Friday, January 2, 2009

Favorite books for 2008

Here is a list of the five books I most enjoyed reading in 2008. I think they would be helpful to many bivocational ministers. They are presented in no particular order for your consideration.

  • Greg Ogden, Unfinished Business: Returning the Ministry to the People of God (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003). This excellent book discusses how to return ministry to the people. Ministry was never intended to be done only by trained clergy but by the entire body of Christ. This book was first published in 1990 as The New Reformation and has been updated to include references to eight new movements in the church.
  • Ravi Zacharias, Can Man Live Without God (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 1994). Anything written by Zacharias is worth reading. This book provides one of the most compelling apologetics for the Christian faith you will ever read. He also challenges the postmodern view that absolute truth doesn't exist by pointing to the One who said He was the truth.
  • William P. Young, The Shack (Newbury Park, CA: Windblown Media, 2008). I seldom read more than one fiction book a year, and this was the one for this year. I found the book fascinating. It is a very controversial book that some people have called heresy. The book tells the story of a man racked by grief who encounters God, but he encounters God in ways that he never expected.
  • Edward H. Hammett, Spiritual Leadership in a Secular Age: Building Bridges Instead of Barriers (St. Louis: Chalice Press, 2005). This excellent book explains how churches can build bridges that will reach out into their communities. I think I used an entire highlighter on this book.
  • John Jackson, PastorPreneur (Friendswood, TX: Baxter Press, 2003). The author defines a pastorpreneur as an innovative leader, a creative dreamer who is willing to take great risks in church ministry with the hope of great gain for Christ and his kingdom. This book provides five strategies to help lead your church into the future. The strategies include (1) Grab the Community's Attention; (2) Build Strategic Partnerships; (3) Conduct Faith-Building Events; (4) Everyone's a 10-Get 'Em Moving; and (5) Multiply Your Impact.

Happy reading

2 comments:

Eddie said...

Thanks Dennis for recommending my Spiritual Leadership. I'm thrilled that you found it practical and encouraging. Let me know if I can be of further help.
Eddie Hammett
www.transformingsolutions.org

Dennis Bickers said...

Thank you Ed for writing this book. I believe it is vital for churches to find ways to build bridges to their communities. This site is especially written for bivocational ministers and the churches they serve, and very often these churches can be very inward focused. Your book provides very practical ways for these churches to change their perspective and begin to look for ways to build bridges into the community and enjoy greater ministry effectiveness.