Saturday, December 31, 2011

The 2011 Book List

"A mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone. That is why I read books." - Tyrion Lannister (Game of Thrones)

Here's a list of the books I've read in 2011 along with a short commentary on a few of them. NT Wright and Kelley Varner had a huge influence on me this year. I can't recommend their books enough. It's my hope that you'll find something on this list to read. A number of these books can be found free online.

1. Freedom from 12 Deadly Sins - Kelley Varner // Excellent book on the "isms" that have invaded the Christian world.
2. Journey to Significance - Tony Miller
3. For Love's Sake - Jessica Davis
4. NT Principle of Kingdom Stewardship - Stephen Everett
5. Let Us Draw Near - Judson Cornwall // This book details the lives and thoughts of Moses and his contemporaries as they followed God's instructions to build the Tabernacle. Loved it.
6. Justification - NT Wright
7. Washed By the Blood - Brian Head Welch // Found this on my Father's bookshelf. Glad to see it there.
8. Secrets of the Ascended Life - Kelley Varner // Wow!
9. Principles of Present Truth: Ex - Deut - Kelley Varner // KV's Principles of Present Truth series are simply amazing. Every serious Bible student should own this set.
10. Jesus Among Other Gods - Ravi Zacharias
11. Manifesting God's Love Through Miracles, Signs, and Wonders - Jerame Nelson
12. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad // A classic.
13. Anointing for Exploits - David Oyedepo
14. The Believer's Authority - Kenneth Hagin
15. The Law of Recognition - Mike Murdock
16. Principles of Present Truth: 1,2 Samuel, 1 Chronicles - Kelley Varner
17. With Christ in the School of Prayer - Andrew Murray // Amazing book!
18. Churched - Matthew Paul Turner
19. Moral Revolution - Kris Vallotton
20. Monganga Paul - Lois Carlson // The Congo Ministry and Martyrdom of Covenant missionary Dr. Paul Carlson.
21. The Blood Speaks - Larry Huggins
22. Let the Nations Be Glad - John Piper // Another classic. Should be read by all.
23. Principles of Present Truth: 1,2 Kings, 2 Chronicles - Kelley Varner
24. Alfred Buxton of Abyssinia and Congo - Norman Grubb // Tracked down this rare book online. A gem. NG is the author of Rees Howells Intercessor. Amazing author.
25. Furious Pursuit - Tim King, Frank Martin
26. Christ in Congo Forests - Norman Grubb // Another amazing book on the history of missions in the Congo.
27. Rest in the Day of Trouble - Kelley Varner
28. Principles of Present Truth: Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther - Kelley Varner
29. Love Wins - Rob Bell // :)
30. Promise of the Third Day - Bruce Allen
31. Century of the Holy Spirit - Vinson Synan // Great book on the history of the Pentecostal Church in the 20th century.
32. Principles of Present Truth: Job - Kelley Varner
33. The Revelation of Jesus Christ - Lynn Hiles // One of my favorite books. This is a look at the book of Revelation from the lens of the finished work. Brother Hiles is another huge influence in my life.
34. Apostles: The Fathering Servant - Bill Scheidler // Thankful for this book.
35. King James Version // Call me old school but it's still my favorite translation. :)
36. Traveling Mercies - Anne Lamott // Marin native. Read a lot of books in front of her house as she's on one of the routes I deliver.
37. Blue Like Jazz - Don Miller
38. The Local Church Today - Bill Scheidler // Another great book.
39. The Making of a Leader - Frank Damazio // Excellent. Should be read by all desiring to go into the ministry.
40. The Church That is Left Behind - Kobus Swart // You can get this and other titles for free at www.thekingdomplatform.com. I recommend downloading everything from this site.
41. Prophet on Wheels: The Life Story of Bill Britton // Huge influence on Kelley Varner and others.
42. The Incomplete Church - Sid Roth
43. Let the Good Times Roll - Mark Hankins
44. The Sound That Changed Everything - Stephen Everett
45. Global Reformation - Robert Munien // Pastor Munien from Durban, SA has preached at Shiloh Christian Fellowship in Oakland many times over the years. Great book.
46. Jesus Wants to Save Christians - Rob Bell // Really liked this one.
47. The Source - James Michener // Took a couple of weeks to read. My dad gave me his copy and a couple of days later a book I was reading mentioned it. Glad I read it.
48. These Women Are Two Covenants - Jeff Moales
49. From Tent to Temple - George Warnock // One of my favorite authors. He gives away all his books free of charge. Huge influence.
