25 Books Every Christian Should Read (and a book giveaway!)

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 at 12:24 pm by Kurt Willems

25 Books Every Christian Should Read (and a book giveaway!) 2011-12-23T12:24:21-08:00 Kurt Willems

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The following is a conversation part of the Patheos Book Club for 25 Books Every Christian Should Read. To interact more, click this link.

—————————————————–

My spiritual journey continues to be informed by people like Dallas Willard, Richard Foster, and more recently – Jan Johnson. These folks are part of a wonderful organization called Renovare, which focuses on equipping followers of Jesus to become more like their Messiah. My personal reflections on the issue of inward transformation and how such expresses itself outwardly, are written in an article called “I’m Done With Living Like a Christian.” There, you will get a glimpse into why I appreciate the Renovare approach to spirituality. Bottom line: know Jesus more.

Recently, I was sent a book to explore and reflect upon called 25 Books Every Christian Should Read. My initial thought was that I wondered about the criteria for such a list, wondering if this list was a bit restrictive. But, as I read the rationale for selecting these books (which represent the broad gamut of Christian writings from St. Athanasius to Henri Nouwen), I became convinced that the Renovare board was on to something. They state:

This book is not the list of the best Christian books ever written or a list of the top twenty-five devotional books; it isn’t even the list of the top twenty-five classics, although we believe all of the books on the list are or will be considered classics of their respective genres. the books we have chosen to include are, instead, the books that the board judged served as the best guides for living life with God. Cumulatively, these books embody a rich treasure of wisdom and counsel for how to live the Christian life. (x)

With that as the criteria, here is the goal: “reading primarily for formation rather than for information” (xii). This certainly is a challenge in a day when reading is focused on information intake and data overload. This book, which is a guide for introducing readers to a lot of other books, will take discipline to get through. In fact, the books is set up in chronological order, but the hope of the compilers is that readers will seek to read particular works that resonate with where they are in their faith journey at the time. This book truly is a guide to point you in a direction and not a book to “charge” through in a short amount of time.

It’s set up with an introduction section that gives much of the information that I summarized above. Then, each “classic” book is given one chapter. The chapter includes a section on the historical background of the work to be considered and the author. Then, a short section on reading strategies for that book. Following this section comes an excerpt from the classical book that gives attention to a significant theme of the work. Finally, at the end of each chapter are discussion questions for personal or small group reflection. This structure is seriously helpful for engaging some books we might not be tempted to otherwise read.

So, my recommendation would be to take one of two paths: 1) Read this book (slowly) in an attempt to get a “taste” of each of the 25 books. In this way, perhaps you won’t have a chance to read every single book listed (if you have seen the “thickness” of Calvin’s Institutes, you many understand what I’m getting at), but at least you will become acquainted with a portion of the work and can meditate upon it. 2) Use this book as an introduction to a vast tradition of spiritual writings and then read all 25 books in their entirety. This project could take months or even years, but I have a feeling that it would be life changing.

I highly recommend this book to you as an introduction to Spiritual Reading. I think it has the potential to greatly shape us into the image of Christ in a fresh way!

Giveaway!

I have one extra copy of this important book that I want to give away to you! Here’s how to win it: 1) “Like” my Facebook page and then share my FB page on your wall, inviting your friends to also “like” it. 2) Repost this article on either Twitter or Facebook. 3) Leave a comment with some sort of contact info (FB link or Twitter). Once the steps have been completed, you are entered to win. I will reveal the winner at the end of next week…

Books

Previous Post

December 16, 2011

Deconstruction, Demolition, and Incarnation

Next Post

December 17, 2011 Jesus Have I Loved, But Paul?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category (Series) All Out War-Spiritual Warfare (Series) Church Plant Journal (Series) Dear Reader... (Series) Earthquakes...Signs of the Times? (Series) Entering the... Conversation (Series) Evangelical Culture Myths (Series) Everything is Meaningless [Pete Enns] (Series) Evolving Evangelicalism (Series) Hell Yes. Hell No! Who Cares? (Series) Hidden Worldviews (Series) If Evolution is Right, what about Adam? (Series) in less than 300 words (Series) Jesus and Nationalism (Series) Liberating Women for Ministry? (Series) Life-Changing Books (Series) Markers of Church Plant Movement (Series) Nonviolence 101 (Series) Philemon - Reconciliation (Series) Quote to Ponder (Series) Red Letter Dialogues (Series) Resource of the Week (SERIES) Revelation Sermons (Series) Share Something Sundays (Series) Simplicity in the Burbs: $2 a day (Series) The Binding of God [Open Theism] (Series) The Creed: Anabaptist Reflections (Series) Values for Church Leadership (Series) Video to Ponder Anabaptism Animal Advocacy Books Church Ministry Church Planting Community Culture Eschatology Eucharist Evangelical Reject Evolution Fundamentalism Greek Greg Boyd Guest Contributors Hell Holy Spirit Israel/Palestine Kingdom of God Lent Missional N. T. Wright Nationalism New Creation Nonviolence Open Mic Open Theism Parenting Passover Paul Philemon Podcast Politics Restorative Justice Revelation (the book of) Rob Bell Ron Martoia Sermon Shane Claiborne Social Justice Speaking Engagement Spiritual Warfare Spirituality Temple Theology Tim Geddert Tribulation Uncategorized universalism Video Blog Women in Ministry Worship Music Youth Ministry

Select a Month August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 October 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 December 2016 October 2016 August 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

How many Psalms are attributed to David?

Select your answer to see how you score.

73 50 100 40

Support this
Column