Books Worth Reading

I love books. If I had to choose between my DVDs, CDs or books, I would choose my books in a heartbeat. I'm a cheapskate who will stand in the men's department repeatedly questioning myself if I really need that pair of tube socks, but I have never regretted buying a book. And if I had to choose between books and sex, well, I'd choose sex. That would be a no-brainer. But I'd go book shopping afterwards.

Someday I hope to own a home large enough to have a room that will be exclusively devoted to a library and reading. And at the rate the Experiment House clan are collecting volumes, it will soon become a necessity! Here are a few that I've really enjoyed lately:

The Core Realities of Youth Ministry was the book Mike Yaconelli was working on when he tragically passed away last autumn. While part of me wishes that his last book would have been a more autobiographical volume along the lines of Dangerous Wonder or Messy Spirituality, I think that a book about youth ministry is fitting end to a career devoted to impacting the lives of teens. This book isn't so much a how-to as a how-to-be book. Mike had seen it all in his 42 years of working with young people, and in this book he pulls no punches. He doesn't outline yet another sure-fire program to grow your church, he shares his thoughts on some guiding principles that should be in evidence in healthy youth ministries. Mike's enthusiasm and passion for youth and youth leaders is in evidence on every page. Recommended reading.

Frederick Buechner is my all-time favorite author and I always keep one of his books in my reading rotation. On the Road with Archangel is a charming little novella based on the Book of Tobit in the Apochrypha. The best praise I can give this book is that it made me smile when I was going through a particularly unhappy time in my life. Read it and you'll smile, too. The final line is the most memorable ending to a book that I've ever read, but resist the temptation to look because you'll spoil everything!

I love a good scary story, so it's been great this last year to discover the books of Charles Williams. War in Heaven is part detective story, part supernatural thriller, and a lot of fun to read. After reading three books by this author I'm amazed that he is still relatively unknown. I'm surprised that some enterprising film maker doesn't buy the rights to his books dirt cheap and make some mind-blowing scary movies.

In a time when Christ's message of grace and redemption has all been snuffed out by tradition and rule-keeping, The Ragamuffin Gospel is a breath of fresh air. Author Brennan Manning candidly share his struggles with self-hatred and writes about the love of God with deep gratitude. Every time I finish a book by Brennan Manning I wish that I could put a copy in the hands of everyone I know. This one is no exception.

My biggest pet peeve about the church today is that it's more interested in indoctrination than experience. Stories of Emergence collects people's experiences of the "a-ha moments" when their perspective on faith, life and themselves changed and the ensuing fallout. The book offers no easy answers, and by no means will you reach the same conclusions as everyone profiled therein. It's a thought-provoking book which has made me consider how willing I am to live out my faith, even when it puts me out of step with the church culture at large and even my own notions of being a good person.