Reading List

DETAILS | SERVICE
For team members living in intentional community, a chief focus of the year will be spiritual formation and discipleship. Along with daily devotions, prayer, and worship we will also be reading a number of books together. Below is a list of books used in our reading and discussion curriculum (required). Each month the house will read through a book and discuss together what they are learning. There is also a recommended “additional-reading” list for the bookworms among us.

1. Bruchko, Bruce Olson - The Astonishing True Story of a 19-Year-Old American, His Capture by the Motilone Indians and His Adventures in Christianizing the Stone Age Tribe.

To set the bar high and keep ourselves in check as we serve; remembering how much others have sacrificed and endured while relentlessly following God’s call.

2. Cross-Cultural Servanthood, Duane Elmer

Serving the World in Christlike Humility.

Practical advice for serving other cultures with sensitivity and humility–with careful biblical exposition, helping ensure that we serve out of no other culture than that of the cross.

3. Crazy Love, Francis Chan –  Overwhelmed by a Relentless God

Francis Chan writes with infectious exuberance, challenging Christians to take the Bible seriously. He describes at length the sorry state of lukewarm Christians who strive for a life characterized by control, safety and an absence of suffering. In stark contrast, the book offers real-life accounts of believers who have given all—time, money, health, even their lives—in obedience to Christ’s call.

4. No Compromise, Melody Green & David Hazard

The Life Story of Keith Green.

A very personal and challenging biography of a man who knew his brokenness, lived his faith, and pushed others to be serious about God’s call on their lives.

5. The Pursuit of God, A.W. Tozer

The Human Thirst For The Divine.

Tozer’s spiritual exploration into the essence of God’s nature resulted in this classic. Deep, clear, good for the soul. For the middle of our year; when the honeymoon is over, and we need some spiritual refreshing.

6. They Found the Secret, V.Raymond Edman

Each chapter of this book tells the story of a different father or mother of the faith. Edman writes, “…their testimony to the reality of the joy and power of the Spirit-filled life is unanimous . . . It is [the Lord] who satisfies the longing soul. He is the secret of the exchanged life!”

10. When Helping Hurts, Brian Fikkert & Steve Corbett - Alleviating Poverty Without Hurting the Poor. . .and Ourselves

Churches and individual Christians typically have faulty assumptions about the causes of poverty, resulting in the use of strategies that do considerable harm to poor people and themselves. When Helping Hurts provides foundational concepts, clearly articulated general principles and relevant applications. The result is an effective and holistic ministry to the poor, not a truncated gospel.

8. Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, Jim Cymbala

The story of the Brooklyn Tabernacle is one that highlights serious faith, the central importance of prayer, and submission to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

9. The Irresistible Revolution, Shane Claiborne

Living as an Ordinary Radicals.

Shane does a great job showing us some of the contradictions to our faith that have become so hidden in our culture, we forget to reject or even question them. With a constant and illuminating focus on the teachings and posture of Jesus.

10. Compassion, Justice, & the Christian Life, Robert D. Lupton

Rethinking Ministry to the Poor.

This book discusses how people, programs, and neighborhoods can move toward healthy relationships that are both interdependent, and reciprocal.

Recommended Additional Reading