This weekend (and this morning) I got all nerdy and organized at the same time. I know. Multi-tasking. Who knew I was capable?
With a little help from Dewey and his decimals I got to see what I’ve spent so much of life learning about and what’s been ignored. Until I got all those books lined up by number I had no idea.
Fiction? I’ve got nothin’. Unless the Book Of Mormon counts.
Science? Only a stack of WIRED magazines.
So what is filling my bookshelf?
I know you’ve been asking yourself for what seems like eons now, “Hey, hair boy, what are the best books on your shelf?”
Well, I’ll tell you. And how they got there.
The Beatitudes:
I spent more than three years reading every book I could find on the beatitudes. Obsess much? Don’t mind if I do! Turns out I only kept 28 of them because, well, there are some really crappy books on the beatitudes out there (I want my money back, John McArthur). The best books I have on the beatitudes are:
- Studies in the Sermon on the Mount
by Martyn Lloyd-Jones
- The Message of the Sermon on the Mount
by John Stott
- The Gospel of Matthew Volume I (The New Daily Study Bible)
by William Barclay
The Kingdom Of God/Heaven:
The beatitudes begin and end with the phrase “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” One obsession led to another. The best stuff I’ve read on the “kingdom” is:
- Announcing the Kingdom: The Story of God’s Mission in the Bible
by Arthur Glasser
- Kingdom Ethics: Following Jesus in Contemporary Context
by Glen Stassen and David Gushee
War & Peace:
There’s a pretty good consensus about the meaning of all the beatitudes except one: “Blessed are the peace makers…” American writers before World War I are more likely to have thought “peace making” was at least partly about avoiding war. After WWI in America the consensus changed dramatically. That made me wonder if theology shapes our lives as much as our lives shape our theology. Here’s the best stuff I own on the subject of “peace:”
- What about Hitler?: Wrestling with Jesus’s Call to Nonviolence in an Evil World by Robert Brimlow
- Just Peacemaking: Ten Practices For Abolishing War
by Glen Stassen
- The Politics of Jesus
by John Howard Yoder
Following Jesus (Discipleship)
The biggest criticism against Christian non-violence is that it’s just not practical. And it isn’t. But why do I think following Jesus is supposed to be practical? The best stuff I’ve read on following Jesus versus pragmatism is:
- The Cost of Discipleship
by Deitrich Bonhoeffer
- Resident Aliens: Life in the Christian Colony
by Stanley Hauerwas and Will Willemon
- Dissident Discipleship: A Spirituality of Self-Surrender, Love of God, and Love of Neighbor
by David Augsburger
- Parting the Waters : America in the King Years 1954-63
by Taylor Branch (a biography of Martin Luther King, Jr.)
- In the Name of Jesus (Reflections on Christian Leadership)
by Henri Nouwen
Poverty, Injustice & Mercy Showing
Poverty and God’s concern for the poor and marginalized is woven throughout scripture. I don’t know how I didn’t see it sooner than my thirties. Better late than never right? I eventually had to understand it and figure out what God wanted me to do about it, if anything. The best stuff I have on the subject is:
- Neither Poverty Nor Riches: A Biblical Theology of Possessions by Craig Blomberg
- Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger: Moving from Affluence to Generosity
by Ronald Sider
- Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada’s Quest to Change Harlem and America
by Paul Tough
- When Helping Hurts: Alleviating Poverty Without Hurting the Poor. . .and Ourselves
by Brian Fikkert
Intimacy With God
Ideally, there’s a lot of action in the Christian life. But, I’ve learned the hard way, there has to be dedicated times of stillness and focussed devotion too. And this focus and dedication has to somehow leak out of the dedicated times and flow underneath everything I’m doing and thinking and feeling all the time. Somehow. That’s not easy for me. My best teachers on the subject of intimacy have been older wiser Christians talking to me face to face. But these books have been helpful too:
- Show Me the Way: Daily Lenten Readings
by Henri Nowen
- Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth
by Richard Foster
- Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life
by Donald Whitney
- Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ by Jeanne Guyon
Then I have some random favorites too that aren’t part of any group of books on my shelves.
