I do a lot of reading and the following is a look at some of the better books I have read in the last month. It is a combination of fiction and non-fiction. Why fiction? The great Calvin Miller, my preaching prof in seminary, once told us that one of the best things a pastor can do to strengthen his preaching is read fiction. Fiction stimulates the creative side of the brain. Unfortunately, too many pastors read nothing but non-fiction. So, in no particular order, some of the better books I’ve read lately are…
1. Vintage Church by Mark Dricsoll. This is a pretty basic primer on the theology and praxis of church. It is not revolutionary but it is very good and puts in one place the essentials of what a biblical church is and does.
2. Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes by Kenneth Bailey. Great, great book, rich in cultural and contextual detail. If you want to read the Gospels with new eyes, read this book.
3. The Flames of Rome by Paul Maier. Thanks to my friend and pastor of First Baptist Church of Van Buren, AR, Dr. Scott Maze, for recommending this fantastic documentary novel on first century Rome during the time of the early church. This book provided rich material in preparation for my upcoming teaching series on 1 and 2 Peter.
4. Pawn by Steven James. James is the first of two Christian authors I have recently run across that I love. This novel about FBI environmental criminologist, Patrick Bowers, is fabulous. It kept me up way too late at night just to see how the story would play out.
5. By Reason of Insanity by Randy Singer. Singer is the second of the two new authors I am reading. If you like John Grisham you will love the court room drama of Randy Singer. Great storyteller and this is a GREAT story.
Book I am most excited about reading next…
The Inkings of Oxford by Henry Poe and James Veneman. I am a huge Lewis and Tolkien fan and can’t wait to get my hands on this textual and pictorial look at the two men along with the others who were a part of this literary group that met for over 30 years in Oxford.
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