50. Praying the Bible: The Pathway to Spirituality - Wesley and Stacey Campbell
51. Understanding the Seasons of God - Robert Munien
52. God Without Religion - Andrew Farley // Excellent. His commentary on communion and predestination were worth the price of the book. I also recommend his book The Naked Gospel.
53. The Great Escape - David Levister
54. Dating the Book of Revelation - Frans Du Plessis // Free at The Kingdom Platform website. Very thankful for this brother. His teachings on Apostolic Eschatology are priceless.
55. Apostles, Apostolic People, and Churches - Robert Munien
56. Relationship: The Key to Fulfillment In the Song of Solomon - Violet Kiteley // Another big influence in my life. Very blessed by the Kiteley family.
57. Shake Hands With the Devil - Romeo Dallaire // Powerful book about the Rwandan genocide and the failure of humanity to stop it.
58. The Three Prejudices - Kelley Varner
59. Right or Reconciled? - Joseph Garlington
60. Prevail - Kelley Varner
61. You've Already Got It - Andrew Wommack
62. Liberty Defined - Ron Paul
63. Held in the Heavens Until - Earl Paulk // I actually really like his books. Unfortunately he lived a double life. Sad story.
64. English Standard Version // Loved this translation.
65. Driving Change - Brewster/Dalzell // The authorized biography of UPS. Proud to be a part of this organization for over 7 years now. My grandfather was also a UPSer in San Francisco.
66. Legacy Now - Phil Munsey // Amazing preacher. Great book.
67. Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Prophet, Martyr, Spy - Eric Metaxas // Got a number of Bonhoeffer books after reading this. Can't wait to read them.
68. Surprised by Hope - NT Wright // The best book I read this year. Please do yourself a favor and read this.
69. Chosen For Greatness - Kelley Varner // AWESOME.
70. The Tenth Parallel - Eliza Griswold
71. Decision Points - George Bush
72. It's Really All About God - Samir Selmanovic
73. Allah: A Christian Response - Miroslav Volf
74. Simply Christian - NT Wright
75. Sex God - Rob Bell // Much better than Moral Revolution. Not what you're thinking.
76. God Is Not a Christian, Nor A Jew, Muslim, Hindu... - Carlton Pearson // Another sad story here.
77. Jesus Manifesto - Frank Viola, Leonard Sweet // Loved it.
78. The Rebbe: The Life and Afterlife of Menachem Mendel Schneerson - Samuel Heilman, Menachem Friedman // Read this after learning that many Lubavitcher believe him to be the Messiah.
79. A Continent for the Taking - Howard French // Great book about Africa.
80. A New Kind of Christianity - Brian McLaren // Thank you for making me think.
81. Whose Right It Is - Kelley Varner // Another very important book. Please get a copy of this.
82. In Southern Light - Alex Shoumatoff
83. They Fight Like Soldiers They Die Like Children - Romeo Dallaire // Important book about child soldiers and what is being done to help them.
84. Consuming the Congo - Peter Eichstaedt // Helps you better understand the Congo's conflict mineral situation.
85. A Million Miles in a Thousand Years - Donald Miller
86. The Laws of Prosperity - Bernard E Jordan // Surprised at how many regard him as a true Christian. He's more along the lines of New Thought like Carlton Pearson. I actually really liked his book The Laws of Thinking.
87. Evil and the Justice of God - NT Wright // Great book.
88. The River Congo - Peter Forbath // Learned more about the history of the Congo in this book than any other. Really good.
89. Dead Aid - Dambisa Moyo // Why aid isn't working in Africa.
90. Dancing In the Glory of Monsters - Jason Stearns // Really important book in understanding the Congo conflict.
91. The Israel of God - Frans Du Plessis // Another free book at The Kingdom Platform.
92. Unconditional - Brian Zahnd // A new favorite author of mine. Follow him on Twitter. Started reading his book Beauty Will Save the World a few days ago. Have a feeling it's going to be on my favorite list.
93. Dark Star Safari - Paul Theroux
94. Supernatural Destiny - Don Nori
95. Congo, My Country - Patrice Lumumba
96. The Enlightened Church: Satan Who? - Karl Barden // Really liked this one. Hard to find but should be read by all Bible teachers.
97. Absolute Monarchs: A History of the Papacy - John Julius Norwich // Dry at times but learned a lot.
98. The Lord and His Prayer - N.T. Wright
99. Offspring - Earl Paulk
100. The Fear - Peter Godwin // Amazing book on Robert Mugabe and the martyrdom of Zimbabwe.