- I like David Sedaris’ Me Talk Pretty One Day
for laughs and great memoir style writing.
- Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity
by Mark Noll is the best Church history book for people starting at square one on the subject.
- Seth Godin‘s Purple Cow should be required reading at all Christian record labels and radio stations – since both tend to love black and white cows and think the rest of us do too.
- The Parables: Jewish Tradition and Christian Interpretation
by Brad Young has been the most helpful book I’ve read on, well, the parables.
- Carpe Diem: Seize the Day
by Tony Campolo was the first book abut Jesus I ever read outside of the bible and it screwed me up, made me mad, made me smile and made me care. My mom gave it to me. If you have a high-schooler in your house who needs to be screwed in the best way, I’d recommend it or its modern day equivalent: Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God
by Francis Chan. Both offer balanced pictures of the Christian life: head and heart, loved and loving, faith and works.
- Once they finish that I’d have them read Revolution within: A Fresh Look at Supernatural Living
by Dwight Edwards – a basic “here’s what a Christian is” book I’ve used to disciple folks just starting out in this Christianity thing.
Megan (Best of Fates) says:
What a great number of selections – I’ll be sure to check a couple of them out!
Anna (@ampersand86) says:
Great list!! Books are one of my favorite things to talk about. I love David Sedaris.
Here are my favorites (in no particular order):
1) I Am the Messenger – Markus Zusak
2) Anthem – Ayn Rand
3) Big Fish – David Wallace
4) Til We Have Faces – C.S. Lewis
5) Mere Christianity – C.S. Lewis
6) To Kill A Mockingbird – Harper Lee (she’s local to my area!)
7) Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger
8) Pride & Prejudice – Jane Austen
9) Harry Potter series – J.K. Rowling
My list reads a little bit like a high school required reading list, but I think they’re considered contemporary classics for a reason… I love these because no matter how many times I re-read them, I’m always learning something new.
Jenny says:
love a lot of those books – Announcing the Kingdom rocked my world.
I like – Ken Gire: Windows of the Soul… still one of my favorites 🙂
Meredith says:
“The Relentless Tenderness of Jesus” by Brennan Manning.
Lori Jo says:
i love books. and i think i’ve read a couple of these: cost of discipleship (almost halfway) and in the name of Jesus. but now i have more to add to my reading list, no thanks…haha. :]
Stephen says:
Best books on my shelf:
The Sacredness of Questioning Everything – David Dark
Unceasing Worship – Harold Best
Through a Screen Darkly – Looking Closer at Beauty, Truth and Evil in the Movies – Jeffrey Overstreet
A Sacred Sorrow: Reaching Out to God in the Lost Language of Lament – Michael Card
Multiple books by Frederick Buechner, including The Sacred Journey, Telling Secrets, Now and Then, and Secrets in the Dark: A Life in Sermons.
Churched: One Kids Journey Toward God Despite a Holy Mess and Hear No Evil: My Story of Innocence, Music, and the Holy Ghost – Matthew Paul Turner
Robin Vestal says:
I have a new reading list! Yeah!
HIghly reccomend:
God’s Economy by Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrave
Becoming the answer to our prayers; Shaine Claiborne and jonathan Wilson-Hartgrave
Forgotten God: Francis Chan
John Woolman’s Journal; John Woolman
Liked When Helping Hurts; Chambers group does some study groups on this concept.
BitsofYarn says:
That is the funniest (and yet, all too true) comment on not owning fiction books I’ve ever read. I laughed out loud and for a long time on that one. thanks Shaun.
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Laurel says:
My favorite beatitudes book is A Beautiful Offering by Angela Thomas.
I love anything by Phillip Yancey.
