Favorite reads of 2016 1-5

Today I'll finish my top 10 list of my favorite reads for 2016. Yesterday, I listed 6-10 so if you haven't seen it you can find it here.

5. Growing God's Church: How People Are Actually Coming to Faith Today by Gary McIntosh. McIntosh is a professor at Talbot School of Theology and a church consultant who knows what he's talking about. All of his books are must reads for anyone in church leadership. He and I were speakers at an event earlier this year, and I had a great time talking with him about this book. You need this book in your library.

4. Why Christian Faith Still Makes Sense: A Response to Contemporary Challenges  by C. Stephen Evans. This is a very readable book that will help you respond to the skeptics and critics of Christianity. As you can see from these next few books, this year I was very interested in books on apologetics and how to speak to unbelievers. I'm convinced it will become increasingly more important to know how to do this in the future.

3.  Making Sense of God: An Invitation to the Skeptical by Timothy Keller. Anyone involved in ministry today knows how difficult it can be to talk to persons who are skeptical about God.  Keller lives and ministers in New York City. He is surrounded by persons who question the existence of God, and he has learned how to communicate with them. He shares that knowledge in this book and teaches the reader how to share his or her faith with skeptics. I found this book extremely helpful.

2.  Has Christianity Failed You? by Ravi Zacharias. Here is another one of my favorite writers on apologetics. I listen to Zacharias on his podcasts as well as read his books. Many people have left the church because they feel God has failed them. The author points out that individual Christians and the church might fail us, but God never will. His arguments will be very helpful to me as I run into people who feel that God has abandoned them or failed them in other ways.

1. Walking with God through Pain and Suffering by Timothy Keller. I knew when I read the first chapter that this would be my favorite read for this year, and it was. Suffering is common to all of us, and Keller shows how God is always with us in our suffering and walks us through it. Christians need to read this for their own spiritual understanding, and church leaders certainly need this book as they minister to others who are going through the various trials in their lives.

This is my 2016 list. Each of these books have deepened my understanding of God and how I can better serve Him. I hope if you decide to read them you'll find them as helpful as I have.