Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years by Diarmaid MacCulloch (Part 1: Pre-religious history of Christianity)

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Takeaway: History is complicated.  Christian history as written by Diarmaid MacCulouch is long (but worth it so far.) Purchase Links: Hardback, Paperback, Kindle Edition, Audible.com Audiobook (If purchasing, you want to think about paperback or audiobook.  Kindle is the most expensive option at $29.99) This is a large and wide ranging book.  The audio (my … Read more

Read Again: Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald Whitney – Bible Intake

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Takeaway for this chapter: If we are serious about our Christianity we must be intentional about scripture intake.  Reading is good, but we also need to think about and put what we read into practice. Purchase Links: Paperback, Kindle Edition, Audible.com Audiobook, christianaudio.com MP3 Audiobook I have been slowly working through Spiritual Disciplines for the … Read more

Waiting For Superman Participant Book

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Takeaway: Decent overview of problems facing education in the United States.  Primarily essays from people in the movie, not as a supplement to the movie. Purchase Links: Paperback, Kindle Edition My paying job is a program evaluator for an after school program.  I also do a fair bit for research on education policy and my … Read more

Flame of Love: A Theology of the Holy Spirit by Clark H. Pinnock

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Takeaway: If you liked Francis Chan‘s Forgotten God, but wanted more depth, this is your book. Best theology book I have read in a long while.

Christian Century asked eight diverse theologians for their list of the most important theology books of the past 25 years. It was an interesting list. There were a ton of books on it that I had not read. So I added a bunch to my Amazon Wish List and a friend bought me several of them as a gift.

My first book from this list was Flame of Love. I have read Pinnock’s book on preaching in seminary but I have not read any of his theology books before. Based on this, I will likely be reading more.

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The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner’s Semester at America’s Holiest University by Kevin Roose

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Takeaway: If you are from an Evangelical background, you need to read this book. Others will be interested in a stunningly good ethnography from a young writer.  But Evangelicals need to read it.  My favorite book of the last several months. Purchase Links: Hardback, Paperback, Kindle Edition, Audible.com Audiobook I have been reluctant to read … Read more

The Holiness of God by RC Sproul

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Takeaway: Immanently readable (or listenable) book about a relatively neglected topic. Purchase Links: Hardback, Paperback, Kindle Edition, Audible.com Audiobook, christianaudio.com audiobook I have to admit that I really did not know who RC Sproul was when I picked up this book.  Honestly, I still have not looked into him more than just a brief wikipedia entry.  I … Read more