My Top 10 Books From 2011

10. Teen Proofing by John Rosemond

This is a great book written with sound advice and a little humor. It's the only book on parenting I've read where I've found myself chuckling out loud at times. Worth the read before you have teenagers under your roof.

9. Rid of My Disgrace by Justin and Lindsey Holcomb

This book I didn't want to read, didn't like reading it, yet knew it was one of the most important books I'd open all year. If you work with people in ministry this book needs to be in your arsenal. It offers help and perspective to those working with the victims of sexual abuse. It is a hard read due to the nature of the content but with statics proving true something you will deal with.

8. Courageous Leadership by Bill Hybels

This leadership classic came out awhile ago and I'm just now getting around to it. It's great at helping a leader "embody the vision".

7. Radical by David Platt

This book is exactly what the title says. It's challenging, inspiring, and a good reminder of the faith we're called to. The subtitle is "taking back your faith from the American dream."

6. Dug Down Deep by Josh Harris

Actually, I read this last year however I reread it this year with a group of high school students.  The takeaway line is "If you want to feel deep you must think deep." It's a well written look at core doctrines of the faith.

5. A God Sized Vision by Hansen and Woodbridge

A little shout out to Randy for the heads up on this book.  It's a collection of revival stories. In this day and age I found myself highly skeptical of big spiritual moves. I find myself thinking they are driven by popularity, or money. This book is a great reminder of how God through the ages has sent his Spirit to stir the hearts of believers. It covers the Great Awakenings as well as some contemporary events. Highlight for me was that many of these were touched off by teenagers.

4. Disciple by Bill Clem

A good book that covers what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. It's meaty and a good read. I appreciate how Bill Clem covers the interplay between word and deed.  It'll give you something to think about.

3. Seven Practices of Effective Leadership by Andy Stanley, Reggie Joiner, and Lane Jones

One of the best leadership books I've read in a long time. The first half of the book is told as a story which is highly engaging and readable. It's a great answer to the question what's the win? I'd love to walk through the first half the book with a team. 

2. Note to Self by Joe Thorn

When I picked up this book this summer I was surprised. I thought it would be a huge book on preaching the gospel to yourself what I got was a small book almost devotional in nature. I approached cautiously. What I found was one of the most challenging, life giving books of 2011. It applies the gospel to life (not self help) in a sweet way that challenges yet encourages. I ordered a stack and gave a copy to my team as well as a few other friends. Here's some other blog post I've put up on this gem of a book.

1. Logos by A ton of people

Ok so it's not technically a book...IT's A WHOLE STINKING LIBRARY. I'm not even sure where to begin but to say it's really been one of the great additions to my study of scripture. I got the super base model and it comes with a huge reference library, commentaries, Greek and Hebrew tools,  and a host of other charts, graphs, and gadgets. There's a feature that takes a passage and makes a wordle out of it to highlight key words or phrases.