Bookshelf
Summer Reading List:
Blue Like Jazz, by Donald Miller
One of the most thought provoking, perspective changing books I’ve ever read. It’s a book that begs you to think about life. Yours, his, others. It’s all about life and how God is not only a part of all of it, but can be found in the most surprising places. My guess is God did not awaken you to his presence with trumpets and fanfare. He probably used coffee, bikes, sand, cars, fried eggs, beer, sweat or music. His convention is very unconventional. Donald Miller paints an extraordinary picture of God in real life, and how He desires to awaken our souls to Himself. The chapters are loosely tied together, but are better taken as random individual thoughts on God.
Searching for God Knows What, by Donald Miller
In Donald Miller’s follow up to Blue Like Jazz, he explores his journey as God sought him out. It is so real and relatable. We are all searching for something to fill and fulfill. We are born with a longing for something that seems just out of our grasp or beyond our understanding. It’s like words we cannot speak, on the tip of our tongue but just beyond our reach. Donald Miller walks us down the path he took as he sought out what he truly longed for. And only God knew that it was a Savior.
A Generous Orthodoxy, by Brian McLaren
In evangelical circles, this book is sometimes seen as bordering on heresy. In the emerging circles, it is too often seen as the bible. I think I view it somewhere along the lines of “Wow. I’ve never thought about it that way. Interesting.” It is a very well written essay on the wondrous parts of many opposing Christian denominations. McLaren seeks to explain why he loves and gleans from many, many different factions. and throughout he pounds the point that we need to take the time to see the beauty in the worship practices of others. There are places he goes too far, for sure. But I think he does so, not so much because he believes the extent of what he’s saying, but because he is passionate about starting the conversation. He wants you to question, so you can figure out what your essentials are, and what is extraneous. What is your core? What are your non-negotiables? This book is very challenging and eye-opening. I came to appreciate much about denominations that I had formerly written off as crazy or close-minded or up-tight. I was able to see the good, God-honoring things in many different church groups. I appreciated this book for how it opened my mind, got me asking questions and started awakening me to my prejudices.
The Irresistible Revolution, by Shane Claiborne
This book was overwhelming to me, in a good way. Claiborne chronicles his journey through life as his heart is awakened to the poor, tired, hopeless and abandoned in inner city Philadelpia. Through experiences in bible college, his heart was broken for the impoverished in Philly. He began speaking up for the voiceless, spending time with the homeless and eventually moved into their neighborhood. He pioneered a group called The Simple Way, based on the early church in Acts. They live together, share what they have and passionately devote themselves to loving the poor in their community. It is heart-wrenching, hope-giving and mind-blowing. When I put this book down I immediatly felt inadequate and selfish. But I then remembered that God only made one Shane Claiborne. I am not called to live in inner city Philly. But I am called to passionately love people. Great book. Everyone needs to read it. Everyone.
The Shack, by William P. Young
An amazing novel about a man’s encounter with God at the very place he experienced his greatest tragedy. It gives great insight into the mysteries of the trinity, the humanity of Jesus and the ideas of forgiveness and justice. Mac experiences every parent’s worst nightmare and gets lost in the Great Sadness that follows. His journey to forgiveness opens his eyes to the God he has been angry with and the lies he has believed.
I would recommend this book to absolutely anyone. It changed my view of who God is and how he relates to his people by suggesting that what we have always been taught in the church may not be the fullness of who this mighty God is. There is so much of God beyond our comprehension, and in this book Mr. Young attempts to explain many of the things we, as limited humans, struggle to understand.