Also love: Abba’s Child
Your God is too Safe
Knowing God
Unquenchable Worshipper
Redeeming Love (my guilty pleasure reading)
Adam says:
wow.. how did i not notice that my link to your blog wasn’t working.
So glad I fixed it. 🙂
Shaun Groves says:
Thanks for that, Adam.
Been meaning to let everybody know shlog.com is dead. Thanks for the reminder.
Beth W. says:
Three great reads:
The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller
I also recommend anything by Henri Nouwen
Rick Orrell says:
A few of my favorites (ironically from musicians/singers/songwriters):
“Barefoot On Barbed Wire” by Cindy Morgan
“A Deeper Shade Of Grace” by Phil and Bernadette Keaggy
“Mosaic” by Amy Grant
Keep thinking I might see a “Surviving The Cliffs Of Depression” or “They Never Taught Me How To Deal With This In College” book from you, Shaun….. :-))
Sarah Valente (Kingdom Mama) says:
As far as fiction goes I have quite a bit of Lewis. I also have a copy of Henry James’ “The American,” (which I adore and have almost no idea why), and a tattered copy of “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”. My favorite non-fiction books are “God Chasers,” “Drawing Near,” and “Crazy Love”. And I have a ton of baby books and midwifery books and quite a few writing and grammar books as well.
This is all reminding me that I really need to set aside more time to read!
Amy @ My Friend Amy says:
Shaun…I am so sad by the lack of fiction and would love to know why you don’t read it, unless your answer will be it’s a waste of time, in which case I’d rather not know you feel that way. 🙂
Having said that, some of my best books all very different from each other:
Silence by Shusaku Endo
The Heart is Not a Size by Beth Kephart
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
The Sacredness of Questioning Everything by David Dark
Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella
The Inner Voice of Love by Henri Nouwen
I always find this question incredibly difficult, though, as books seem to serve different functions at different times.
Shaun Groves says:
I think it has something to do with association. I association fiction with English classes and HAVING to read. I’ve only finished one fiction book in my life (yet I made pretty good grades in English – yikes). I like stories but for me that usually means memoirs.
I’m a slow reader too so when I attempt to read fiction I feel my imagination dragging my eyeballs along screaming “faster!”
Maybe I’ll give it another shot. Just for you ; )
Ann [email protected] Experience says:
I’ve just added Dwight Edwards’ book to a must-immediately-read list, followed by Guyon’s. Thank you — a post like this is no small investment in time — and a wise investment in building up the Body.
Rich Christians in An Age of Hunger broke me.
As did: God in the Alley: Being and Seeing Jesus in a Broken World by Greg Paul
You do exceptional work here.
All’s grace,
Ann
Shaun Groves says:
Thanks, Ann. That means a great deal coming from one of the bloggers I admire most in this internet world.
The Dwight Edwards book isn’t incredibly well written, mind you. The guy’s a pastor more than he is a writer. But it is a good primer I think on what it means to be a “new creation.”
Denise Carter says:
Wow! Thank you!
Loving or Kids on Purpose- Danny Silk
Total Forgiveness – R.T. Kendall
Transforming the Inner Man- John and Paula Sandford
ZOOM says:
Well my word. That is some lofty reading. My husband would rather read non-fiction than fiction, but I like a mix of both.
Some fiction can mold us and change us and make us think. Or just delight us.
To Kill a Mockingbird, Shogun( the ultimate book of forgiveness if you know the back ground), A Tale of Two Cities, are just a few.
Rebecca says:
Anything by Elizabeth Elliot and Catherine Marshall.
The Sacred Romance.
Donald Miller’s Searching for God Knows What.
Bruce Fieler’s books on his journey’s to various biblical places.
Bill Bryson. Anything he writes.
Zack says:
Wow! I’m just overwhelmed that you have time to write that post… I barely had time to peruse it!
To answer your question: I wish I had known about Paul Tripp a long time ago. He’s got some great, Gospel-centric resources related to counseling.
