I had an interesting discussion this morning with my regular Wednesday morning guest on 98.5 Sonshine FM. Ross Clifford is the Principal of Morling College in New South Wales and current President of the Baptist Union of Australia. Each week we chat about a range of issues relating to spirituality and belief.
Today we were talking about books that have made an impact on our lives. The discussion was prompted by an article at Christianity Today titled The Top 50 Books That Have Shaped Evangelicals.
The opening line of the article says, “People and movements can be defined by the books they read and remember.” This is obviously true for all of us, not just people of faith.
We opened our discussion listing the 5 books we would rescue if our bookshelves were about to go up in flames. It’s an interesting exercise to think about which books have made a lasting impact on who you are and the way you think.
You can listen to our chat while you continue to browse the web by clicking here.
Which 5 books would you save from a fire? Which 5 books have impacted your life? We specifically targetted Christian books in our discussion but I’d be interested to know about your top 5 even if you don’t consider yourself to be a spiritual person.
Please click on the comment link below this post and list your top 5. By the way, you can’t choose the Bible. That makes it just too easy for Christians. We’ll simply assume that as a bonus 6th book. I’m keen to get a good discussion going so please feel free to ask the same question on your own blog and direct people to this post. What are the books that have influenced you?
For what it’s worth my five were, in no real order, Faith, Tried and Triumphant by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Joy Unspeakable by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, The Barbarian Way by Erwin McManus, The Shaping of Things to Come by Mike Frost and Al Hirsch and The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges. It’s an interesting mix and I could probably pick some very different books on any other day.
Posted by Rodney Olsen
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this is an incredibly hard choice to make. Here’s a stab at it:
1. Embracing God’s Love, by Brian James Smith
2. The Jesus I Never Knew, by Philip Yancey
3. The Inner Voice, by Henri Nouwen
4. My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
5. The Message, by Eugene Peterson
Great exercise, Rodney:
My five books:
1. By Searching by Isobel Kuhn
2. The Pursuit of God by A. W. Tozer
3. Chief Men Among the Brethren by Hy. Pickering
4. Coping by Elizabeth Skogland
5. The Journals of Jim Elliot by Elisabeth Elliot
Keep up the great work, dear brother. I think I’ll post the same challenge on my blog.
In His love,
David
In no order, I guess:
Thinking in Pictures (My Life With Autism) – Temple Grandin
The Story Of My Live (1903) – Helen Keller
I´m not really here – Tim Allen
Star Trek Series – James Blish
Black Like Me – John Howard Griffin
btw: Would you like to have a look on my Perth-List to see if it´s ok?
1) The Liturgy of the Hours
2) The Sayings of the Desert Fathers, translated by Benedicta Ward
3) Thy Will Be Done: Praying the Our Father as Subversive Activity, by Michael Crosby
4) A Harsh and Dreadful Love, by William Miller
5) The Practce of the Presence of God, by Lawrence of the Resurrection
Some great books there. Thanks for adding your favourites.