My top 10

I decided that I would write down a top 10 of the books I read in 2010.  If you have any recommendations for reading in 2011 I would love to hear from you.

10.  The Grace and Truth Paradox, Randy Alcorn.  A short, helpful little book seeking to help us live a faithful Christian life. 

9.  Ministry by the Book, Derek Tidball.  A very thorough book that gives the pastor plenty to think about.

8.  Just do Something, Kevin DeYoung.  I have read a number of books on guidance, for the studies I am undertaking.  I felt that this little book was the most balanced.

7.  Holy Ground, Chris Castaldo.  Don Carson says that this is 'the best book that chronicles such pilgrimages [going from a Catholic to an evangelical faith]'.  It is gentle, insightful and engaging.

6.  Sex, Scott Perry.  I worked through this little book on sex with the teenagers in our church.  It is aimed at a teen audience and addresses them in a way that is not patronising.  It is biblically faithful and addresses hot-potatoes like homosexuality and porn.

5.  Led by the Spirit, Jim Elliff.  I am not sure why I resonated with this little book so much.  I think it was because he gets the balance between being Biblical and experimental.  I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in subjective experiences of the Holy Spirit but does not want to end up in the wilderness of subjectivity. 

4.  Wesley, and the men who followed, Iain Murray.  This book received a critical review by the Methodist Newsletter, because it had some strong criticism of modern day Methodism.  However, I really enjoyed it.

3.  Forgotten God, Francis Chan.  Chan suggests that the person of the Holy Spirit is the forgotten person of the God-head.  It is a light book that is really inspiring.  I was recommending this to our congregation in September.

2.  The Call, Os Guinness.  Funny thing is that I didn't immediately take to this book.  By the time I finished I thought it was absolutely excellent.  A great reflection on our calling to live radical Christian lives. 

1.  Spurgeon verses Hyper-Calvinism, Iain Murray.  The title of this book may sound like it is weighty but it is actually a straight forward book on a topic that fascinates me.  It chronicles Spurgeon's battle for gospel preaching.  Spurgeon is shown to be someone who holds both to God's universal desire/invitation for people to come to faith and his sovereignty in salvation.