Douglas says:
My passion is the early church fathers and reading about how the pre-Constantinian church interpreted the scriptures.
* Four Witnesses: The Early Church in Her Own Words
(a narrative compilation of the highlights of the writings of 4 early martyrs before 200 AD)
* Faith of the Early Fathers: Three Volume Set
(extensive excerpts of the writings of the early church fathers with an indispensable index of topics like baptism)
* Early Church Fathers (37 volume series by Schaff, Roberts, Donaldson and Wace, for when I find something interesting and want to read the entire work. This is also available for free in html format or for a modest cost in searchable pdf at http://www.ccel.org)
* The Mass of the Early Christians by Mike Aquilina
(a look at what the early church wrote on the topic of corporate worship)
The Story of Christianity, Volume 1 by Justo L. González
(Reliable succinct reference on the various heresies, their origins and the Christian response to them, though it has tons of other info, too).
*The Decline of Males, by Dr. Lionel Tiger of Rutgers
(An interesting look at massive cultural changes in the last 50 years from the perspective of an evolutionary anthropologist).
* The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings trilogy by Tolkein
*Mere Christianity by CS Lewis
* In the Beginning… a Catholic Understanding of Creation and the Fall by Joseph Ratzinger
* Being Human: Core Readings in the Humanities, edited by Leon Kass
(a fantastic compilation of readings on the humanities and bioethics from a very diverse range of authors)
*Country Wisdom and Know-How by Storey Publishing
(practical advice on gardens, fences and livestock for city folk like me who fumble through these things)
Honestly, though, most of my reading over the last year has involved reading books to my kids (e.g., Heidi, Charlotte’s Web, Stuart Little, Black Beauty, Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, Pipi Longstocking, Rascal, the Wolfling, and the like). It’s much harder to make time for adult lit anymore.
Jessica says:
Oh man! You don’t know how many times I have wished this was the Matrix and I could just download a book straight into my brain without the the bother of having to read them one at a painstaking time!
There have been so many, but a random glance at my bookshelf leaves me with a few categories worth of books that helped me think of God, marriage, money, and church more truthfully. Sorry if some of them see obvious.
Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller.
The first time I really truly felt like I wasn’t completely crazy and that not all Christians thought dressing up for church, and ignoring the hurting was normal. And with a creative and sarcastic flair that speaks straight to my heart. And holds one of my favorite quotes of all time: “The most difficult lie I have ever contended with is this: Life is a story about me.”
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.
First book, all those years ago that helped me to start fleshing out the concreteness and practicalness, and truth of my God.
Love and Respect by Emerson Eggerichs.
Part of a long ride that taught me that being a wife is nothing like my mother did it. Saved my marriage.
Through Gates of Splendor.
Showed me for the first time that dying for Christ is never a waste and helped me to have a different perspective of my in -laws work as missionaries.
The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel.
The second book after Mere Christianity to help me understand how tangible and historical this man named Jesus was.
The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey.
Really, it was taking his course, Financial Peace University that had the most impact. For the first time helped me to realize that God cares about the coke I buy at the gas station and that it is truly greater to give than to receive.
Jim and Casper go to church by Jim Henderson and Matt Casper (an atheist and pastor visit churches all around America). Helped me in my journey to figure out what was biblical about church, what wasn’t, what was unnecessary and offensive to unbelievers about how we represent our God, and how to be friends with an Atheist.
Organic Church by Neil Coleman.
Solidified my growing belief that church could happen somewhere without a pointy building.
No Other Name. An investigation into the Destiny of the Unevangelized. by John Sanders.
Greatly helped to open my mind to many biblically based ideas about God’s character and how one’s theology affects their actions.
Gosh, I feel like I’m probably leaving out a ton, and it seems like a parenting one should be in there somewhere but nothing is standing out in my head or on my shelf, probably because I’ve loaned them all out!
Thanks for the post.