Pleasures of God by John Piper – It helped me understand that God is the reason for and the center of all things and people… and that is the best thing for me.

What’s So Amazing About Grace by Phillip Yancey – It showed me how the “Church” sees and treats most people who are outside the faith… and it broke my heart.

The Jesus I Never Knew by Phillip Yancey – It helped me see the real Jesus of the Bible, who was a real man, tough, tested and not passive… and it made me want to follow that Jesus.

Future Grace by John Piper – When God saved me he did so because it was his joy and all that was necessary to do for my salvation and my sanctification was done in Jesus… and I was freed to believe that God is most glorified in me when I’m most satisfied in Him.

Humility by CJ Mahaney – This book attacked my pride like none other I have ever read and is teaching me that true greatness starts with a humble spirit… and I was shaken into remembering that I’m a pastor before I’m a professional.

Barbarian Way by Erwin McManus – This book showed me that being a Christ follower is not a call to become passive and proper, but a call to fight… and I felt that God could use someone like me if I quit living scared and really trusted God in every situation.

Knowing God by J.I. Packer – This book taught me the beauty of adoption and how it is the believers greatest gift… and for the first time I realized that God wanted me specifically and His call to me was intentional.

Can Man Live Without God by Ravi Zacharias – This book challenged my mind and heart to be ready for an answer to anyone who asks me about why I’ve placed my hope in Jesus… and I started studying Jesus with more energy so that I could be clear about him no matter who I talked to.

Chosen By God by R.C. Sproul – This book really stretched me into seeing that my salvation was not by chance and because of that it couldn’t be lost because God doesn’t lose people… and I was freed from the lie that I could fall in and out of salvation because of something I did.

Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell – This book challenged the way I viewed everything I had ever learned and is the only book I have ever read and then read again right after finishing it the first time… and though I don’t agree with all it has to say, I was reminded that I don’t have all the answers and I must be ok with anyone who asks new questions especially when those questions make me seek to know Jesus better.

That’s my current list… it could and probably will change from time to time.

What’s your favorite book (that isn’t the Bible) and why?

Creativity requires risk. So do exploration and innovation. Anyone who thinks outside the box is taking a risk. Leadership brings many risks. Investments involve risks. Decision making always means a certain degree of risk.

The most important developments in science, history, technology and the arts came from taking risks.

Ben Carson, MD.

Dr. Carson writes this book to challenge those who read it to take risks and do so by following a way of processing decisions that he has used for years. His Best and Worst Case Analysis format is easy to digest and could provide a systematic way to help anyone who has a tough decision to make.

Here are the four questions he asks:
1. What is the best thing that can happen if I do this?
2. What is the worst thing that can happen if I do this?
3. What is the best thing that can happen if I don’t do this?
4. What is the worst thing that can happen if I don’t do this?

Dr. Carson is a world renown neurologist and surgeon who is also a strong believer in Jesus Christ. His faith is at the foundation of the questions above and in his reasoning to act or not act. He says plainly in this book that we are “always safe in Jesus Christ.” He has been involved in some of the most incredible and dangerous surgeries in medical history and shares those stories in this book.

All the above is good and will be helpful to me as a new way to think through tough decisions. But, the real gem in this book is found in chapters 10 (Faith is a Risk Whatever You Believe) and 11 (Living Your Faith in an Uncertain World). In these chapters Dr. Carson offers the most complete yet simple and concise explanation of how science continues to support creationism. He makes it obvious that faith in evolution takes a much larger leap than believing in an all powerful God. He completely dismantles Darwinism and it’s proponents.

***The following is not in the book it’s just something the book caused me to consider***

One thing I love about God is that he is incapable of risks. I don’t believe the bible offers a God that has to do a Best Worst Case Analysis himself. Risk, by its very nature, involves uncertainty and if God is uncertain about anything then he can’t be God. In Exodus 3:14 God says, “I am who I am” not “I am who I think I am”.

It is on this foundation that any believer can say along with Dr. Carson that we are “always safe in Jesus Christ”. We then are left to wrestle with the reality that sometimes what we consider as risk is really a matter of trust.

Isaiah 66:2 provides Mahaney with a biblical foundation for writing this book. I offer a list of quotes that I hope get your attention enough so that you will read this book.

Humility gets God’s attention.

Humility is honestly assessing ourselves in light of God’s holiness and our sinfulness.

Pride seems to have a strange and sure way of ignoring logic altogether.

Pride is when sinful human beings aspire to the status and position of God and refuse to acknowledge their dependence upon Him.

You and I hate nothing to the degree God hates pride.

And in true humility, our own service to others is always both an effect of His unique sacrifice and the evidence of it.

The cross never flatters us.

Sin doesn’t wake up tired.

