bookshelf
To gain a broader understanding of our hopes and to explore ideas we find compelling, here is a reading list of works that have challenged us, shaped us or are are encouraging us to think deeply. Of course, good books are conversation starters, not intended to pigeon-hole or act as perfect reflections of our thinking.
hospitality and friendship
The Rise of Christianity, Rodney Stark
Reaching Out: The Three Movements of the Spiritual Life, Henri Nouwen
A Good Life: Benedict’s Guide to Everyday Joy, Robert Benson
jesus, gospel and faith
God in the Flesh, Don Everts
Everything Belongs: The Gift of Contemplative Prayer, Richard Rohr
The Resurrection of the Son of God, N.T. Wright
The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, Lesslie Newbigen
scripture
The Bible Jesus Read, Philip Yancey
Eat This Book, Eugene Peterson
Is There a Meaning in This Text? Kevin Vanhoozer
shalom, justice and ecology
Terrify No More, Gary Haugen
To Live in Peace, Mark Gornik
The Beloved Community, Charles Marsh
Night, Elie Wiesel
Redeeming Creation, Van Dyke, Sheldon, Mahan and Brand
Wendell Berry and the Cultivation of Life, Bonzo and Stevens
the church
The Next Christendom, Philip Jenkins
Surprised by Hope, N.T. Wright
Resident Aliens, Stanley Hauerwas and Will Willimon
Practice Resurrection, Eugene Peterson
spiritual direction and formation
Sacred Rhythms, Ruth Haley Barton
An Altar in the World, Barbara Brown Taylor
The Divine Conspiracy, Dallas Willard
Spiritual Direction and Meditation, Thomas Merton
A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, Eugene Peterson
prayer
Living Prayer, Robert Benson
Praying the Psalms, Walter Brueggemann
The Divine Hours (3 volumes), Phyllis Tickle
The Paraclete Psalter, Paraclete Press
pastoral and leadership philosophy
Working the Angles, Eugene Peterson
Pastor, Will Willimon
Secrets in the Dark: A Life in Sermons, Frederich Buechner
Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work, Eugene Peterson
Orbiting the Giant Hairball, Gordan MacKenzie
christian theology
Knowing God, J.I. PACKER
Knowledge of the Holy, A.W. TOZER
Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith, Kathleen Norris
Orthodoxy, G.K. Chesterton
The Creed: What Christians Believe and Why It Matters, Luke Timothy Johnson
Christian Theology: An Introduction, Alister McGrath
Christian Foundations (7 Volumes), Donald Bloesch
art, beauty and culture
Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art, Madeleine L’Engle
Culture Making, Andy Crouch
To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World, James Hunter
The Writing Life, Annie Dillard
sacrament and liturgy
Living the Christian Year, Bobby Gross
For the Life of the World, Alexander Schmemann
Beyond Smells and Bells, Mark Galli
Christ, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, Leonard Vander Zee
fiction
All Creatures Great and Small, James Herriot
The River Why, James Duncan
Peace Like a River, Leif Enger
Silence, Shesaku Endo
Perelandra, C.S. Lewis
The Man Who Was Thursday, G.K. Chesterton
East of Eden, John Steinbeck
The Chosen, Chaim Potok
To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee