2007 Top Ten List: Books

Time for top 10 books I read this year, once again in no particular order...

1. In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day, by Mark Batterson - I read this one in a book group with Jason and Glen. It was a good first book for the men in our church.
2. The Ministry of the Missional Church, by Craig van Gelder - I actually just finished reading this book yesterday. Half of the book contains some of the best stuff I've read on the subject of the missional church, while the other half was simply ok. If you liked Missional Church by Guder, you will like this one (at least half of it).
3. New Testament History: A Narrative Account, by Ben Witherington - I mentioned Dr. Witherington in my Top 10 Blogs post. I have really enjoyed this book as I've gone through the book of Acts.
4. Mavericks at Work, by William Taylor & Polly LaBarre - This was the best leadership book I read this year.
   
5. Launch: Starting a New Church from Scratch, by Nelson Searcy & Kerrick Thomas - Jason and I read this book this past Spring, as we were first beginning to plan our Fall Launch. It's the most practical book I've read on the subject of church planting.
6. Grace Based Parenting, by Tim Kimmel - I actually haven't finished this one yet, but what I've read is great. I especially like it because it encourages parents to teach a missional worldview to children, and not to try to shelter them from the world.
7. This Beautiful Mess, by Rick McKinley - This is probably my favorite for the year. It's one of the most helpful books I've read on understanding the Kingdom of God.
   
8. Cities of God, by Rodney Stark - The subtitle for this book is "The Real Story of how Christianity became an Urban Movement and Conquered Rome." What more do I need to say?
9. The Pursuit of Happyness, by Chris Gardner - I've had Audible this past year, and this was one of the books I listened to. The movie centers on the second half of the book. There was quite a bit of bad language, but other than that, it was a good book. Great story!
10. The Collectors/Stone Cold, by David Baldacci - I'm putting these two together so that I keep my list to 10, but also because it's really one story, albeit a very long story. I read The Collectors on our trip to Gatlinburg, and then listened to Stone Cold a few weeks ago. Very good fiction.