Too many Christians are more readily aware of the absence of God than they are of the presence of God, and they are more aware of sin than they are of grace.

It is possible to admire humility while remaining proud ourselves.

Two more things I love about this book. The first is the way CJ Mahaney includes some very challenging and inspiring statements from the likes of John Owens, John Calvin, Charles Spurgeon, John Stott, DA Carson, RC Sproul and others. Secondly, this book isn’t just theory and theology. It also includes very practical ways to begin and end each day so that we can walk toward true greatness which is only found in humility.

Here are my top five:

1. The Sacrifice

2. The List

3. Mountain Top

4. Life Support

5. Deeper Water

Here are a few quotes from the book:

What if I told you to stop talking at God for a while, but instead to take a long, hard look at Him before you speak another word?

In our world, where hundreds of things distract us from God, we have to intentionally and constantly remind ourselves of Him.

His perfect holiness, by definition, assures us that our words can’t contain Him. Isn’t it a comfort to worship a God we cannot exaggerate?

When I am consumed by my problems – stressed out about my life, my family, and my job – I actually convey the belief that I think the circumstances are more important than God’s command to always rejoice.

Do not assume you are good soil.

Has your relationship with God actually changed the way you live?

Lukewarm people don’t really want to be saved from their sin; they only want to be saved from the penalty of their sin.

God doesn’t just want us to have good theology; He wants us to know and love him.

… you have to stop loving and pursuing Christ in order to sin.

I believe these quotes will give you a good idea of the overall flavor of this book. Chan says that this book is for “…those who want more Jesus… who are bored with what American Christianity offers… who don’t want to plateau… who would rather die before their convictions do.”

His effort certainly succeeded in challenging me.

The book’s storyline is that of a man, Mack, who is trying to live with the residual pain of his young daughter being abducted and murdered. His journey takes him into a literal encounter with God. Not just the concept of God, but actually interacting with each person of the Trinity. That is all I’ll tell you about the plot in case you wish to read it yourself.

The author takes great liberty in how he portrays the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as well as some general theological positions that would be very difficult to support scripturally. That being said, the book nor the author, to my knowledge, offers itself as an absolute answer to those things… it simply tells a fictional story. Even with a questionable theology, the story contains a couple of very gripping and challenging interactions between God and Mack.

I have seen a couple of reviews where this book is placed in the same category as Pilgrim’s Progress or other great works of Christian fiction. There are others who apparently think the author has dissected the Trinity to an understandable level. I would not agree with either assessment. The book is an average work of fiction with some interesting ideas. Many of the ideas do not challenge traditional theology, but some do and that is where I would offer caution. It would be dangerous to look to The Shack as a place to guide your view of God, how he operates or interacts with us.

My final assessment of the book is based only on it being a work of fiction. And as “The Dawg”, Randy Jackson, would say on American Idol… “it was just ok to me”. Not great and not bad… just ok. I think that puts me in the minority of folks who have read it, but that’s my take. The book has a website with lots of glowing comments from famous people here.

If you’ve read the book, I’d love to hear what you thought about it.

S – Simplicity
U – Unexpectedness
C – Concreteness
C – Credibility
E – Emotional
S – Stories

After the introduction each chapter provides good supporting material and examples for each of the six components to their concept. The ideas in this book will prove very helpful for anyone who communicates (in any form) for a living or is involved in planning and producing church services.

Tony has a great review of the book including some of its more interesting quotes here.

Eldredge really challenged me on how I view myself and how I talk to God. His journal reveals how he asks questions to God and how he receives answers. He develops thoughts on how we make “agreements” with ourselves that God never intended us to make, which keep us bound up and limping along with God instead of walking with Him.

Here are a few quotes that will give you the flavor of the book:

“The very things I’m doing to make life happen – all those things that feel so inevitable and unavoidable – are draining me and preventing me from finding the life God offers.”

“We are invited to become followers of Jesus. Not just believers.”

“Too many people approach scripture without an intimacy with God, and they either end up frustrated because they’ve gotten so little out of it or, far worse, amass an intellectual understanding quite apart from any real communication with God.”

“I don’t live. I get things done.”

“When it comes to our faith, we have to be careful that our earnest hope and desire don’t cause us to claim a promise God has not given.”

“We try to figure it out. It’s not the same thing as walking with God.”

Eldredge is very transparent in this book and I suppose that is what kept me engaged throughout this book. I am a big fan of Wild at Heart, but I have not been able to finish any other of Eldredge’s offerings. There were a couple places in this book where I think Eldredge is off base theologically speaking, but they did not distract from the book overall.

The book is broken up into daily entries and is very easy to read. If you’re looking to get a glimpse of how someone other than you communicates with God and be be challenged by it, I would recommend reading Walking With God.