Books, Books, Books

One of the things that have been truly formative in my spiritual growth are the books I’ve read.  Since I first became a Christian in 1990 I made it a habit to read good Christian books, and I’m so thankful I have.

I have also had a lot of people at Forefront ask me, “Could you give me a suggestion for a good book to read?”

So, I put a series of posts on some of the best books I can suggest on a variety of topics… You can check them out by clicking on the recommended reading links on the right.

Get reading!

Finding Your Way Around

 Some of you may be new to reading blogs, and all of you are new to reading this blog, so let me give you a quick guided tour.  To the right you’ll find a variety of things. 

(1) There are some Forefront links – by clicking on these you can go straight to the Forefront web site, or listen to Forefront messages, or watch Forefront videos. (2) There are also links to the churches Forefront has helped to start around the country. (3) You’ll also find a link to the book I wrote, “I Became a Christian and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt.” (4) There is a Recommended Reading List where you’ll find a long list of books I suggest – in different categories. (5) There is also my Amazon Wish List. You can see some of the books I’m hoping to buy in the near future, and if you win the lottery you can even buy me a few.

After a post you can leave a comment if you want – but keep ‘em clean people!

Okay, consider the guided tour over. You have officially been schooled.

Recommended Reading: Preaching

Made to Stick, Chip & Dan Heath
Communicating for a Change, Andy Stanley
Preaching, Fred Craddock
Experiential Storytelling, Mark Miller

Recommended Reading: Parenting

Families Where Grace is in Place, Jeff VanVoderen
Why Christians Kids Rebel, Tim Kimmel
Raising a Modern-Day Knight, Robert Lewis
Grace Based Parenting, Tim Kimmel
Preparing Your Kids for True Greatness, Tim Kimmell
Shepherding a Child’s Heart, Tedd Tripp
What Kids Need Most in a Dad, Tim Hansel
Winning the Parenting War
Raising Great Kids, Dr. Henry Cloud & Dr. John Townsend
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Families, Steven Covey
The Five Love Languages of Kids, Gary Chapman

Recommended Reading: Prayer

Prayer, Philip Yancey
Too Busy Not To Pray, Bill Hybles
[Re]Understanding Prayer, Kyle Lake
The Practice of the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence
The Way of the Heart, Henri Nouwen
Red Moon Rising, Pete Greig
Prayer: The Heart’s True Home, Richard Foster
Hearing God, Dallas Willard

Recommended Reading: Spiritual Growth/Formation

 What’s So Amazing About Grace, Philip Yancey
The Life You’ve Always Wanted, John Ortberg
Blue Like Jazz, Donald Miller
Seizing Your Divine Moment, Erwin McManus
Searching for God Knows What, Donald Miller
Ruthless Trust, Brennan Manning
The Divine Conspiracy, Dallas Willard
The Jesus I Never Knew, Philip Yancey
Contrarians Guide to Knowing God, Larry Osborne
Let Your Life Speak, Parker Palmer
To Be Written, Dan Allendar
The Irresistible Revolution, Shane Claiborne
The Discipline of Grace, Jerry Bridges
Sacred Romance, Brent Curtis & John Eldridge
The Journey of Desire, John Eldridge
Wild at Heart, John Eldridge
The Best Question Ever, Andy Stanley
Soul Survivor, Philip Yancey
Reaching for the Invisible God, Philip Yancey
The Path, Laurie Beth JonesThe Vow, Pete Greig
Everybody’s Normal Till You Get to Know ‘Em, John Ortberg
Transforming Grace, Jerry Bridges
Jesus, Mean and Wild, Mark Gali
Divine Nobodies, Jim Palmer
In a Pit with a Lion On a Snowy Day, Mark Batterson
Chazown, Craig Groeschell
Praise Habit, David Crowder
Sacred Pathways, Gary Thomas
The Ragamuffin Gospel, Brennan Manning
Celebration of the Disciplines, Richard Foster
It Came From Within, Andy Stanley
Renovation of the Heart, Dallas Willard
The Pursuit of Holiness, Jerry Bridges
To Own a Dragon, Donald Miller
Making Room for Life, Randy Frazee
Rumors of Another World, Philip Yancey
In the Grip of Grace, Max Lucado
When the Game is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box, John Ortberg
Jesus with Dirty Feet, Don Everts
Peppermint Filled Piñatas, Eric Michael Bryant
Running on Empty, Fil Anderson
Story, Steven James
The Jesus Creed, Scott McKnight
The Life God Rewards, Bruce Wilkinson
Connecting, Larry Crabb
The Search to Belong, Joseph Myers
Buck Naked Faith, Eric Sandras
Flashbang, Mark Steele
Metamorpha, Kyle Strobel
Jesus in the Margins, Rick McKinley