In 2012 I'm focusing on quality as opposed to quantity. If you have any recommendations feel free to leave them in the comments section below.

Special thanks to Destiny Image for supplying me with a number of free books this year.

Friday, December 9, 2011

My 2010 Reading List

If you know me personally you'll know that I love to read. Not a day goes by where I'm not in the books and you can't leave my house without me handing you something to read. I decided in the middle of 2009 to start keeping track of the books I've read. I decided I'd share my reading list for this year after seeing some people I follow on Twitter do the same. In anticipation of that these are the books I read in 2010. There are a number of other books I started but didn't finish. I'll pick those up sometime...

1. Miracle Workers, Reformers, and New Mystics - John Crowder
2. Facing the Congo - Jeffrey Tayler // One day I'd like to go down the Congo. If I could only get my wife's permission. :)
3. Jesus Culture - Banning Liebscher
4. Release the Power of Jesus - Bill Johnson
5. Culture of Honor - Danny Silk
6. Spiritual Slavery to Spiritual Sonship - Jack Frost
7. Angelic Encounters - Jim Goll
8. At the Masters Feet - Sundar Singh
9. Ecstasy of Loving God - John Crowder // Excellent book.
10. Search For God and Guiness - Stephen Mansfeld // Great book about the Guiness family. Some of them were radical Christians and responsible for much of the missions movement in Africa.
11. Church of the Firstborn and the Birthright - Kevin Conner
12. The Jesus People: Old Time Religion in the Age of Aquarius
13. The Epistle of Jude - Kevin Conner
14. Bait of Satan - John Bevere
15. Kings of the Kingdom - Kevin Conner // Ordered this one from Australia. Excellent study on the Kings of Israel and Judah.
16. Power of Passionate Intention: The Elijah Principle - Mark Chironna // I love anything Chironna puts out.
17. Kimbangu: An African Prophet and His Church - Martin // Great book about Simon Kimbangu. Kimbanguism is a large branch of Christianity in the Congo. 
18. The Dancing Hand of God - James Maloney
19. Victorious Eschatology - Harold Eberle, Martin Trench // One of the best books I've read. I highly recommend everyone interested in eschatology read this. 
20. Living a Life of Fire - Reinhard Bonnke - Definitely one of my heroes. Flew to Atlanta a couple months after so he could lay hands on me. 
21. Complete Jewish Bible
22. Healing the Sick - TL Osborn // A classic. Get this book.
23. The Holy Spirit is Not For Sale - J Lee Grady
24. Son of Hamas
25. Unmerited Favor - Joseph Prince
26. John G Lake: His Life, His Sermons, His Boldness of Faith // Gave away my first copy of this book in Kinshasa in 2001. Excellent book. This guy was ahead of his time.
27. The Way of the Wild at Heart - John Eldredge
28. Principles of Present Truth: Genesis - Kelley Varner // So grateful for Brother Varner. I've ordered almost all of his Principles of Present Truth books. His writings are meat.
29. Evangelism by Fire - Reinhard Bonnke // Got this copy of Pastor Mohan's church in Madras, India in 1998. Great book.
30. The Missionary Call - M David Sills
31. The Purpose and Power of Love and Marriage - Myles Munroe
32. Tortured For His Faith - Richard Wumbrand
33. The Beauty of Spiritual Language - Jack Hayford
34. You May All Prophesy - Steve Thompson
35. Power Healing - John Wimber
36. The Shack
37. Waking the Dead - John Eldredge
