Holiday Reading

I'm just recently back from two wonderful weeks with my family in Upton on Severn (before the floods thankfully) and North Cornwall.

I managed to skim my way through a few interesting reads so here are my top picks for Summer 2007...

Keep Going is, accoridng to UCCF head-honcho Richard Cunningham, "an excellent book for anyone strugglind with their Christian beliefs". As usual Richard is right - that's exactly what it is. Writter by a young man who has experienced more than his fair share of hardship in the Christian life and has gone through periods of doubt this is a profoundly theological and immensly practical guide to dealing with doubt - doubt about the Bible, doubt about God's existence, doubts about sovereignty and more. It's a little long at nearly 300 pages and the graphical system of headings didn't really appeal to me but it's excellent and well worth a look. Get it here.

We've been thinking about contemporary spirituality on Sunday evenings at church recently so I thought I'd follow that up by re-reading Michael Raiter's Stirrings of the Soul. An excellent little book that helps us understnad why we, and our friends, feel the way we do about spirituality - broadly wanting to be thought of as spiritual but not being keen on anyone telling us what to believe,think or do. Raiter looks at streams of spirituality within Christianity that are popular but, in the end, fail to deliver any true knowledge of God. He is particularly brilliant at showing how frequently such "alternative" Christian spiritualities fail to really talk about Jesus. The best chapter, in my view, though is saved for the end - an analysis of what's wrong with evangelical churches and how we can retain Bible-centredness without drifting into a joyless orthodoxy which doesn't live like real faith. Superb. Get it here.

Roger Carswell is a superb evangelist whose prayer letters include regular thoughts and reflections for his Christian readers. He has now gathered these nuggets, most of which relate, in one way or anther to evangelism, into an excellent little book called "The Thinker". Best read slowly - perhaps one a day with your quiet time - for maximum impact. Get it here.

Graham Beynon's Experiencing the Spirit is, I think, the best place to start if you want to know what the Bible says about the person and work of the Spirit. Get it here.

Also in the sermons adapted for publication line is the prolific Vaughan Robert's book Battles Christians Face. As ever this is clear, organised, focussed and brilliantly illustrated. Worth buying for the last chapter - on keeping spiritually fresh - alone. One might sometimes get the impression that people who write clear books explaining the Bible are not heartfelt believers. Roberts shows superbly in the last chapter how much he loves Christ, how hard he finds that and how we can learn from his experiences. Buy it here.

I read a few novels too, more on those later...