Let’s play a little game about books.

In the comments section, give your answers to the following:

Outside the Bible….

What is the most influential book you’ve ever read?

What book do you want to read next?

Each year I create an intentional reading plan as part of my personal growth and development. There are bound to be exceptions as I discover new titles throughout the year, but this pretty much tells the story of the knowledge that will be dropped in my mind. There are even a few re-reads.

Look it over and let me know any books on this list that you’ve read and what you liked/disliked about them.

Ragamuffin Gospel – Brennan Manning (Annual Re-read)
Renewal as a Way of Life – Richard Lovelace
Counterfeit Gods – Tim Keller
Untamed – Alan Hirsch
The Canon of Scripture – F.F. Bruce
A Million Miles in a Thousand Years – Donald Miller
Hear No Evil – Matthew Paul Turner
Spiritual Leadership – J. Oswald Sanders
Eat This Book – Eugene Peterson
A Long Obedience in the Same Direction – Eugene Peterson
The Jesus Way – Eugene Peterson
The Blue Parakeet – Scott McKnight
Slaves, Women, and Homosexuals – William Webb
The Homiletical Plot – Eugene Lowry
Sex, Lies, and Religion – Randy Elrod
The Divine Commodity – Skye Jethani
Resident Aliens – Stanley Hauerwas
Galatians – Martin Luther
Forgotten God – Francis Chan
Doctrine – Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears
Finally Alive – John Piper
Heaven – Randy Alcorn
Simply Christian – N.T. Wright
Church in the Making – Ben Arment
The Trellis and the Vine – Colin Marshall and Tony Payne
The Normal Christian Life – Watchman Nee
The Meaning of the Pentateuch – John Sailhamer
The Lost World of Genesis One – John Walton
The Gospel-Driven Life – Michael Horton
From Eternity to Here – Frank Viola
Messy Faith – A.J. Gregory
Your Jesus is Too Safe – Jared Wilson
Primal – Mark Batterson
The Gospel in a Pluralistic Society – Lesslie Newbigin
The Return of the Prodigal Son – Henri Nouwen
Classic Christianity – Thomas Oden
The Seeking Heart – Fenelon
Leading on Empty – Wayne Cordeiro
How People Change – Timothy Lane
Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands – Paul Tripp
The Book of God – Walter Wangerin
Decision Making and the Will of God – Garry Freisen
3 Crucial Questions About Spiritual Warfare – Clinton Arnold
The Cross of Christ - John Stott
The Cost of Discipleship – Dietrich Bonhoeffer
A Short Life of Jonathan Edwards – George Mardsen
Studies in the Sermon on the Mount – David Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and The Principles of Screenwriting – Robert McKee
Linchpin – Seth Godin
Drive - Dan Pink
A Whole New Mind – Dan Pink
Switch – Chip and Dan Heath
Thinkertoys – Michael Michalco
Have a Little Faith – Mitch Albom
My Life Outside the Ring – Hulk Hogan
The Lost Symbol – Dan Brown
East of Eden – John Steinbeck

Changing my reading pattern up for this year.  Usually I read whatever catches my eye but this year I’m creating an intentional reading plan designed to help grow me in specific areas.

There are bound to be exceptions throughout the year, but this pretty much tells the story of the knowledge that will be dropped in my mind. There are even a few re-reads. Look it over and let me know any books on this list that you’ve read and what you liked/disliked about them.  Thanks.

Leadership/Influence
Spiritual Leadership – J. Oswald Sanders
Tribes- Seth Godin
Outliers – Malcolm Gladwell
Culture Making – Andy Crouch
Starfish and the Spider -Ori Brafman and Rod A. Beckstrom
The Monkey and the Fish – Dave Gibbons
Axiom – Bill Hybels
Next Generation Leader – Andy Stanley
Lectures to My Students – Charles Spurgeon
Killing Cockroaches – Tony Morgan

Theology (various flavors)
Finally Alive – John Piper
ReJesus – Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch
Knowing God – JI Packer
Prodigal God – Tim Keller
Death by Love – Mark Driscoll
Orthodoxy- GK Chesterton
Surprised by Hope – NT Wright
The Cross of Christ – John Stott
Divine Conspiracy – Dallas Willard
Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die – John Piper
The Sovereignty of God – A.W. Pink
The Cost of Discipleship – Dietrich Bonhoeffer
The Great Divorce – C.S. Lewis
Screwtape Letters – C.S. Lewis

Church/Mission
Vintage Church – Mark Driscoll
Sticky Church – Larry Osborne
Total Church – Tim Chester and Steve Timmis
Church Unique – Will Mancini
Missional Renaissance – Reggie McNeal
Deliberate Simplicity – Dave Browning
The Shaping of Things to Come – Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch

Biography
A Short Life of Jonathon Edwards – George Marsden
Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther – Roland H. Bainton

Relationships
Celebration of Sex by Douglas E. Rosenau
Intimacy Ignited by by Joseph C. Dillow, Linda Dillow, Peter Pintus, and Lorraine Pintus
Shepherding a Child’s Heart – Tedd Tripp
War of Words – Paul Tripp

Communication/Teaching/Preaching
Supremacy of Christ in Preaching – John Piper
The Revolutionary Communicator – Erik Lokkesmoe and Jedd Medefind
Slide:ology – Nancy Duarte

Personal Growth/Life Skillz
Mad Church Disease – Anne Jackson
I Was Broke. Now I’m Not – Joe Sangl
How People Change – Paul Tripp and Timothy Lane
Humility – CJ Mahaney and Joshua Harris
On Writing – Stephen King
Killing Cockroaches – Tony Morgan

Study/Commentaries
Matthew, Mark, Luke (The Expositor’s Bible Commentary) – DA Carson, et al
Matthew: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary (4 volumes) – John MacArthur
Matthew (Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible) – Stanley Hauerwas
Mormonism Explained – Andrew Jackson

P.S. You can always view my Amazon.com wishlist if you want to hook me up with a book from this list.