciples.
- 101 Cupboards by Nathan D. Wilson. A delightful kids’ story along the lines of C. S. Lewis’ Narnia books. I already pre-ordered the sequel.
- Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams. Not quite as good as The Hitchhiker’s Guide, but still a fun read. Think about holistic medicine (e.g. if the apple gets heavy when you hold it up in your outstretched arm, and a qualified "professional" is watching, then the apple is obviously bad for you, etc.) . Then pretend the problem of induction (David Hume, etc.) doesn’t exist because the future won’t be like the past, and try to do some detective work.
- The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul by Douglas Adams. More of the same, and still good.
- Family-Based Youth Ministry by Mark DeVries. These next six books were for a seminary class entitled "Foundations of Youth and Family Ministry." This book was excellent. Many of the principles found in this book are already being implemented in my church, but not necessarily intentionally. It basically puts the ownership for raising youth back on the parents and asks what the church can do to support them.
- Rasing the Bar by Alvin Reid. A decent book. The evangelical church has tried many programs to teach youth, but the standard needs to be raised, since the results so far have been weak.
- Your First Two Years in Youth Ministry by Doug Fields. This book could be helpful for anyone starting out in pastoral ministry, not just youth pastors; but it does contain some specific advice for those working with youth. My main objection is that it assumes an environment where the parents are helping the youth program rather than the other way around.
- Deep Justice in a Broken World: Helping Your Kids Serve Others and Right the Wrongs around Them by Chap Clark and Kara E. Powell. Terrible. Full of socialist, feel-good, social gospel stuff that won’t really work and just puts a guilt trip on anybody not sending their ice-cream money overseas to support an orphan. The authors need to learn what the word justice really means, and then they should follow the church’s historical terminology (and actions) of mercy-ministry.
- Back to the Heart of Youth Work by Dewey M. Bertolini. Description.
- Spiritual Junk Food by Cathy Mickels. Bemoans some of the phychology junk the evangelical world is currently feeding it’s youth. However, it’s a little one-sided, assuming that studies in psychology cannot possibly produce anything that is true.
- Critique of Modern Youth Ministry by Christopher Schlect. A short book trying to throw out the whole idea of youth ministry and go back to a more Biblical family structure.
- God’s Undertaker: Has Science Buried God? by John Lennox. Excellent summary of the arguments coming out of the intelligent design movement. Although ID tries to be agnostic about who the designer might be, this book points strongly toward the God of the Bible.
- The Enemy Within: Straight Talk about the Power and Defeat of Sin by Kris Lundgaard. The first five chapters rest heavily on the traditional reading of Romans 7:14-25 that Paul was speaking as a Christian. I think that Paul was actually speaking as a non-converted Pharisee who loved the law but couldn’t keep it. He uses the "present tense" as a rhetorical device (Greek isn’t based on past, present, future tenses like English is). So even though all Christians do struggle with sin, this book seemed pretty weak at the beginning. However, the remaining chapters were excellent.
I also read a lot from a number of blogs:
- Blog and Mablog (Doug Wilson). – I read the Auburn Avenue stuff, the book reviews, and other things that look interesting.
- Michael Yon Online Magazine. News, mainly about Iraq, from an embedded reporter who was formerly in the Special Forces.
- Michael J. Totten. Independent journalism, mostly covering the Middle East.
- By Living Waters (Bywaters). Friends from CO, now living in UK.
- Colorado Chronicles (Mortons). Friends in CO.
- The Weight of Days (Boonzaiijers). Friends in CO.
- Rigid Bounds (Elliotts). Friends in CO.