Emerging Churches

There is much discussion about the emerging church. This book is a great introduction to the diversity of the emerging church. This book is a collection of stories about emerging churches in the U.K. and U.S. and will quickly inform the reader about some of the recent trends.

Lost Gospel of Judas

There was a lot of hype surrounding the publication of the Gospel of Judas. Stanley Porter and Gordon Heath provide a much needed balanced account of its contents and importance.

Historical Jesus

There is a lot about this book that I disagree with. Crossan, an influential member of the Jesus Seminar, has a much different view of Jesus than I do. However, I still think this is an important book for understanding the cultural background. I especially like what Crossan does with Josephus.

Mere Christianity

This is one of the all time greatest Christian classics. C.S. Lewis presents the Christian faith in a way that is reasonable and believable. Many people have come to faith through this book. This is a book that everyone should read.

Choosing to Cheat

This is a great little book. Most people struggle with balancing work and family life. Andy Stanley tells us we have to cheat some area of our life and it should not be our family. Using the story of Daniel and his request of a change of diet as a model, Stanley demonstrates how to be productive at work and yet treat our familes right. This book is great for pastors and for anyone in the work force.

Jesus Now and Then

This is a very good book on developing a balanced view of who Jesus is. The first part deals with historical Jesus issues in the Gospels and the second part deals with the early church's journey toward understand exactly who and what Jesus was. This book is aimed more at laypeople than scholars but it is a good read for anyone.

Expelled

This is one of the most interesting documentaries that I have ever seen. It is funny, sad and eye-opening. The purpose of the documentary is not to prove the existence of God but to argue for the rights to discuss intelligent design in the academic world. The documentary is worth it just for the way atheist evolutionists stumble over basic questions.

New Testament Documents

The reliability of the New Testament is one of the most attacked doctrines today. F.F. Bruce presents in this great little book all the reasons why we can accept the New Testament as reliable documents. It is an older work and yet it is still very applicable to the claims of modern critics.

Making Peace

As long as there are people in the Church, there is going to be conflict. This is a very helpful book, not just in providing steps to resolution, but in laying down a theological framework to deal with conflict.

Jesus and the Eyewitnesses

One of the claims of critics is that the Gospels do not represent eyewitness testimony and therefore lack historical credibility. Bauckham goes after this theory and demonstrates that there is much evidence for eyewitness testimony. Be prepared to have your eyes opened to a new way of looking at the Gospels and your faith in their reliability strengthened.

Missing Gospels

The Missing Gospels: Unearthing the Truth Behind Alternative Christianities By Darrell L. Bock / Thomas Nelson

There has been much discussion in recent years about books that did not make it into the New Testament, especially those connected with gnosticism. Darrell Bock does and excellent job of evaluating this extra-canonical gospels, comparing them to the Gospels of the New Testament. This is a good resource for those who have read Bart Ehrman's Lost Christianities.

Resurrection of the Son of God

This is an incredible book. If you have ever wondered about the development of the afterlife in the Bible and the ancient world, this is the book for you. Wright covers just about everything. Although a good portion of this book is on the resurrection of Jesus, there is a lot on the resurrection in general. His style is very readable and his extensive footnotes will provide lots of material for those who want more.

What Have They Done With Jesus?

There is no lack of strange theories about Jesus. Ben Witherington does a great job in this book of getting people grounded in the truth. He also takes a good look at a number of other important personalities in the New Testament that often get twisted by authors. This is a very valuable book.

Quest of the Historical Jesus

This book was a turning point in historical Jesus scholarship. Schweitzer provides a history of the various attempts (mostly by Germans) to understand who Jesus was. Many of the radical claims of today find their roots in these older German scholars. Schweitzer saw Jesus as an eschatological prophet, a view still held by many today. Although I do not agree with all of Schweitzer's conclusions, this book is required reading for anyone interested in the historical Jesus.

The Founder of Christianity

This is an older book but it is a solid study of the historical Jesus that interacts with many scholarly concerns. This short book is a great resource for knowing who Jesus is and how we should interpret the Gospels.

Text of the New Testament

Bart Ehrman in his Misquoting Jesus, points out that there are variants within the various Greek manuscripts of the New Testament. He suggests that is a good reason to mistrust the New Testament as a historical source. Ehrman's teacher Bruce Metzger provides a much more balanced account of textual criticism. In this valuable book, Metzger explains how scholars are able to reconstruct the New Testament in its most reliable form with a high degree of confidence.

Lost Christianities

Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew By Bart D. Ehrman / Oxford University Press

I hesitate to recommend this book. Bart Ehrman has a clear agenda in all of his recent books and that is to portray traditional Christianity in a negative light. Having said that, this is an important book. Ehrman describes in a clear and an interesting way the various religious movements during the time of the early church that identified themselves with Jesus. Ehrman is wrong when he claims that there were numerous equally valid forms of Christianity out of which eventually emerged orthodox Christianity. What became orthodox Christianity has a clear continuity with earliest Christian documents as found in the New Testament and the other groups are simply schisms and heresies that broke away from the main group. Despite my disagreements, I still think that this book is an important book for informed Christians to read.

Fabricating Jesus

Fabricating Jesus: How Modern Scholars Distort the Gospels By Craig A. Evans / IVP Books

This is one of the best response books to radical theories about Jesus that I have ever read. Evans takes on most of the recent strange theories that some popular authors have offered as alternative interpretations of Jesus. You can read my full review here.

Misquoting the Truth

This book is a very good response to Bart Ehrman's controversial books Misquoting Jesus and and Lost Christianities. The material in this book will equip you to respond to Ehrman's critiques that have become so influential.

The Shack

Rarely has a book, especially a novel, caused so much controversy and discussion among Christians. This book is a powerful examination of how faith and tragedy can intersect. Agree or disagree with the author's view, this is a book we need to be aware of and to be ready to use in faith discussions.

Jesus Legend

This is one of the best apologetic books that I have ever read. It is a powerful presentation of the synoptic Gospels as reliable historical documents. It also touches on the Jesus myth hypothesis. This book is very important for responding to the many radical theories regarding Jesus that continue to appear.

Six Dangerous Questions

What does it take to have a Christian worldview? Paul Borthwick offers six helpful (but dangerous) questions to help us reflect on what we believe and how that compares to biblical teaching.

Unstuck

This is not a Christian book nor is it aimed at church situations. However, this is still one of the best books I have come across to help any leader deal with issues that have bogged them down. You have to see this book to believe it.

Culturally Savvy Christian

Christians can not ignore the fact that they live within a specific culture. Dick Staub challenges us to take the time to understand our culture and to strive to have a positive impact on the culture around us.

Evangelism Outside the Box

Evangelism is one of the most intimidating subjects for Christians. Rick Richardson offers a fresh way to look at evangelism in this excellent book that will give Christians new hope that they can share their faith.

How to be a World Class Christian

We here about every other of life striving to be "world class," why not our Christian faith as well? Paul Borthwick challenges us to rethink our faith, reflecting upon our role in the world and we can adjust our lives to a more kingdom focus.

Renovation of the Heart

Dallas Willard is one of the most brilliant Christian thinkers today. His book Renovation of the Heart is an excellant resource in the area of spiritual formation. It is not a quick read but it will give you something to reflect on for years to come.

Reformed Pastor

This is an older book but it is definitely a classic. Richard Baxter presents a great challenge to pastors of every generation.

Growing Leaders

This was one of the best books on leadership that I have ever read. It thoroughly deals with leadership theory but in a way that is both practical and useful. This is an important resource for any Christian leader.