Recommended Reading: Evangelism

Just Walk Across the Room, Bill Hybles
unchristian, David Kinneman
Lost in America, Tom Clegg
The Power of Story, Leighton Ford
More Ready Than You Realize, Brian McLarren
The Coffeehouse Gospel, Matthew Paul Turner
Lifestyle Evangelism, Joe Aldrich
Contagious Christianity, Bill Hybles
Inside the Mind of Unchurched Harry and Mary, Lee Strobel
Inside the Heart of a New Generation, Deiter Zander
The Celtic Way of Evangelism, George Hunter
Dinner with a Perfect Stranger, David GregoryGentile Persuasion, Joe Aldrich

Recommended Reading: Church

The Seven Habits of Effective Ministry, Andy Stanley & Reggie Joiner
The Gutter:  Where Life is Meant to be Lived, Craig Gross
An Unstoppable Force, Erwin McManus
Simple Church, Thom Raineer
The Forgotten Ways, Alan Hirsh
Go Big, Bil Cornelius & Bill Easum
The Creative Pastor, Ed Young Jr.
The Emotionally Healthy Church, Peter Scazzero
No Perfect People Allowed, John Burke
Glocalization, Bob Roberts
The Shaping of Things to Come, Michael Frost & Alan Hirsch
The Purpose Driven Church, Rick Warren
Confessions of a Reformission Rev: Hard
Lessons from an Emerging Missional Church, Mark Driscoll
Transformation, Bob Roberts
When God Builds a Church, Bob Russell
The Church of Irresistible Influence, Robert Lewis
Stripped, Judd Wilhite
The Church on the Other Side, Brian McLaren
    *(formerly titled: “Reinventing Your Church”)
Can We Do That?, Andy Stanley & Ed Young
God in the Alley, Greg Paul
The Big Idea, Dave Ferguson
First Impressions: Creating Wow Experiences in Your Church, Mark Waltz
Spilt Grape Juice, Mike Root
Simply Strategic, Tim Stephens & Tony Morgan
The Externally Focused Church, Rick Rusaw
The Connecting Church, Randy Frazee
Rediscovering Church, Bill Hybles
The Radical Reformission, Marc Driscoll
The Emerging Church, Dan Kimball
The Church That Never Sleeps, Matthew Barnett
The Missional Church, Darrel Gruder
Churches That Heal, Doug Murren
Discontinuity & Hope, Lyle Schaller
Surprising Insights From The Unchurched, Thomas Raineer
Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, Jim Cymballa
Fresh Faith, Jim Cymballa
The Volunteer Revolution, Bill Hybles
A Peculiar People, Rodney Clapp
The Death of Church, Mike Regal
The Equipping Church, Sue Mallory
A Church for the 21st Century, Leith Anderson
Prepare Your Church for the Future, Carl George
The Coming Church Revolution, Carl George
The Monday Morning Church, Doing Church as a Team, Wayne Cordeiro

Recommended Reading: Leadership

Good To Great, Jim Collins
Courageous Leadership, Bill Hybles
In The Name of Jesus, Henri Nouwen
The E-Myth, Michael Gerber
The One Thing You Need to Know, Marcus Buckingham
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni
Blue Ocean Strategy, W. Chan Kim & Renee Mauborgne
Organizing Genius, Warren Bennis
Built to Last, Jim Collins
The Next Generation Leader, Andy Stanley
Pour Your Heart Into It, Howard Schultz
The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive, Patrick Lencioni
The Five Temptations of a CEO, Patrick Lencioni
Silos, Politics & Turf Wars, Patrick Lencioni
Death by Meeting, Patrick Lencioni
The Pursuit of Wow, Tom Peters
Orbiting the Giant Hairball, Gordon MacKenzie
First, Break All the Rules, Marcus Buckingham
Now, Focus on Your Strengths, Marcus Buckingham
The Starbucks Experience, Joseph Michelli
Execution, Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan
The Contrarians Guide to Leadership, Steven Sample
Leadership, Rudolph Guliani
Fish, Stephen Lundin
Be Our Guest, The Disney Institute The Leadership Challenge, Kouzes & Posner
Developing the Leader Within You, John Maxwell
Developing the Leaders Around You, John Maxwell
Spiritual Leadership, Henry Blackaby
Visioneering, Andy Stanley
Spiritual Leadership, J. Oswald Sanders
Tipping Point, Malcom Gladwell
Odyseey, John Sculley
Off-Road Disciplines, Earl Crepes
Organized for Success, Stephanie Winston
Encouraging the Heart, James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner