My Current Reading List

Anyone who has happened to hear me speak on any regular basis will have a general idea already of the genres of books that I enjoy and benefit from reading. Here is a reading list of my most recent reads and those I'm just beginning.

Disclaimer # 1: I've never read a book that I haven't found something I disagree with or think could have been written or discussed from a more biblical perspective. Just because you see a book on my reading list, it does not mean I endorse any particular content. It just means I chose to read it for one of a thousand different possible reasons. Sometimes, I wish I hadn't read some of the books I've read. Most of the time, a book I list here will mean I have found at least one or two things that challenged my thinking or understanding in a productive way.

Disclaimer # 2: I wish I was a faster reader. I don't think I'm a slow reader, I just wish I could devour a book a day or something ridiculous like that. In reality, my mind is slower than I want it to be and my days are filled with God-inspired interruptions and the daily responsibilities and tasks of a husband, father, friend, co-worker, and pastor. I generally read devotionally in the mornings, ministry in the gaps in the day, and for "fun" in the evenings. I say "generally" because it seems that just when I get in a good rhythm, something urgent or unexpected comes up and this preferred pattern gets interrupted. So I stumble back into this pattern as soon as I can and then I somewhat bemoan the fact that it takes me longer to complete a book than I would like when I get through only a chapter (sometimes only a page) on an average day. I'm sure you know what I mean.

I would enjoy any comments or discussions on any of these through this blog.

Ministry, Theology, & Textual Studies

As Cornerstone is about to begin a study through 1 Timothy, much of my reading right now in this area is commentaries and studies on this epistle as well as articles and books on topic's found there.

Here's a recent one I've finished reading:

Why Sin Matters: The surprising relationship between our sin and God's grace. By Mark R. McMinn. Dr. McMinn is a Psychology professor at Wheaton College. I was drawn to this book because it seemed to go against the mounting psychological tide of the day that says that genetics, socialization, and family dynamics are the root causes of individual dysfunction and that religious language only compounds the problem by piling up guilt and shame. McMinn says "… I believe it is good to explore parent-child relationships, look for biological explanations, and understand dysfunctional family relationships. But none of these things should dismiss the language of sin." The three sections of his book, The Story of Sin, The Damage Report, and Heading Home guide the reader through a biblically based view of the necessity of a proper understanding and recognition of sin and it's destructive results. McMinn then gives a pretty good (though not comprehensive) description of grace and how it's impossible to fully understand or experience it without the recognition of sin. (2004, Tyndale House Publishers, 179 pages.)

Here are two that I've begun to read in this content area:

The Problem with Evangelical Theology: Testing the exegetical foundations of Calvinism, Dispensationalism, and Wesleyanism. By Ben Witherington III.

From his bio: "Bible scholar Ben Witherington is Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary and on the doctoral faculty at St. Andrews University in Scotland. A graduate of UNC, Chapel Hill, he went on to receive the M.Div. degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. from the University of Durham in England. He is now considered one of the top evangelical scholars in the world, and is an elected member of the prestigious SNTS, a society dedicated to New Testament studies."
This title has attracted me for a number of reasons. One of which was the encouragement to read this book from Donald K. McKim, Editor, Encyclopedia of the Reformed Faith who says "Evangelicals of all stripes need to take account of Witherington's contentions here—to make us exegetically honest and theologically responsible. He takes on the three streams of evangelicalism to examine their exegetical foundations and theological structures. The result is critique, but also a call for biblical orthodoxy and proclamation of biblical truth in postmodern society. His perspectives should gain a wide hearing." I have no idea if I'll like this book or not, but I'm intrigued enough to read it. (2005, BaylorPress, 254 pgs.)

Men and Women in the Church. By Sarah Sumner. The book of 1 Timothy that CBF will be studying soon deals with different roles for different members of the Lord's church. One area it deals with is the roles of men and the roles of women. This area is a growing concern of many people in the evangelical church in western culture. Sumner (the author) is the first woman to earn a Ph.D. in theology from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. A descriptive of her work is provided by an editorial review: "Evangelicals stand divided in their view of women in the church. On one side stand complementarians, arguing the full worth of women but assigning them to differing roles. On the other side stand egalitarians, arguing that the full worth of women demands their equal treatment and access to leadership roles. Is there a way to mend the breach and build consensus? Sarah Sumner thinks there is. Avoiding the pitfalls of both radical feminism and reactionary conservatism, she traces a new path through the issues--biblical, theological, psychological and practical--to establish and affirm common ground. Arguing that men and women are both equal and distinct, Sumner encourages us to find ways to honor and benefit from the leadership gifts of both. Men and Women in the Church is a book for all who want a fresh and hope-filled look at a persistent problem." Again, I don't know if I'll agree or disagree with Dr. Sumner, but I look forward to reading her work. (2003, IVP, 288 pgs.)

