Books every Christian should read

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The book most recommended from all who contributed to the list[/caption]

This summer at church I taught through Colossians 3:1–17 over the course of seven weeks. Toward the end we came to verse 16, which states, “”Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.” The theme for the day was “Learning and singing.”

A couple of weeks beforehand I emailed about 50 different pastors, professors, friends, businessmen and other church leaders, asking the question, “Can you give me your top 3 books that you feel every Christian should read in their lifetime?” The follow-up clarification was, “Which ones from your journey really impacted you? The ones you’ve read over and over and have notes in the margin. The ones which when people mention them or you see them on your shelf you smile because of how they’ve impacted your own relationship with Jesus.”

Some of the titles that started trickling back in I had anticipated. A few I’d never heard of. Some I’d forgotten about, thinking, “Oh…that’s a good one!” But by the time our Colossians 3:16 Sunday came around I had a great list of books to share with our church family. Here is the complete list:

• MereChristianity — C S Lewis
• The Knowledge of the Holy — A W Tozer
• Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God — J.I. Packer
• Screwtape Letters — C S Lewis
• The Cost of Discipleship — Deitrich Bonhoeffer
• Life with God — Richard Foster
• The Jesus Way — Eugene Peterson
• Close Enough to Hear God Breathe: The Great Story of Divine Intimacy — Greg Paul
• Practicing His Presence — Brother Lawrence
• The Christian Mind — by Harry Blamires
• Repenting of Religion — by Greg Boyd
• Simply Christian — by N.T. Wright
• The Drama of Scripture — by Craig G. Bartholomew and Michael W. Goheen
• Orthodoxy — G. K. Chesterton
• The Pursuit of God — A.W. Tozer
• Morning and Evening — Spurgeon
• Confessions — Augustine
• Trusting God — Jerry Bridges
• True Faced by John Lynch
• The Gifts of Imperfection — Brene Brown
• He That is Spiritual — Lewis Sperry Chafer
• Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth — Walter Brueggemann
• In the Name of Jesus — Henri Nouwen
• Too Busy Not to Pray — Bill Hybels
• More than a Carpenter — Josh McDowell
• Desiring God — John Piper
• My Utmost for His Highest — Oswald Chambers
• Overcoming Sin and Temptation — John Owen
• Life Together — Dietrich Bonhoeffer
• The Case for Christ — Lee Strobel
• Knowing God by J.I. Packer
• Improvisation: The Drama of Christian Ethics — Sam Wells
• Exclusion and Embrace — Miraslov Volf
• Divine Conspiracy — Dalas Willard
• Desiring God — John Piper
• Life Together — Bonhoeffer
• Peacemaking Women — Tara Klena Barthel and Judy Dabler
• Making Room for Leadership — MaryKate Morse
• Evil and the Justice of God — NT Wright
• Christ and Culture — H. Richard Niebuhr
• Everyday Theology — Kevin Vanhoozer
• How Long, O Lord? Reflections on Suffering and Evil. — Don Carson
• The Dangerous Duty of Delight: Daring to Make God Your Greatest Desire. — John Piper
• The Cry of the Soul: How Our Emotions Reveal Our Deepest Questions about God — Dan Allender and Tremper Longman,
• Pilgram’s Progress — John Bunyan
• Not the Way It’s Supposed to be: A Breviary of Sin by Cornelius Plantinga
• Living by the Book — Howard Hendricks
• The Good and Beautiful Life — James Bryan Smith
• The Ragamuffin Gospel — Brennan Manning
• Messy Spirituality — Mike Yaconelli
• The Pursuit of Holiness — Jerry Bridges
• A Praying Life: Connecting With God In A Distracting World — Paul Miller
• Know Why You Believe — Paul Little
• Basic Christanity — John Stott
• Evidence that Demands a Verdict — Josh MacDowell
• Right from Wrong — Josh MacDowell
• The God Who is There — Francis Schaeffer
• The Sensation of Being Somebody — Maurice Wagner
• Knowledge of the Holy — A.W. Tozer
• Disappointment With God — Philip Yancey
• The Jesus I Never Knew — Philip Yancey

You can download a PDF of the entire list HERE.

Which books are missing? Leave a comment of the books you would add to the list. You can share the list with others using the social media buttons.