Reading list
Must reading
The Challenge of Jesus
N. T. Wright
InterVarsity, 1999
There’s no better place to start for understanding how thoroughly Wright is reshaping the way we understand the meaning of Jesus in his cultural context, and in our own.
Foreign Bodies
Hwee Hwee Tan
Washington Square Press, 2000
Profane, postmodern, profound. Douglas Coupland stand aside—this is the definitive Gen X novel, with a global voice and a faithful heart.
The Gospel in a Pluralist Society
Lesslie Newbigin
Eerdmans, 1989
Leadership Without Easy Answers
Ronald A. Heifetz
Belknap Press, 1994
By far the best book in a crowded field, one that eschews cliché and offers a compelling vision of what leaders can do for communities large and small.
Story
Robert McKee
Regan Books, 1997
Aristotle meets Hollywood. Narrative—it’s not just for screenwriters any more.
Technology and the Character of Contemporary Life
Albert Borgmann
Chicago, 1987
This difficult, rewarding book has done what no other book of philosophy I’ve read could do: changed the way I live. See my two review essays, “Eating the Supper of the Lamb in a Cool Whip Society” and “Wow! Sweet!”
My books
The Best American Spiritual Writing 2005
Philip Zaleski, editor
Houghton Mifflin, 2005
Includes my essay “The Emergent Mystique.”
The Best Christian Writing 2006
John Wilson, editor
Jossey-Bass, 2005
Includes my essay “Omit Unnecessary Words”—and some wonderful pieces by friends and fellow writers including Amy Laura Hall, Eugene Peterson, Frederica Mathewes-Green, Gideon Strauss, and Lauren Winner.
Worship at the Next Level: Insight from Contemporary Voices
Tim A. Dearborn and Scott Coil
Baker, 2004
Contains a wide range of essays on worship, including my column “Amplified Versions” and one of my favorite pieces from the 1990s, “A Humbling Experience: Contemporary Worship’s Simple Aesthetic.”
The Best Christian Writing 2004
John Wilson, editor
Jossey-Bass, 2003
Includes my essay “We’re Rich.”
The Church in Emerging Culture: Five Perspectives
Leonard Sweet, editor
emergentYS/Zondervan, 2003
Five very different takes on emerging culture and postmodernity, interwoven with comments and responses, from some of my favorite writers and pastors in American Christianity. Michael Horton, Frederica Mathewes-Green, Brian McLaren, Erwin McManus, and me, with a special Leonard Sweet bonus track.
Worship Team Handbook
Alison Siewert, Andy Crouch, Matt Frazier, Sundee Frazier, and others
InterVarsity Press, 1998