Personal Spiritual Growth and Enrichment

Recently read:

Thin Places: An evangelical journey into Celtic Christianity. By Tracy Balzer. Tracy holds a Master of Ministry and is the former Director of Christian Formation at John Brown University. Iona is one of the larger in the family of islands called the Western Hebrides of Scotland. An Abby stands on the island to this day. This book recounts the story of the ancient Christian Celts on this island and of the author's visits to the island. The first missionary to the pagan Celts was St. Patrick, born in 387 A.D. into a noble British Christian family. At age 16 he was kidnapped by marauders from the west and taken to Ireland where he was sold into slavery. After his escape six years later, Patrick became a priest and eventually returned to the isle of his captors to share the gospel with them.

This is an easy read and only 163 pages. I had some difficulty with Balzer's conclusions at various points but I gained an appreciation for the difficulty of early Christian evangelism and the sacrifices and practices of those who heard and followed that call. The recorded prayers of the ancient Celts were intriguing and challenging in my own prayer life, particularly the constant practice of the Celts to pray to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in almost every prayer. (2007. Leafwood Publishers.)

Currently Reading:

Prayer: Finding the heart's true home. By Richard J. Foster. Many people are familiar with Richard Foster as the author of the now classic Celebration of Discipline (1978). I read Celebration of Discipline several years ago and can still recall some quotes from the book (for instance, his description of the "dark knight of the soul" from St. John of the Cross.) In that book Foster has one chapter on prayer; here it's the whole book. I'm only into the 4^th chapter, and already it's been an encouragement to my own connection to God's heart. I'm not sure I've ever been satisfied with my prayer life (and actually, I'm not sure I ever want to be.) Even though I'm not far in, based on what I've read and on Foster's other works, I can already recommend this book. An interesting side note is the fact that I was able to hear Foster speak recently at a conference. He has a formal, yet elegant, way of speaking that I enjoyed (though I probably wouldn't enjoy it on a regular basis.) (1992. Harper Publishers. 256 pgs. A Christianity Today Book of the Year winner.)

For Fun:

Recently Finished:

The First World War. By John Keegan. If you've known me very long, you know I've had an interest in reading books on WWII. Well, I've read all the WWII books I can find that look interesting to me (probably 15 -20 books over the last 5-7 years, I'll give my entire WWII reading list at some point in the future.) In my recent reading on that war (I highly recommend these two books: An Army at Dawn, 2007, 768 pgs,
and The Day of Battle, 2008, 848 pgs, books 1 & 2 of a trilogy by Rick Atkinson) I began for the first time to ask myself "how did the world arrive at such a place for a war like this to happen?" At about that time I came across Keegan's book. Keegan is a British author living in Wiltshire, England. For many years he was the senior lecturer in military history at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, and has been a fellow at Princeton Univeristy. This was a very good read and very thorough (427 pgs.) This is not your typical "America came in and saved the day" book, though he seems to be very fair in his recount of the American contribution to the conclusion of the war. One thing that stuck out to me about the start of WWI was the attitude of several European countries which seemed to be kind of a name-that-tune "We can win the war in 50 days" kind of arrogance. Germany was sure it could win in 40 days or so. They were wrong and 4 years and over 9 million military and civilian deaths proved it.

Just started:

Iron Tears: America's Battle for Freedom, Britain's Quagmire: 1775-1783.

By Stanley Weintraut, the Evan Pugh Professor Emeritus of Arts and Humanities at Penn State University. The revolutionary war period is one of newer interest to me. After renting the movie John Adams starring Paul Giamatti and watching all 7 episodes without even blinking (it's that good) I've been on the lookout for good reads in this period. I've read one or two but not one with an equal eye as to the events across the pond. I'm a little more interested in "all things British" these days as I'm taking my wife Alicia to London this fall as part of our 20^th anniversary "travel extravaganza". (This is the honeymoon we never had, just 20 years late.) This book was recommended to me by a friend so I'm sure I'll enjoy it and the first few pages haven't disappointed. The inside jacket of this book has already given me a perspective of this war that I had never considered, "Colonial America was England's Vietnam." This should be good!

Five things I want to do before I'm married

(It’s a “count-up” instead of a countdown and one number is no more dramatic than the other).

1. Invest in something destined to fail.

Like a new type of stapler, that leaves no holes. It’s magnetic. So tiny bits of metal shimmy between all the separate sheets of paper and the one on top is magnetized. This way they all stick together.

