The following is a conversation part of the Patheos Book Club for 25 Books Every Christian Should Read.  To interact more, click this link.

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My spiritual journey continues to be informed by people like Dallas Willard, Richard Foster, and more recently – Jan Johnson.  These folks are part of a wonderful organization called Renovare, which focuses on equipping followers of Jesus to become more like their Messiah.  My personal reflections on the issue of inward transformation and how such expresses itself outwardly, are written in an article called “I’m Done With Living Like a Christian.”  There, you will get a glimpse into why I appreciate the Renovare approach to spirituality.  Bottom line: know Jesus more.

Recently, I was sent a book to explore and reflect upon called 25 Books Every Christian Should Read.  My initial thought was that I wondered about the criteria for such a list, wondering if this list was a bit restrictive.  But, as I read the rationale for selecting these books (which represent the broad gamut of Christian writings from St. Athanasius to Henri Nouwen), I became convinced that the Renovare board was on to something.  They state:

This book is not the list of the best Christian books ever written or a list of the top twenty-five devotional books; it isn’t even the list of the top twenty-five classics, although we believe all of the books on the list are or will be considered classics of their respective genres.  the books we have chosen to include are, instead, the books that the board judged served as the best guides for living life with God.  Cumulatively, these books embody a rich treasure of wisdom and counsel for how to live the Christian life. (x)

With that as the criteria, here is the goal: “reading primarily for formation rather than for information” (xii).  This certainly is a challenge in a day when reading is focused on information intake and data overload.  This book, which is a guide for introducing readers to a lot of other books, will take discipline to get through.  In fact, the books is set up in chronological order, but the hope of the compilers is that readers will seek to read particular works that resonate with where they are in their faith journey at the time.  This book truly is a guide to point you in a direction and not a book to “charge” through in a short amount of time. [Read more...]