Velvet Elvis - Rob Bell
All the best stuff from the NOOMA series in a book! Compares theology to art – never static, always current. Velvet Elvis helps 21st century christians see the Bible through the 1st century lens, as Bell's grasp of ancient Jewish culture leads to rich insight into the original meanings of words and phrases found in the New Testament. Dave Warby
Growing in the Prophetic - Mike Bickle
A wonderful handbook for the prophetic church with much hands-on wisdom in dealing with prophecy in our meetings and in our personal lives. Packed with inspiring testimonies and practical theology, “Growing in the Prophetic” seems to have stood the test of time as a lot of what works well at Melville Junction is found in these pages. Dave Warby
A very helpful and practical look at the prophetic. And some great stories of real "prophets". Rebecca Rouillard
Desire of the Everlasting Hills - Thomas Cahill
A scholarly look at how Jesus quite literally changed the course of human history. What I took away from this amazing read was: "Jesus is the end of war". Those who wage war do so in rebellion to His teaching. Jesus squarely opposed the Alexanders and the Caesars of the world with His groundbreaking revolutionary stance. And now, history is inexorably set on a course toward peace. We are not there yet, but we have certainly come a long way with many international peace initiatives birthed from His Way. Reading Cahill, I contemplated how barbaric the world might still be if Jesus had never come. His "Kingdom" will one day reign completely and I am inspired to be a part of the process. Dave Warby
Intelligent Church - Steve Chalke
Chalke asks the church to spread her arms a little wider, and provides many practical tips on how to achieve this. Would be great if this book was used as 'fuel for action', and not simply 'food for thought'...Dave Warby
Developing Your Prophetic Gifting - Graham Cooke
This is another great book on the prophetic, possibly a more thorough and well-rounded overview. I found it very useful and Graham Cooke also has many amazing stories to share. Rebecca Rouillard
Walking with God - John Eldredge
It is about learning to hear God everyday. If we learn to hear God about everyday things, then we can be more confident about hearing God for big decisions (for example is this the right job to take, or is this the right person to marry). Here is an extract from page 12 of the book:
" Intimacy with God is the purpose of our lives. It’s why God created us. Not simply to believe in him, though that is a good beginning. Not only to obey him, though that is a higher life still. God created us for intimate fellowship with himself, and in doing so he established the goal of our existence—to know him, lovehim, and live our lives in an intimate relationship with him. Jesus says that eternal life is to know God (John 17:3). Not just “know about” like you know about the ozone layer or Ulysses S Grant. He means know as two people know each other, know as Jesus knows the Father—intimately." Juliet Briggs
Blue Like Jazz - Donald Miller
Probably my favourite book in a long time. This book really opened my heart for the lost and for the poor and is an encouragement on how to actually live out this faith! A bit like “American Splendor” (the movie and the comic) – Blue Like Jazz is autobiographical in style, as Don traces his spiritual journey from childhood to college to the present. This is one man's incredibly honest, somewhat quirky account of his personal walk with God, the church and the world around him. Great stuff. Better than jazz. Dave Warby
True Worship - Vaughan Roberts
What I found particularly interesting were the chapters dealing with the differences between old and new covenant models of worship, and how some of the old has crept back in. Also of interest to me was the exploration into the biblical purpose of 'christian meetings' and how singing fits into that view. "True Worship" offers much practical advice regarding which practices help and which practices hinder us from meeting in a way that is true to the biblical intent. Dave Warby
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Surprised by Hope - Tom Wright (Just in case you were confused...Tom Wright and NT Wright are the same person)
Recommended by Steve Briggs
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Jesus for President - Shane Claiborne, Chris Haw, and friends
In my opinion if there is one book that you go out and get immediately, it's "Jesus for President". I'm such a big fan that Dean asked me if I had shares in the publication. No I don't (sadly), just in case you're wondering. This book takes many of the well established thoughts in academic theology (Yoder, Hauerwas etc.) and puts them into an easy to understand, practical, and life tested context. I only have two "criticisms" for us (and for those who know me that's an endorsement in itself :-)
1) I was put off by the title. Don't be, read it and it'll make sense ... if not in the way you thought at first :-)
2) The book is written by Americans (not that that's a bad thing) and so a few of the applications and examples are for that context. That being said, it doesn't take much thought to see the similarities in South Africa and to come up with our own contextual examples.
All in all. Two thumbs way up. Paul Warby
