Books I Recommend.

The first thing I shall do is recommend some of my favorite books to let you do two things:
1) Know more about me.
2) Introduce to you books you should read.
This is not an exhaustive list and I will likely expand it further at a later date.

MY BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS:
1) The Bible. This is unique among all books in that it is God's Word and not, as my pastor frequently says, man's opinion. It is authoritative in your life and mine. You dont' decide what parts of the Bible you will accept. You allow the Bible to dictate to you what you will believe and do. It is infallible and innerrant in that God's Word contains no errors in what it says and teaches. You will find errors in the quotes of men the Bible contains at times, but the Bible will demonstrate for you how what is in those quotes is in error.

Other books that are not on the same level of the Bible but are vital for a person's knowledge and wisdom are the following titles. I have some minor disagreements with the author's opinions in some of these books, but the larger material covered is vital for a healthy life.

a) The Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren. Especially good for those of you with little background in Christianity or in understanding why God created you in the first place.
b) Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby and Claude King. Very helpful in learning how to discover and maintain a personal relationship with God.
c) Wild At Heart by John Elderedge. Cuts to the core of what it means to be a man.
d) If You Wanna Walk on Water, You've Got To Get Out of the Boat by John Ortberg. Teaches you how to walk in obedient faith with God.
e) Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire by Jim Cymbala. The importance of prayer is underscored in this book about the real life story of the Brooklyn Tabernacle Church.
f) More Than A Carpenter by Josh McDowell. For those of you skeptical of Christianity out there, this short book gives powerful evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
g) Rebel With A Cause by Franklin Graham. This autobiography of the son of Billy Grahams will show his struggles with becoming a Christian in the first place and then it will show you the excting ways he has been used by God since becoming a Christian.
h) God's Smuggler by Brother Andrew. Some titles of this were published under the name The Narrow Road. This is an autobiographical story of a man God used to smuggle Bibles into Communist countries during the 1950's and 1960's. Don't let the time period of the book lead you to believe it is not worth your time. It is extremely fascinating reading.

That is the list for now. I plan to publish more recommendations on books in areas related to the life of a church in the future. I am also an avid history buff and will plan on giving a list of those recommendations as well.