Books:
I am an avid reader, an I am blessed to have a pastor who recommends resources each week to help do a “deeper dive” into his sermons each week. I have listed below some of my favorites.
Surprised by the Voice of God – Jack Deere
This book is an excellent overview of how God speaks to His children. I personally have found this book to be extremely helpful and inspirational on my spiritual journey. The book is very practical and easy to read. There are truths in here every Christian needs to work though, and when they do, they will find hope, joy, and peace in abundance.
Raising a Modern Day Knight – Robert Lewis
This book was a game changer for me personally; it forced me to take a serious look in the mirror and see what kind of dad\husband\man I was modeling for my son. Frankly, I didn’t like a lot of what I saw. This book gave me new hope and a new vision that not only could I change, but this change would help improve my relationship with not only my son, but my wife and daughter as well. There is an enormous amount of wisdom and experience in this book, and putting the things in it into practice has been a fabulous blessing for my family. This book is a must read for all fathers, especially for those with sons.
The Case for a Creator – Lee Strobel
This book is a great resource for those just taking their first steps on the road to Christianity. The book is very light in theology and heavy on science, using biology, astronomy, and physics to make a very strong case that when you add up all the evidence, believing that “this is all one big accident” takes more faith than it does to believe that the universe was created by a transcendent Creator.
Heaven is for Real – Todd Burpo
There are few books in this world as moving and inspiring as this one is. In it, Todd’s son Colton has a near death experience. In the weeks and months following Colton’s experience he began to relate stories about meeting old relatives he couldn’t have known, as well as a sister he never knew (his mother had a miscarriage). This book is a short, but very touching read.
The Rest of God – Mark Buchanan
I picked up this book after being challenged with by question, “Have you ever stopped to think about why taking a day of rest is one of God’s ‘top 10’ rules for His people”? At the time, I was struggling with working too much and was burning out. This book forced me to take a look at myself and start to make time for rest. The results have led to an amazing soul transformation and a renewed sense of Spirit.
The Case for Christ/The Case for the Real Jesus – Lee Strobel
Lee Strobel is a journalist who was an atheist for many, many years before making a commitment to study all of the evidence for Christianity and follow it wherever it led (due to the changes he noticed in his wife once she converted). The Case for Christ is his first work in this vein, exploring fundamental issues like the historical accuracy of the Gospels, Jesus’s divinity and mental state, outside historical records that can confirm the Gospel accounts, and the resurrection. The Case for the Real Jesus is an “updated” edition of the The Case for Christ, tackling “modern day” issues regarding Jesus such as the so-called “Gnostic” Gospels, the Church “tampering” with the contents of the Bible, the idea that the Jesus story was copied from other pagan sources, and the “new age” idea that it’s OK to “cherry pick” what you want to believe about Jesus.
Windows of the Soul – Ken Gire
Warning: this book will make you think. In it, Ken Gire relates how he finds God in the every day, sometimes in surprising places. Windows of the Soul artful read that uses a very vivid narrative to tell a series of anecdotes that will force you to look at the world and who God really is differently.
The Case for Faith – Lee Strobel
This book tackles many difficult questions about the Christian faith. It certainly doesn’t answer everything, but it does explore many different aspects to the Christian faith that are often significant barriers to belief.
Media:
Every week, I work on the media needs for the Eastside Vineyard Church. Pastor Dan Kopp is an amazing teacher who simplifies complex theological issues in a coherent way – every week I learn something new. Check out the sermons at this link.
The sermons at Woodland Hills Church are outstanding. Their lead pastor, Greg Boyd, is an accomplished author and a Christian scholar. His sermons are inspiring, informative, and reflect some of the best Christian thinking out there today.
Shane Willard Ministries – a friend introduced me to Shane Willard a little while back, and I am glad he did. Shane studied under teachers who really understand how Jewish people think and his insights will change the way you look at the Bible.