You might be saying, "I want to read something that will help me grow spiritually." Or maybe you're an avid reader and want to read the works of Christian writers but need some ideas of authors and titles.  Here is a list of titles suggested by your pastoral staff and church leaders.

​Unfortunately, this is NOT a list of books found in the church library. We'll keep working on that.

“You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.” 
― C.S. Lewis

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Biographical

• Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy  - Eric Metaxas
• For Freedom's Sake: The Life of Fannie Lou Hamer - Chana Kai Lee
• girl meets GOD: A memoir - Lauren F. Winner
  
• Grant - Ron Chernow
• Lincoln's Battle With God: A President's Struggle with Faith and What It Meant for America - Stephen Mansfield
• The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S Grant - Ulysses S Grant
• The Scandal of Redemption - Oscar Romero
• Strange Fruit: Billie Holiday, Cafe Society and an Early Cry for Civil Rights - David Margolick
• Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation - John Ehle
• Walking The Trail: One Man's Journey Along the Cherokee Trail of Tears - Jerry Ellis
• The Wright Brothers - David McCullough

Christian Fiction & Fun Reading

• Ben-Hur: A tale of the Christ - Lewis Wallace
• Out To Canaan - The Mitford Series - Jan Karon
• The Pilgrim's Progress - John Bunyan
• The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction - Alan Jacobs
• The Robe - Lloyd C. Douglas
• Safely Home - Randy Alcorn  (Chinese culture, spiritual warfare, Christian conviction)
• Something Beautiful - Gloria Gaither
  
• ​Other Fiction Authors: Randy Alcorn, Wendell Berry, Terri Blackstock, Terry Brooks, Ted Dekker, Dee Henderson, Jerry B. Jenkins, Karen Kingsbury, Tim LaHaye, Beverly Lewis, C.S. Lewis, Janette Oke, Frank E. Peretti, Francine Rivers, Randy Singer, Bodie & Brock Thoene, J.R.R. Tolkien, William Paul Young. 

Christian Living

• The Cause Within You - Matthew Barnett   (Personal Vision/Purpose)
• A Charitable Discourse, Vol. 1 & 2  - Dr. Dan Boone
• Chazown - Craig Groeschel (Personal Vision/Purpose)
• The Circle Maker (Praying Circles Around Your Biggest Dreams & Greatest Fears) - Mark Batterson
• Holy Discontent - Bill Hybels (Personal Vision/Purpose)
• JUST DO SOMETHING: How to Make a Decision without Dreams, Visions, Fleeces, Open Doors, Random Bible Verses, Casting Lots, etc... - Kevin DeYoung
• Loving God - Chuck Colson
• The Meaning of Marriage:  Facing the Complexities of Commitment w/ the Wisdom of God - Kathy & Tim Keller
• ​The Normal Christian Life - Watchman Nee
• Not a Fan (What Does It Really Mean to Follow Jesus?) - Kyle Idleman
• Organic Outreach for Churches - Kevin G. Harney​
• Outlive Your Life - Max Lucado
• Radical (Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream) - David Platt
• ​Saving the Saved:  How Jesus Saves Us from Try-Harder-Christianity into Performance-Free Love Bryan Loritts
• Seven Men & the secret of their greatness  - Eric Metaxas
• Seven Women & the secret of their greatness - Eric Metaxas
• A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 - W. Phillip Keller
• Simply Christian:  Why Christianity Makes Sense - N.T. Wright
• Trusting God, Even When Life Hurts - Jerry Bridges

Holiness

• ​Celebration of Discipline (Excellent Coaching on How to Practice Spiritual Disciplines) - Richard Foster
• The Cost of Discipleship - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
• Desiring God - John Piper
• Forgotten God - Francis Chan
• The Hole in our Gospel: What Does God Expect of Us? - Richard Stearns
• A Long Obedience in the Same Direction - Eugene Peterson
• A Perfect Life:  A Plain Account of Christian Perfection - Bo Cassell
• Sit, Walk, Stand:  The Process of Christian Maturity - Watchman Nee
• So You Want to be Like Christ?  (8 Essentials to Get You There)  - Charles Swindoll​

