Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Mission: Read Like Crazy

The great preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, said, “The man who never reads will never be read; he who never quotes will never be quoted. He who will not use the thoughts of other men’s brains proves he has no brains of his own.”

Lately, God has been impressing upon the need to gain wisdom from men who already possess it. This has motivated me to start asking more and better questions of different people I admire. It has also motivated me to start reading more non-fiction books by the great contemporary theologians.

I know from experience that these commitments usually fizzle away without two secret ingredients: discipline and accountability. You all can help me with both. I've decided to make a goal of reading ten books by the end of next year.

Why ten? I don't know. It just seemed like a good round number. Likewise, I think it is both a doable goal and a goal that will take a bit of effort. Upon finishing each book I'll be posting a brief review here.



This is my list thus far:

Just Do Something By Kevin DeYoung

Religion Saves and 9 Other Misconceptions By Mark Driscoll

Desiring God by John Piper

Humility: True Greatness by CJ Mahaney

Knowing God by JI Packer

God is the Gospel by John Piper

Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World - Various contributors

How Should We Then Live by Francis Schaeffer

What do you think? Good list? Bad list? What books have been meaningful to you? What books would you recommend?

10 comments:

  1. I'm reading "The 5,000 year Leap" right now....so far so good.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I also like anything written by C.S. Lewis...."Surprised by Joy" details his youth as a Christian, then falling away and his trek back from athiesm. All of his book are good.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks you. I think Lewis would be a great additional to my reading list. I can't believe I didn't have anything by him.

    ReplyDelete
  4. 5000 year leap is good.. read that last year... Autumn and I just read redeeming love by francine rivers... its a really good book... I have a few other books Im ready to dive into...biography of george washington...

    ReplyDelete
  5. A bit random, but I can recommend them: Paul Tillich's "History of Christian Thought"; Thomas Merton's "essential writings", complied in "Spiritual Master"; Olivier Clement's "Roots of Christian Mysticism"; G.K. Chesterton's "Orthodoxy"; C.S. Lewis' "God in the Dock". My buddy, Rev. Kelby Cotton, is on Facebook, and is a voracious reader and seminarian who will likely have wonderful ideas for you! Feel free to send him a message!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Andrew Murry's books on prayer.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks for your advice everyone!

    ReplyDelete
  8. ‎"Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from its Cultural Captivity" by Nancy Pearcey is a must read.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Happy reading!!! How are you doing?? Keep up the good work.

    ReplyDelete