Best Reads in 2009

Here’s a list of the best books I read this year.

Life's Healing Choices: Freedom From Your Hurts, Hang Ups and Habits By John Baker

The 12 steps, with fewer steps and more explicitly Christ centered. Well worth the read.

The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism By Tim Keller

An apologetic, sticking close to Lewis. Readable, reasonable and pastoral.

Rediscovering Catholicism By Matthew Kelly

I'm not returning to the mother church or anything, but this is a great book to share with your RC friends. My only major disagreement with it (not to mention the several minor ones) was that the author wrote that Protestant believe that salvation is "found in the Bible and the Bible alone." Uh...no.

The Yankee Years by Joe Torre and Tom Verducci

Of course my favorite parts were the ones about the 2004 season...hehe.

The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How You Read The Bible by Scot McKnight

How do we read the bible and why do so many with opposing views claim theirs is the "biblical" position? Great stuff from McKnight here.

Simple Church by Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger

Very helpful. Been pushing it on my fellow church leaders.

ReJesus: A Wild Messiah for a Missional Church by Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch

This one almost didn't make it because it's long...real long. Good read though. It'll get you re:thinking.

Speaking of Sin: The Lost Language of Salvation By Barbara Brown Taylor

I mentioned this book in this post. The Amazon description is a good one:

"In Speaking of Sin, Barbara Brown Taylor brings her fresh perspective to a cluster of words that often cause us discomfort: sin, damnation, repentance, penance, and salvation."

We Might as Well Win by Johan Bruyneel and Bill Strickland

I'm a sucker for a bike book. This one is about Johan Bruyneel, the former cycling pro and team director or Lance's Tour victories.

The Garden of Last Days by Andre Dubus III

I love his dad and really liked The House of Sand and Fog. This book tells a story that centers around the 9/11 attacks. It's not a "true story," so to speak. In many ways, it's more of a character study than a novel, but I enjoyed it.

Inside the Postal Bus by Michael Barry

Barry was a member of Lance Armstrong's US Postal team. His story is a behind the scenes look.

Easter Everywhere: A Memoir by Darcey Steinke

A pastor's kid who struggles with life and faith. Interesting, disturbing, engaging.

Youth Ministry 3.0 by Mark Oestreicher

Where youth ministry has been may give us some insight into where it's going.

Here’s a list of books I thought would be on this list, but, much to my surprise didn’t qualify as “best”:

Crazy Love by Francis Chan

This is a good book, but there were a few too many statements that left me shaking my head in disagreement. (Lots to agree with, too, but...)

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire

I'm a sucker for the Wizard of Oz and thought I would love this book. Instead, I simply got through it. Going to see the show in few days. I hope it's better than the book.