38. Face to Face with God - Bill Johnson
39. Standing on the Shoulders of Giants - Steven Brooks
40. Moving in the Apostolic - John Eckhardt
41. Expect a Miracle: My Life and Ministry - Oral Roberts
42. You Have Not Many Fathers - Mark Hanby // Excellent book. Been loaning this book since Bible College many years ago. A must read.
43. The Mission of God - Christopher Wright
44. The Remnant - Larry Stockstill
45. Radical the Book - David Platt
46. Rees Howells Intercessor - Norman Grubb
47. The Supernatural Life - Cindy Jacobs
48. The Barbarian Way - Erwin McManus
49. Feed My Sheep - George Warnock // One of my favorite authors. Have all of his books.
50. African Christian Ethics - Samuel Waje Kunhiyop
51. God's Covenant for your Family - Marilyn Hickey
52. Not On Our Watch - John Prendergast, Don Cheadle // Met JP around the time of reading this. This guy is the real deal. He tirelessly works for the rights of Africans.
53. Be a Hero - Campbell & Court // I loved this book. So thankful it came into my hands. 
54. Good News About Injustice - Gary Haugen
55. A Beautiful Kind of Broken - Luke Holter
56. Coins Left Over - Eugene Strite
57. The King James Controversy - J White
58. Stuff Christians Like - Jon Acuff
59. Reformation of Foreign Missions - Bob Finley // Definitely makes you think. Bob gives this book out free. Get it.
60. Patience and Faith - Keith Butler
61. The Fall Feasts of Israel - Mitch Glaser
62. Africa - Richard Dowden
63. NIV Bible
64. Healing - Father Francis Macnutt // Awesome book.
65. Humility: The Hidden Key to Walking in Signs and Wonders - Mark R. Anderson
66. You're Not Broke You Have a Seed - Leroy Thompson
67. I Believe in Visions - Kenneth Hagin
68. The Order of a Son - Mark Hanby
69. The Ministry of the Saints - Mark Hanby
70. Keys to Heavens Economy - Shawn Bolz
71. Journey into the Miraculous - Todd Bentley
72. The Enough Moment - John Prendergast
73. Dreaming With God - Bill Johnson
74. Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe
75. Prince Caspian
76. Fire and Fragrance - Sean Feucht, Andy Byrd
77. Voyage of the Dawn Treader
78. The Silver Chair
79. The Horse and His Boy
80. The Magician's Nephew
81. The Last Battle
82. Exposition on the Book of Revelation - Kevin Conner // This book was a beast but was worth the read. I don't agree with everything Conner presents in this book but I still got so much out of it. This is another author  whose books I'm always reading.
83. Heavy Rain - Kris Vallotton
84. Moses, the Master, and the Manchild - Kelley Varner // Get every book he's written.
85. Heaven Awaits the Bride - Anna Rountree
86. Unmasking the Jezebel Spirit - John Paul Jackson
87. Crazy Love - Francis Chan
88. Sun Stand Still - Steven Furtick
89. The Laws of Thinking - Bishop E. Bernard Jordan // I actually really liked this book. More of a New Age read though.
90. Taking Over - Eddie Long
91. The Power of Your Life Message - David Crone
92. Corporate Anointing - Kelley Varner // One of the best books I've read.
93. Temple at the Center of Time - David Flynn
94. Is There A Father in the House - Paul Bersche
95. Secret Sources of Power - Tommy Tenney
96. The Prophetic Promise of the 7th Day - Bruce D. Allen // Good book. But having been taught this for so long was hoping for more.

In a couple of weeks I'll post the list of books I read in 2011. That list is much more diverse. If you have a question on any of these books don't hesitate to ask.