Or something more rational and useful but at the same time it must be destined to fail. Like a banana peeler. It’s a cool idea. After all, we have various fruit and vegetable peelers already. But when it comes down to it, a banana is really not that hard to peel. Unless you are a vegetable (not a mentally handicapped, or physically disabled joke. Imagine an actual vegetable trying to peel a banana).

It has to fail. I hate gambling, mainly because it’s really not that fun unless you are over the age of 50 and you save up money once a year to watch machines spin around and make noise. And, the casinos are sad sometimes. And cloudy because of the smoke. And some people sit there and spend money they do not have. Yes, less like gambling, this investment has to fail. I have to spend a little bit of money on my own terms before I have to open the dam and flood my funding into a pot for my wife and me. Plus, the investment must not yield anything in return. I don’t want money given to me in which I have to make another decision to determine its fate. Actually, I assume it will just go into the pot thing.

2. Try to make a solo album.

Without Cody. We have been the music duo for years (we are twins). What would it look like if both of us went our separate ways, but kept the same songs and made the exact same album? It’s been a small goal of mine in the past eight years to sell more albums than Cody.

What if we decided to play downtown in the city on the same day? What if we were just a block or so apart? Playing the same songs…People might question their perception. Is that not the premise of music and art?

3. I want to enroll in a writing workshop class.

I love critiquing terrible writing. It makes me feel good when I pick out the silly mistakes and incongruent thoughts of others. Mainly because I know I can write better than the people who would enlist in an online writing workshop course. (I’m talking about the free kind. The kind of “support group” you find by typing “writing workshop online free” in GOOGLE).

Oh to reinforce the concept that my ideas and motives are relevant, intuitive, and more profound than anything anyone can conceptualize makes me feel wise.

4. I don’t want to pick up my dirty clothes from my bedroom floor until I’m married.

Honestly, I’m just holding out on this one until the last possible minute.

5. Guest star on the hit TV series “Lost.”

I have more insight than some of the characters on the show. If they play the music while I’m acting I can probably anticipate danger better than they can. I also feel I could be a good influence on Ben. (He’s an actual character in the show. Very mischievous and manipulative).



Selfishness is meaningless. And God created us for relationships. Because he is relational. That’s the point of Jesus. So we can know God. The Holy Spirit moves in with us when we tie the knot with Him.

“He must become greater; I must become less.”
John 3:30

CommuniTV: HomeTeams

Tuning Out

It seems every time I go out, whether shopping or whatever, someone around me is talking on a cell phone. If I look at people passing while driving, nearly everyone is on one. I wonder how we ever survived without our beloved phones. Our kids demand them, our youth live on them. While I do have a cell phone and it is convenient to call my wife from the store, I could easily throw it away.

I know using a phone is more personal than e-mail, especially since you can’t always tell one’s attitude or emotional state in the printed word, but I wish people wouldn’t use them constantly. I turn around every time I hear someone in the grocery store say hello. Of course, they are usually talking on the phone and not to me. However, I still look because I never want to miss the opportunity to experience the quickly-disappearing, personal hello.

Is it possible that we are trying to keep our world more confined by being on our cell phone? It’s very easy to walk around on a phone or with an iPod and use that as an excuse for not interacting with people around us. As Christians, we are called to be in the world but not of it. It is extremely difficult to reach out to others when we are self-absorbed within our own lives.

What is the answer? I’m not certain that I have one. I know that I will have to keep my cell phone. I know that they are good for making contact and directly communicating with others. But, I would much rather talk to someone in person. It is healthy to be with and encourage each other face-to-face. Am I longing for something that may never return? Perhaps, but for now I think I’ll close my phone and say hello.

GROW UP!

Recently, I found an article written by Ken Miller, a pastor in a church in the DFW area...and I want to share it's contents with you. So, read and enjoy!

“Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good”

(1 Peter 2:2-3 NIV)

"...but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ”

(Ephesians 4:15 NASB)

Grow up!

Boy, how many times have I heard that statement over the years? Fortunately, I seem to be hearing it less these days, but there was a time when it was a recurring theme in my life (especially in my younger days). But this phrase isn’t always reserved for children. The sad case is that many of us as adults have been told to grow up and act our age on more than one occasion, usually because we were behaving in a way that was neither normal nor particularly attractive. Of course, we can allow these remarks to offend us or enlighten us to the need for change.

So what do we do with all the Bible’s admonitions to “grow up?” It’s an inescapable fact that the Scriptures expect and demand maturity. The New Testament is chock-full of admonitions to grow up spiritually. Just check out these verses:

“When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me” (1 Corinthians 13:11 NIV).

“Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13 NASB).

“Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil” (Hebrews 5:13-14 NIV).