Leadership

• Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory - Tod Bolsinger
• Crucial Conversations - Patterson, Grenny, McMillan, Switzler
• Forged in Crisis: The Power of Courageous Leadership in Turbulent Times - Nancy Koehn
• How Great Leaders Think: The Art of Reframing - Lee Bolman, Terrence Deal
• Lead Like Jesus  - Ken Blanchard, Phil Hodges
• Leadership Is An Art - Max DePree
• Pastoral Practices: A Wesleyan Paradigm - Diane LeClerc, Mark Maddix

Missional Perspective

• ​And You Welcomed Me: A Sourcebook on Hospitality in Early Christianity - Amy G Oden
• Edison Churches: Experiments in Innovation & Breakthrough - Middendorf, Arthur, Pardue, Broward
• I Once Was Lost: What Postmodern Skeptics Taught Us About Their Faith in Jesus - Don Everts, Doug Schaup
• Intentional Ministry in a Not-So-Mega Church: Becoming A Missional Community - Dennis Bickers
• Journey in the Wilderness - Gil Rendle
• Kingdom Collaborators: Eight Signature Practices of Leaders Who Turn the World Upside Down - Reggie McNeal
• Missional Discipleship: Partners in God's Redemptive Mission - Mark Maddix & Jay Richard Akkerman - Editors
• The New Copernicans - David John Seel, Jr.
• The Patient Ferment of the Early Church: The Improbable Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire - Alan Kreider
• Seven Levers - Robert Schnase
• Seven Practices for the Church on Mission - David Fitch
• Spirituality for the Sent: Casting a New Vision for the Missional Church - Nathan Finn & Keith Whitfield - Editors
• What a Time to be Wesleyan! Proclaiming the Holiness Message with Passion and Purpose - David McKenna

Spiritual Growth

• The Blessed Life - Robert Morris  (Financial Giving/Receiving)
• The Complete Collection of E. M. Bounds on Prayer - E. M.. Bounds
• Crazy Love - Francis Chan
• Desperate for His Presence - Rhonda Hughe​y​​
• Evangelism: How the Whole Church Speaks of Jesus - J. Mack Stiles
• Finally Free:  Fighting for Purity w/ the Power of Grace - Heath Lambert
• The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness:  The Path to True Christian Joy - Tim Keller
• Hearts of Fire: Eight Women in the Underground Church and Their Stories of Costly Faith - Voice of the Martyrs
  
• How to Read the Bible for All it's Worth - Gordon Fee & Douglas Stuart
• The Jesus Storybook Bible:  Every Story Whispers His Name (Children's Bible)  - Sally Loyd Jones
• ​Mere Christianity - C.S. Lewis
• The Parables: Jewish & Christian Interpretation - Brad H. Young
• Prayer - O. Hallesby
• A Praying Life:  Connecting w/ God in a Distracting World - Paul E. Miller
• The Reason for God - Tim Keller
• The Sense of the Call: A Sabbath Way of Life for Those Who Serve God, the Church, and the World - Marva Dawn
• Spiritual Formation: A Wesleyan Paradigm - Diane LeClerc & Mark Maddix
• Strengthening The Soul of Your Leadership: Seeking God in the Crucible of Ministry (updated version) - Ruth Haley Barton
• Sun Stand Still - Steven Furtick
• ​The Valley of Vision: A collection of Puritan Prayers and devotions edited by Arthur G. Bennett​

​Theological Reflection/Social Engagement

• Barking to the Choir: The Power of Radical Kinship - Gregory Boyle
• The Color of Law - Richard Rothstein
  
• Culture Care: Reconnecting with Beauty for Our Common Life - Makoto Fujimura
  
• Evangelism After Christendom: The Theology and Practice of Christian Witness - Bryan Stone
  
• Forbearance: A Theological Ethic for a Disagreeable Church - James Calvin Davis
  
• I Was A Stranger: A Christian Theology of Hospitality - Arthur Southerland
• Power in the Blood? The Cross in the African American Experience - JoAnne Marie Terrell
  
• The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming - Henri Nouwen
• Saved by Faith & Hospitality - Joshua Jipp
  
• Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion - Gregory Boyle
  
• The Way of the Dragon or the Way of the Lamb - Jamin Goggin & Kyle Strobel
  
• Who Lynched Willie Earle: Preaching to Confront Racism - Will Willimon
  

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“Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.” 
― Mark Twain