As always, the disclaimer - these are my FAVORITE books that were released in 2010 that I was able to read. The criteria is totally subjective, and I'm making no claim other than that they are the books I enjoyed or was challenged by the most.
End of disclaimer.
Looking back, I'm amazed at the quality of books this year. There were some fantastic ones.
1.
Radical - David PlattI was rocked by David Platt’s Radical more than any other book I’ve read in recent years. There’s very little that most believers don’t already know, but Platt refuses to allow you to ignore that gnawing feeling in your stomach that tells you you’re missing what God’s called you to. It made me uncomfortable, challenged my thoughts and beliefs about how I’m living my life, and inspired me to more. He’s biblical, straightforward, brutally honest, and writes powerful narrative when describing stories as he sets out to discover what Jesus really taught to first century followers.
2.
The God Who Is There - D.A. Carson This is probably the best book I've ever read for getting a "big picture" view of the whole story of the Bible and how it all fits together. Concise yet robust, Carson is his typical brilliant self in tracing different themes throughout the entire Bible, connecting things I've seen for years but never really grasped how they meshed. This is a fantastic resource for the church, for mature Christians, and for new Christians alike. Carson continues to deliver.
3.
Church Planter - Darrin Patrick This is a fantastic book. Any man aspiring to leadership roles in the church will benefit from it. It should serve as an inspiration to many in my generation to step up and help carry to gospel to the lost and “guard the deposit” entrusted to us. My only nit-pick with the book would be the title, as it implies that the book would only be for those wanting to plant churches. I hope that doesn’t keep those aspiring to other leadership roles from reading. I was encouraged, challenged, and motivated by this book, and I think many others will be as well.
4.
Generous Justice - Tim Keller I’m in no position to critique Keller’s arguments. They are far too complex and subtle for me to do so. From my situation, however, Keller has given me a biblical framework through which to view many issues that people my age, especially young evangelicals, are questioning with regards to social justice and the gospel. I’m sure others will find things to quibble over, but it’s hard to argue with the biblical arguments put forward in this book. As a Christian, justice should be important to us. This book will definitely contribute to helping it become so.
5.
What Is the Gospel? - Greg GilbertThis book has great potential as an evangelistic tool as one cannot read it and fail to hear the true gospel. For believers, it can serve as a great means to learn how to articulate the truths of the gospel better. It’s a simple message, really, but one that we need to make sure we have right. After all, if we don’t get the gospel right, everything else is ultimately pointless.
6.
A Sweet and Bitter Providence - John PiperThe book is basically an expositional look at the book of Ruth. This sometimes forgotten book is a treasure-trove of insight into the nature of God, suffering, race, and sexual purity. Piper expertly mines the book’s narrative, pointing out what the author of the book is trying to communicate, then pastorally applies those insights to our lives today to help us face suffering with God’s providence in mind, face sexual temptation with God’s holiness in mind, and approach the diversity of races with God’s plan of redemption through Christ in mind.
7.
Surprised By Grace - Tullian TchividjianIf, like me, you grew up hearing the story of Jonah but never really listening to it, let me encourage you to read this book. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and the book of Jonah demonstrates that his grace was just as prominent in the Old Testament as during the time of Christ and today. He’s a gracious, loving Father who pursues His children however far from Ninevah they run. I repeatedly saw myself in Tchividjian’s descriptions of Jonah’s responses to God, and this book encouraged me that God’s relentless grace pursues me in exactly the same way it did Jonah so long ago.
8.
Dug Down Deep - Joshua HarrisYou cannot love a God you don’t know. You cannot follow a Christ of your imagination. You can praise both of them until you’re blue in the face, but if you don’t know anything about them, you might not be praising someone who’s actually real. I can laud my wife’s brown hair and green eyes all I want, but she’ll be pretty upset because she’s blonde with bluish eyes. The same thing applies when dealing with God, and he’s given us descriptions of Himself and His Son in the Bible. This is the God you will meet in Harris’ book. He states the book isn’t intended to be a systematic theology, and it’s not. But it very well may cause you to want to read one and learn more about the God he loves.
9.
Crave - Chris TomlinsonChris Tomlinson isn’t a pastor or theologian. He’s a businessman. His stories aren’t all about fighting big battles for the Lord and accomplishing giant things for Him (though like me, he wants to do those things). Instead, they’re about things like struggling to be fervent in prayer, obedient in action, and vulnerable in evangelism. Yes, Tomlinson has done some pretty cool things and been a lot of places, but his descriptions of his walk with the Lord seemed extremely familiar for me. I’m guessing it will for many of you as well.
10.
Holy Subversion - Trevin Wax
This short (150 pages) and fairly easy read was highly enjoyable for me. It’s packed with Scriptural truth yet connected intimately to our lives. In a world that makes constant demands on us for our time, resources, and attention, we need to be careful what we’re worshipping with those things. We Christians tend to be almost indistinguishable from non-believers a lot of the time in how we live our lives. By subverting the idols our culture wants us to have, we show others that Christ is of highest value. He’s the only one truly worthy of our worship.
Honorable Mentions:
Think - John Piper
Hello, I Love You - Ted Kluck
Doctrine - Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears
Leaders Who Last - Dave Kraft
Scandelous - D.A. Carson
The Sword - Bryan Litfin
I recently purchased Aaron Keyes latest album, Not Guilty Anymore. There's one song, in particular, that's really hit me hard. It seems to sum up a lot of what God has been teaching me this year.
