Ten Recommended Reads

In keeping with my goal to read 100 books in 2008, I'm working on a list of works I would like to read. I'll reveal some of those tomorrow, Lord willing. I've also been thinking about what I read in 2007 that really stood out. Because of my doctoral work, I've been told to read several things and some of those are included. Here is the list (which is neither exhaustive nor in any particular order):

• Suite Francaise and Fire in the Blood, by Irene Nemirovsky. These two novels, originally written in French, are as poignant because of their author's story as for their subjects. Nemirovsky was an Eastern European Jew who took French citizenship but perished at Auschwitz during World War II. Fire in the Blood vividly describes French small town culture during the period between the two wars. Suite is Nemirovsky's final and incomplete novel and is a moving account of the coming of war from the viewpoints of several French families. I first read Suite in French, then in English. They are worth finding.

• 1776, by David McCullough. A masterfully-told narrative of a year that shaped history. I also started McCullough's biography of John Adams, which is excellent.

• A Passion for Souls, by Lyle Dorsett. A well-done biography of evangelist D. L. Moody.

• Two books by Clinton Arnold on the subject of spiritual warfare: Powers of Darkness, a study of the theme in the letters of Paul, but which also provides a balanced survey of the biblical material on spiritual warfare, and Three Crucial Questions about Spiritual Warfare.

• David Hesselgrave's Paradigms in Conflict addresses ten important questions in world missions, while Scripture and Strategy is a critical reminder that the Word is the heart of our work.

• Urban Ministry, by Harvie Conn and Manuel Ortiz.

• Discipled Warriors, by Chuck Lawless is a must for pastors and those interested in making disciples. Lawless suggests that one reason our efforts at making disciples struggle is that we are not properly grounding new believers theologically. As a result they are woefully unprepared for the battles they face.

• Organic Church, by Neil Cole. I may not agree with everything Cole says in this book, but he's on to something.