Books That Have Impacted Me The Most (So Far)

I thought this might be an interesting list. And this interesting list is in no particular order.

- Dangerous Wonder - Mike Yaconelli. This book, which I read while I was a youth minister in Colorado, shattered my view of what to live a good life was all about. I like his second book, Messy Spirituality, but I think this one's better.

- The Wind In The Wheat - Reed Arvin. Reed Arvin was Rich Mullins' producer (as well as being a very good musician himself, as evidenced by his piano work on several of Mullins' albums). This novel is about a young man named Andrew Miracle, who lives in a small town. Yet Andrew has been born with an incredible musical talent, and his prayer is that he would be able to do great things for God. About the same time, a Nashville producer comes down to Andrew's home town, and hears Andrew and sees dollar signs. This novel is about the struggle of a young man who has a gift from God to figure out what true greatness really means in God's eyes. I read this book at least once a year, if not twice. It's a reminder to me that when we serve God, no matter how big or small our talent is, we experience true joy.

- Disciplines Of A Godly Man - R. Kent Hughes. I read this book when I was in college, and it really helped me view disciplines in a different light.

- Celebration Of Discipline - Richard Foster. I went through a time in college where I seriously thought about becoming a monk. This book was one of the reasons why I almost did.

- Your God Is Too Safe - Mark Buchanan. This is another book that I read at least once a year. It has some of my all time favorite quotes, and it's so passionate and life-changing. A must read.

- Ordering Your Private World - Gordon MacDonald. I'm not a very organized kind of guy, but this book helped me to see that I needed to organize my inner life before the outer life would ever be ordered.

- Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire - Jim Cymbala. A moving story about a church on the brink of closing its doors, when it decided to do the one thing that every church should aspire to become: a house of prayer.

- The Imitation Of Christ - Thomas a Kempis. A classic, filled with practical thoughts on imitating Jesus.

- Sacred Pathways - Gary Thomas. If I could teach material from any book, it would be this one. I'm passionate about helping people find their own unique way and personality to experience God, and this book helps on that journey. I've heard Bill Hybels reference it as one of his favorite books, and Andy Stanley even is coming out with a book based on this one, which seems kind of plagiaristic, but it's not really my call.

- Ruthless Trust - Brennan Manning. I love all of Manning's books, but I would have to say this is my favorite.

- Soul Salsa - Leonard Sweet. I was leading a small group back in Arizona, and the last thing we started to do (before I left) was go through this book. It's a great postmodern practical book. Easy to read, harder to live by.

- A Testament Of Devotion - Thomas Kelly. Another great book written by a Quaker (See Celebration of Discipline above). His main point is focusing on the center, namely Christ.

- Spiritual Leadership - Oswald Sanders. A great older book on...spiritual leadership...written by a missionary. Very compelling, very convicting.

- What's So Amazing About Grace - Philip Yancey. Yancey is my favorite Christian author, and I could have put every single one of his books down on this list, but this one's my favorite. I love his definition of grace: "There is nothing we can do to make God love us less. There is nothing we can do to make God love us more."

- No Wonder They Call Him The Savior - Max Lucado. His books are very easy to read, and play more on the emotional side of me than the intellectual side, but I love them all the same. This one is my favorite.

- Broken In The Right Place - Alan Nelson. This book came at a much needed time in my life. If you've heard the song "Blessed Be Your Name" by Matt Redman, then you'll understand that the book contains the same premise as the song - let's bless God in all times, whether good or bad.

- The Life You've Always Wanted - John Ortberg. Another great book about spiritual disciplines.

- The Cost of Discipleship - Dietrich Bonhoeffer. There are some authors when you read their books that make you wonder if they really believe what they are writing. Bonhoeffer is not one of them, and he proved he believed what he was saying by paying the greatest cost of discipleship - his life.

- A New Kind Of Christian - Brian McLaren. A great, great book. Although I attribute the works of Leonard Sweet as the impetus on my journey towards the emergent movement, this book has become the cornerstone of my decision to leave the old way of thinking behind me.

- Theirs Is The Kingdom - Robert Lupton. This book is a must read for anyone interested in inner-city missions work or just want a new perspective on the poor, homeless and downtrodden. It was required reading for my youth ministry students who were going on the L.A. missions trip with me back in the day.

- Return of the Prodigal Son - Henri Nouwen. Again, I could have listed all of Nouwen's books here, but this one impacted me the most. Shows the story of the prodigal son in a different light.

- Blue Like Jazz - Donald Miller. How could I almost leave this off my list? This is my favorite book, hands down. I love the way Miller writes, I love how he says things that at first I disagree with, but as I read Scripture, chew on his words, and pray about them, I end up agreeing with him.

- Velvet Elvis - Rob Bell. How could I have not really heard of this guy, watched any of the nooma videos before this week? I'm an idiot. I'm still in the midst of this book, but I will tell you right now. Get this book. Read it. It's that good. It will change you. I have been reading it for the past couple of days, and I can't get it out of my head. Seriously, get this book.


I'm sure I'm missing some, but I think this is a good start. :^)