Books I Deem Important to Me

Recently someone asked me, “What are some books you deem to be important to you that you’ve read, other than the Bible?” Thank God the person said “other than the Bible!” Had it not been qualified, that one would have been at the top of the list for sure! I mean I’m a preacher! Given I enjoy reading, but don’t read enough, the question is a good one, but a difficult one to answer because I’ve read many books and most of them I would judge to be important – both fiction and non-fiction.

Here are twenty-six (it’s always twenty or twenty-five, so I want to be different!) books that I “deem to be important”.  Some of these were read decades ago, while others were completed with the last month.  They are listed randomly and not in order of significance.

1. Oh, The Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss
2. The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
3. Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis
4. Basic Christianity by John Stott
5. Lilies of the Field by William E. Barrett
6. The Bedford Boys by Alex Kershaw
7. A Scandalous Providence: The Jesus Story of the Compassion of God by Frank Tupper
8. Tracks of a Fellow Struggler by John Claypool
9. Boom! Voices of the Sixties:  Personal Reflections on the 60s and Today by Tom Brokaw
10. The Word of Truth: A Summary of Christian Doctrine Based on Biblical Revelation by Dale Moody
11. Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam by Nick Turse
12. Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand
13. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
14. What Shall We Say?: Evil, Suffering, and the Crisis of Faith by Thomas G. Long
15. Stations of the Heart: Parting With A Son by Richard Lischer
16. When “Spiritual But Not Religious” Is Not Enough: Seeing God in Surprising Places, Even the Church by Lillian Daniel
17. Testimony: Talking Ourselves into Being Christian by Thomas G. Long
18. Finding Our Way Again: The Return of the Ancient Practices by Brian D. McLaren (in “The Ancient Practices Series”)
19. Water From A Deep Well: Christian Spirituality From Early Martyrs to Modern Missionaries by Gerald L. Sitter
20. Being the Presence of Christ: A Vision for Transformation by Daniel Vestal
21. Hearing God in A Noisy World: Prayer As Listening by Timothy L. Owings
22. The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw
23. Stories Behind the Great Traditions of Christmas by Ace Collins
24. Stories Behind the Best-loved Songs of Christmas by Ace Collins
25. Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Change America Forever by Bill O’Reilly
26. Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot by Bill O’Reilly

Some of these are heavy, while others are light.  I highly recommend all of these for a reading person’s consumption.  I don’t know how the reader of these might “deem” them, but at least they will have been read.

What are some books that you’ve read that you “deem” important, other than the Bible? I figure that one is at the top of your list.  Right?