Recommended Reading
(Last Updated: May 5, 2008)
Below you will find a list of books that I have found very helpful as I work as a pastor and as a web designer. I hope you find this list helpful. I have tried to organize it so that its most helpful. I’ll be updating and adding to this last as time goes on.
Paradigm Shifters
These are the books that were worldview changing for me. I’d recommend them to almost anyone, anywhere.
- Transforming Mission - David Bosch - Top 3 book of all time. This is a review of how mission has been done in the gospels through today - mostly from a Western Church perspective. This should be required reading for anyone who calls themselves “Missional”.
- The Continuing Conversation of the Church - Darrell Guder - Top 10 book of all time. Hands down.
- The Missional Church - Darrell Guder - Top 5 book of all time. This book blew my mind when I first read it.
- The Shaping of Things to Come - Alan Hirsch, Michael Frost - This book shaped the me to come! This has been a very, very formative book for me as I have sought to lead our church.
- Beyond Foundationalism - John Franke - This book helped me a lot as the worldview I grew up with was breaking down. It gave me a good framework with which to approach the scriptures and theology.
- The Search to Belong - Joe Myers (This book really, really helped reshape how i viewed community and small groups).
- Giving and Stewardship in an Effective Church - Kennon Callahan (This book has completly changed my view of giving, offering and finances in the church. Despite its old school title, its really, really amazing. I can’t recommend it enough.
- Death by Meeting - Patrick Lencion. You wouldn’t think that a book about meetings would be in this category but this book was huge for us at The Well as we’ve tried to figure out this team leadership thing.
- A Walk Through the Bible - Lesslie Newbigin - This book is awesome. It’s an 80 page summary of the bible by one of my favorite authors. I’ve bought about 15 of these books and given them out to people who wanted to learn more about the story of the bible.
- Change or Die - Alan Deutschman - This book take a look at what motivates people to change. Guess what, its not guilt. It’s hope. Hmm.. sounds like the gospel. Fantastic book from a Fast Company Magazine author.
- Countdown to Sunday - Chris Eardman - In my humble opinion, this is the best book on preaching that I have ever read. Really helped affirm and reshape my preparation process.
Pastoral Leadership
- Working the Angles - Eugene Peterson - This is is so challenging, I read this at least once a year.
- Organic Community - Joe Myers (A great book on organicially growing an authentic community. Highly recommended).
- Organic Church - Neil Cole (This book was an easy read and really had some great examples of stepping out and inviting God to work through you).
- Intuitive Leadership - Tim Keel (Tim is one of my favorite pastors. He loves his church. This book is a great introduction to the Emerging Church stuff from a pastoral perspective - which is a rare find).
- Communicating for a Change - Andy Stanley - I found this a really, really helpful book as I have continued to develop my own preaching style. Its more about prep and mechanics and that’s a good thing.
General Leadership
- The Five Disfunctions of Team - Patrick Lencioni (This book is really, really helpful if you work in a team environment).
- Good to Great - Jim Collins - A classic study in Leadership.
- The Leadership Challenge - This book has some great ah-ha moments. Worth having around if you are a leader in some way, shape or form.
Missional Theology
- The Forgotten Ways - Alan Hirsch - Really solid follow-up to Shaping of Things to Come.
- Exiles - Michael Frost - This book was really good and I don’t know what else to say about it.
- The Gospel in a Pluralist Society - Lesslie Newbigin - I love this guy and this book is him at his best. If you haven’t read this. Do it. His chapter on leadership is worth the price of the book.
- Proper Confidence - Lesslie Newbigin - This book has been helpful to me as I have struggled with the balance of doubt, faith, science.
Theology
- Embracing Grace - Scot McKnight - McKnight is fast becoing one of my favorite authors and people. This book is perhaps the best short accounting of the Gospel that I have ever read.
- Simply Christian - N.T Wright - This book is great for a group study.
- Faith Thinking - Trevor Hart - Along with John Frake’s book, this book helped give me a fresh approach to my faith.
- Everything Must Change - Brian McLaren - A good, mind bending book. Worth your time.
Web Design
- Designing with Web Standards - Jeffery Zeldman (Zeldman might as well be the Brian McLaren of the web standards movement. This book has been big time in the web design world).
- CSS Mastery, Advanced CSS Solutions - Andy Budd (If you want to learn more and be come a CSS wizard. Read this book or at least keep it around as a reference).
- HTML Mastery, Semantics, Standards and Styling - Paul Haine (If you call yourself a webdesigner, you’d better write good code. This book will help you).
- Bulletproof Web Design - Dan Cederholm (A great book on making websites that don’t break).