A Book A Month In 2010

Studies show that people who read are generally more happy and do better in life.  This is definately true of the walk of faith.  We should never forget that God reveals Himself to us through His written word.   The word "disciple" means "learner".  To be a follower of Christ means that we seek truth and pursue it- that we love wisdom and that we live our lives with understanding and do what is wise.    It is a basic characteristic of the Christian life to desire to grow in our faith by growing in our understanding of His truth.  Of course this is brought about  primarily through the daily study of His word, but I have found that a good reading regiment is like having a host of mentors in my life as I study scripture.  So with that in mind, here is my annual recommendation for reading a book a month in the coming year:

1.  The Cross Centered Life by C.J. Mahaney

2.  Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas

3.  The Death of Death by John Owen

4.  Basic Christianity by John R.W. Stott

5.  The Jesus I Never Knew by Phillip Yancey

6.  Case for Christ by Lee Strobel 

7.  Pilgrims Progress by John Bunyan

8.  Humility by C.J. Mahaney

9.  Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

10.  Abraham Lincoln by James McPherson

11.  Life Together by Dietrick Bonhoeffer 

12.  The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

This reading list has a pretty good mix of topics- and a few classics.  It will be a great challenge to read some of these books in just one month- but it is a worthy goal nonetheless.   Part of the reason I put the Rings trilogy and Narnia on the same list this year is because I went to see the movie "Avatar" over the Christmas break and came away from that movie mesmarized by the incredible special affects but really disturbed by the in your face New Age philosophy it espoused.  It left me longing for a modern day Lewis or Tolkein who can help reclaim a Christian worldview in story telling. 

I remember many years ago, when I was a youth pastor in South Carolina, I heard Jay Kessler give a lecture in which he made the observation that in the future "the East and West will pass in the night".  At the time I thought it sounded impossible.  But this year I visited pastors and churches in India who tell stories of incredible growth and I can see that the major church growth movements are taking place not in North America or Europe but in Asia and Africa.  At the same time it is not lost on me that the most expensive American movie ever made and by far the biggest box office hit is a movie that is named after a Buddhist god incarnate.   Looking back now about 20 years later it seems to me that Kessler's prophecy is coming true.

All the more reason for us to read and learn and to "always be prepared to give a reason for the hope" that we have.