The following are brief descriptions of books recommended for use in House Churches or in individual study.
Books with questions/study companion
In our highly individualistic culture, the message of Jesus is often reduced to a private spirituality concerned only with getting to heaven. Jesus' message however is much bigger. The story of the Scriptures is a holistic story concerned with the redemption of all things. In his short book Embracing Grace, Scot McKnight offers a compelling way to think about the fullness of Jesus' message and what implications it carries for Christians. This is a short book of 176 pages.
Having converted to Christianity from Orthodox Judaism, Lauren Winner discovered that she missed "the daily rhythms and routines that drew the sacred down into everyday." In Mudhouse Sabbath, Winner discusses eleven Jewish spiritual practices and how they can enrich and give clarity to the holistic nature of Jesus' message. This is a short book of 142 pages.
During an election season, Pastor Greg Boyd gave a series of sermons on why Christian allegiance should be first and foremost to Jesus and not a political party. Those sermons have become The Myth of a Christian Nation. By contrasting the power over mentality of the world with the power under mentality of Jesus, Boyd paints the picture of a Jesus who is first and foremost interested in love in the midst of a power hungry world. He goes to great lengths to connect all of his thoughts to the Biblical text. This book is 219 pages in length.
One of the most urgent crises in the world today is poverty. Millions of people face the daily challenge of living in poverty, whether globally or locally. As we announce the arrival of God's kingdom by working for measurable change among the oppressed, we must seek to understand the complexity of poverty. In A Framework for Understanding Poverty Dr. Ruby Payne discusses facts about poverty, while also providing practical and compassionate strategies for addressing its impact on the people. A workbook companion can also be purchased to accompany the book.
Rick McKinley is a friend of Mars Hill and lead pastor at Imago Dei Community in Portland, Oregon. This Beautiful Mess seeks to understand the central theme of Jesus' ministry: The Kingdom of God. What is this kingdom? Is it already here? How am I meant to be a part of it? Each chapter contains thought provoking questions or anyone seeking to find where their story intersects with God’s story.
Copyright 1989, Used with permission of the Crossroad Publishing Company
Description: In the Name of Jesus is a book about what it means to be a Christian in a world full of the temptations. Whether we are tempted by power or self reliance, Nouwen reminds us that a Jesus centered life comes through prayer and the hard work of healing and forgiveness. Anyone who is trying to become more like Jesus will find this book to be a helpful guide. This is a short book of 107 pages.
Study Guide: A short study guide can be found at the back of this book.
Who has God created me to be? Why am I here? What is my God given purpose? These are all questions that we wrestle with. In this short book but powerful book, Parker Palmer explores what it means to live as the unique person God created each of us to be.
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This small group study guide explores environmental stewardship by studying the relationship between Creator and creation, God and man, man and habitat, and man and one another. Less than fifty pages long, it is a short study of four chapters loaded with questions, resources, and ideas for taking action.
What does it look like to live a life of spiritual discipline in our fast paced world? In Making All Things New Henri Nouwen offers thoughts on the pitfalls of busyness, worrying, and what it means to listen for the voice of God that promises to "make all things new." The Formation Team has written questions for reflection to be a guide as you read. This is a short book of ninety-five pages.
A New Kind of Christian is a story about two friends who discuss the difficult questions of trying to live faithfully in our culture and world. The story unfolds as a series of conversations about faith, doubt, fear, and reason to name just a few. If you've ever found yourself captured by the beauty of faith and simultaneously perplexed by the shortcomings of religion, A New Kind of Christian will be a helpful guide as you process. The book is 192 pages.
Study Guide: A short study guide with questions that can be found at the back of this book.
Jesus said, "I have come that they might have life and have it to the full." Waking the Dead explores what it means to become the fully alive people that God intended us to be. Acknowledging the difficulties of life, Eldredge gives a voice to the hope we have in Christ and the beauty of Christian community. This book is 256 pages in length.
Study Guide: A guidebook with questions and discussion topics can be purchased to accompany this book
In Serve God Save the Planet author Matthew Sleeth explores how Christians can fulfill their call to be stewards of Creation in a modern world. Weaving his many Emergency Room stories with the Biblical story, Sleeth lays out a compelling and very practical challenge to live a life of environmental responsibility. The book is 197 pages.
Study Guide: Discussion questions for each chapter can be found on page 200. In addition, there are several helpful appendices that unpack the very practical ways in which we can begin to live more simply and responsibly.
Description: Hospitality is a spiritual practice. There is something about sharing a meal together that joins us together in a unique way. Just Eating? is a curriculum that examines the role of food in community, health, hospitality, and service. It is full of guided reading, group experience and exercises, and spiritual practices for groups to do together.
