The Top Ten Books I’ve Read This Year
Recently I told you I read a lot of books. Today I want to tell you which ones I liked the best. Here, in no particular order, are the top ten books I read this year.
This was my last “five star” read for the year. The whole book is a fairly transparent parable about revolutions and the kind of governments that pop up in their place. I wish that this was required reading for every middle school student in the nation, as it addresses many ideas that are popular right now, both on the right and left. In the end it’s a story with more prophetic significance than when it was first written.
So, you’ll have to bear with me on this list; a lot of these books are old. Case in point: Somehow I managed to spend the first forty years of my life avoiding this book. But you guys! This book is so good. Obviously this book has been made into movies and TV shows and plays, but I doubt many of them hold a candle to this book. Obviously there is a murder on the train, but the train happens to have Hercule Poirot on board, along with a train full of distinct international characters. The characterization in this book is incredibly strong and the twist at the end sets this book apart from most of the mystery novels or TV shows you consume. If you’re a fan of mysteries and haven’t heard the plot, you need to check this book out.
George Whitfield: God’s Anointed Servant in the Great Revival of the Eighteenth Century
If you, like me, have heard a lot about George Whitefield but haven’t read about his life, let me encourage you to start here. This book tells the story of George Whitefield, the 18th Century evangelist that along with John and Charles Wesley helped spark the First Great Awakening. I could tell you a lot of stories that this book told me from George’s life, but the highest compliment I can pay to this book is that while you read it, it feels like you’ve spent time with the great evangelist. I walked away from this book stirred to share the Gospel with my generation like Whitefield did for his. You won’t regret spending time on this one.
“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” -A. W. Tozer.
This quote has captured my imagination for the last twenty years. Tozer undoubtedly had read Pink’s book and patterned his book, “The Knowledge of the Holy” after Pink’s book. This book methodically works through various attributes of God found in Scripture. If you’ve never read a book like this, you don’t need another reason to read this book. Just do it! If you’ve read others like this, I would tell you Pink is old enough to bring the thoughts of God from another age to bare on our current situation. It’s refreshing to not hear someone building their theology about God in favor of or against the latest ideologies, but based on their understanding of God from the Bible. The last two chapters on “The Wrath of God” and “The Contemplation of God” are worth the price of admission.
Surprise the World: The Five Habits of Highly Missional People
It’s probably not a secret that I try to read a bunch of books about evangelism every year. This book I picked up because it was short and by an author that I respect. This book was super short but packed a big punch. In it you will find five transformative practices that Frost encourages you to perform every week. The result of these practices on a person or a group of people will be a life that surprises the world with the attractive love of Jesus. I would highly recommend this book if you struggle with evangelism.
Church Transfusion: Changing Your Church Organically from the Inside Out
So, I’ve read probably a majority of Neil Cole’s books. I read at least two of them this year alone. His books have always had an impact on me. But this book was different. Even though Neil is the first one to tell you that all of his books can be applied to a traditional church setting, they are mainly picked up by the house church / missional church crowd. This book was specifically written to help legacy churches embrace organic church principles. There are several stories told throughout the book of legacy churches who have embraced organic principles to a greater or lesser extent. What I loved about this book is that seeing Neil and Phil apply these principles in a legacy church helped clarify for me where I’ve embraced less than organic principles in my own house church. I would recommend you pick up a copy whether you find yourself in a legacy church or a house church setting.
Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives
I read this book for me, but the further I got into it, the more I realized this book is needed by most people. The author looks at the problem of the West’s need for constant motion and prescribes margin as the cure for peoples’ hectic lives. He then begins to offer practical advice on how to restore emotional, physical, financial, and time reserves and this is where this book shines.
Evangelism As Exiles: Life on Mission As Strangers in Our Own Land
If you’re a long time reader, you know that I try and read a lot about the topic just to keep me constantly thinking about how to share my faith better. This year was no exception. This was the standout book on that topic this year. The author, Elliot Clark, is a former missionary to a country where Christianity is illegal. His book makes the assumption that Christianity is beginning to lose it’s protected status here in the West and aims to instruct its readers in evangelism using examples from his missionary experience, the early church, and even the experience of African Americans during American slavery. This is such a unique and valid approach to evangelism that speaks to our current moment that I believe this is a must read for the entire church. This is my top evangelism book of the year and definitely in the top three books of the year. Get this book!
A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World
I loved this book. I’ll probably read it again this next year. It begins with a simple premise: Prayer is easy, we make it hard. He compares prayer to a meal with a close friend, something that should be easy. However, we spend so much time trying to get it right that we never set down and enjoy the meal. He then takes us on a journey of losing more of ourselves and becoming more childlike in order to grow in that relationship. It’s such a simple premise, but it’s a path that very few of us travel, which is what makes it so great. If you want to grow in your prayer life, whether you’ve spent your life in that pursuit or your brand new to prayer, this book will be helpful to you.
When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty without Hurting the Poor…and Yourself
Last but not least is “When Helping Hurts.” This is now a modern classic about alleviating poverty, written by someone who has worked with the poor around the world. The principles are fairly universal and I’ve was encouraged in how to use them both here locally and in our work in Africa. The authors are not against giving, but lay forth principles for giving that help the needy become more self-sufficient and help you not to be over-burdended in helping. If you find yourself working with the poor in any capacity, I would highly recommend picking up this book.
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Cluster Map
Pursuing Glory 