“We proclaim him by instructing and teaching all people with all wisdom so that we may present every person mature in Christ” (Colossians 1:28 NET).

“So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding” (Hebrews 6:1 NLT).

Spiritual growth or maturity is a non-optional priority for any Christ-follower. It is a clear expectation that we are to grow in Christlikeness. And we have an active role to play in our pursuit of holiness:

“So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light” (Romans 13:12 NIV).

“… throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception” (Ephesians 4:22 NLT).

“… put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth” (Ephesians 4:24 NASB).

“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand” (Ephesians 6:13 NIV).

“Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our area of activity among you will greatly expand …” (2 Corinthians 10:15 NIV).

While it’s true that our spiritual growth is totally dependent upon things outside of ourselves — the transforming power of the Word, the empowering presence of the Spirit, and the grace of God through Jesus Christ — we are never to be passive at any point in the process. Yes, Jesus did say “apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5 NASB), and Paul said, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13 NASB), but notice that both use the word “do.” This clearly infers some kind of action on our part. We have to do something. God does not transform us independent of us.

Becoming Active In Spiritual Growth
So what’s your role in the spiritual transformation process? What can you do to become a more active participant in your own spiritual maturation? Well, the answer is to practice the spiritual disciplines — those timeless and time-tested spiritual activities that God has designed to accentuate and assist us in our pursuit of Christ-likeness.

In his book “The Spirit of the Disciplines,” Dallas Willard defines a discipline as “any activity within our power that we engage in to enable us to do what we cannot do by direct effort.” For a Christian who wants to grow, these activities can include prayer, Bible study, fasting, meditation, solitude and Scripture memorization. They are not magic elixirs that somehow inoculate us or transform us into super saints. They are simply habits or activities that provide opportunities for God to speak and His Holy Spirit to work. By doing them, we put ourselves in a place to hear from and be changed by God.

So why don’t more of us practice the spiritual disciplines? Partly because of the presence of the word “discipline.” It scares us. It sounds unpleasant and a little bit intimidating. And we live in a culture where we prefer gain without the pain. We want spirituality without the discipline, thank you very much. Willard says this: “It is part of the misguided and whimsical condition of humankind that we so devoutly believe in the power of effort-at-the-moment-of-action alone to accomplish what we want and completely ignore the need for character change in our lives as a whole.

The general human failing is to want what is right and important, but at the same time not to commit to the kind of life that will produce the action we know to be right and the condition we want to enjoy. This is the feature of human character that explains why the road to hell is paved with good intentions. We intend what is right, but we avoid the life that would make it a reality.”

How does this look in our lives? We read God’s Word sporadically. We pray infrequently and unexpectantly. We aren’t sure what meditation means, so we don’t do it at all. And our idea of solitude is a few minutes in front of the TV with the remote all to ourselves. We settle for life-as-usual.

No More Life-as-Usual
But for many of us, life-as-usual has not been fertile ground in which God can bring change. Willard writes that “life-as-usual must go.” You must take serious stock of your life and determine what you are doing that needs to change. You must assess what is missing that you need to add. Ask yourself these two questions:

1. What am I currently not doing that, if I were doing, would open myself up more to God's work of grace in my life?

2. What am I currently doing that, if eliminated, would open myself up more to God's work of grace in my life?

Spiritual growth is all about transformation — the slow, steady process of God molding fallen men and women into the image of His Son. So what are you doing to put yourself in the right place where God can work? Are you reading His Word daily? If not, then start today. Do you struggle with your prayer life? Pick up Bill Hybel’s book, “Too Busy Not to Pray” or another good book about prayer. Aren’t sure what to think about things like meditation and fasting? Read Dallas Willard’s book, “The Spirit of the Disciplines.”

Grace Is Opposed to Earning, Not Effort.
You have a role to play in your spiritual growth and the church exists to help you. But without your active participation, no efforts on our part can produce true spiritual change in your life. Foster writes that “superficiality is the curse of our age.” John Ortberg states that our greatest enemy in the spiritual life is hurry. We lack the time and the desire for the things of God, and so we fail to see measurable, visible growth. Dallas Willard warns us about the dangers of complacency: “The single most obvious trait of those who profess Christ but do not grow into Christ-likeness is their refusal to take the reasonable and time-tested measures for spiritual growth. I almost never meet someone in spiritual coldness, perplexity and distress who is regular in the use of those spiritual exercises that will be obvious to anyone familiar with the contents of the New Testament.”

So are you ready to grow up? If so, what are you doing to make it happen? Yes, it is ultimately up to God, but you do have a role to play, as Paul reminds us: “… continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe” (Philippians 2:12-15 NIV).

Put into action God’s saving work in your life. Let your life shine brightly.

Grow up!