Study Guide: Just Eating? is a short study. Participant and leader guides can be found or purchased at: http://www.pcusa.org/hunger/features/justeating.htm#studyguide.
Eat This Book is an exploration in how we read the Bible. Many of us long to do more than simply read the text. We want the stories and words to take up residence in our hearts and leave us forever changed. Peterson discusses what it looks like for us to live the text as we read it. He says, "The Bible, all of it, is livable; it is the text for living our lives." Eat This Book addresses how we can read and interact with the Bible in a deeper way. It is a short book of 176 pages.
Study Guide: A study guide can be purchased to accompany the book. It is helpfully organized into a nine session study, but chapters 2 and 6 are short and can be combined to make for a seven session study. For every chapter, the study guide provides a summary, definitions of key words and phrases, quotations to consider, questions for interaction, a suggested activity, and a liturgical prayer.
Books without questions/study companion
Becoming more like Jesus is a journey. In Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, Pastor Peter Scazzero writes about waking up to our immaturity and unhealthiness and journeying toward a mature life in Jesus. Scazzero does more than talk about the journey. He offers some very practical ideas about living a life of spiritual discipline and practice. This book is 210 pages in length.
Hidden in the details and experiences of our lives are clues to who we are. If we have the courage to go to those places, we will find the person God created us to be. God is writing His story of redemption in your life. Whether simply discussing Allendar's ideas, or actually engaging the process of storytelling with one another, To Be Told will help you better understand what God is up to in your life. This book is 240 pages in length. A workbook can be purchased to accompany this book and guide you through the process of writing your story.
Having transitioned from advertising to pastoral ministry, Shane Hipps knows firsthand how media shapes people. In his short book The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture, Shane discusses how media shapes culture and more specifically how it shapes the church.
Sexuality is spiritual. It's connected to God. It's connected to heaven. Sex God is a look at the complexity of human sexuality that also tells the story of a God who becomes human and humans who are made in the image of God. We're never meant to separate the individual from the image of God. This book is 201 pages in length and is a very accessible and thought provoking read.
We live in a sexually saturated culture. We are confronted with questions of sexuality nearly everywhere we turn. By looking honestly at the questions a sexual culture forces a Christian to ask, Lauren Winner offers some very helpful and thought provoking reflections. Whether addressing cultural lies about sex or married sex, Real Sex will challenge you to think deeply about what it means to follow Jesus in a sexually saturated culture. This book is 192 pages in length.
Following Jesus brings with it all kinds of questions and challenges. We need to ask our questions. We need to wrestle with our faith. Faith isn't something to take lightly, and God has room for our questions. Rob does just in Velvet Elvis. The book is 208 pages in length and reads very quickly because of the conversational style in which it is written.
The other side of being a disciple is discipline. As followers of Jesus, we must cultivate practices and space in our lives in which we can hear from God. Spiritual disciplines and practices are concentrated efforts to do just that. In this book, Tony Jones addresses the human longing for connection with God and explores sixteen different spiritual practices. This book is 224 pages in length.
The Christian story finds its roots in the Hebrew Scriptures. Rabbi Lawrence Kushner addresses Jewish Spirituality through a Christian lens. For those looking for resources on how to explore the Jewish roots of the Christian faith, this book is perhaps the best place to start. It is short, succinct, and very reader friendly. This book is 103 pages in length.
With 35 years of experience in community development and many compelling stories, Dr. Lupton invites us to think hard about what it means to serve and build community by building relationships. Everyone has something to contribute to the restoration of all things. Dr. Lupton's book is hopeful challenge to rethink how we serve. This book is 139 pages in length and very reader friendly.
Few writers are able to convey the Narrative of scripture as simply and as powerfully as N.T. Wright has in Simply Christian. Wright tells the story of the Bible discussing justice, heaven, God, Israel, Jesus, the Spirit, and what it might look like to join the story. In very clear and readable language, the book articulates an overview of the Christian perspective. This book is 256 pages in length.
As followers of Jesus, we are being constantly invited into an entirely new way of being in the world. Most of us long to be active participants in the restoration of all things but aren’t quite sure what that looks like. In The Irresistible Revolution our friend Shane talks about what it means to be an ordinary radical and to join God in the restoration of all things. This book is 368 pages in length. It is a very easy read; accessible and humorous.
The writings of Henri Nouwen are some of the best guides on the inward journey. The Return of the Prodigal Son is a detailed look at Jesus' parable of two lost sons and one father. Inspired by Rembrandt's painting, Nouwen invites us to find ourselves in all the characters of the story: a son in need of return, a son who never left but desperately needs to return, and a father whose love is unthinkable. This is short book of 160 pages.