Gilbert’s Coaching Tips

About every two or three years, I poll folks on books that they have been reading and then put together a list of those books.  This year, I asked the Field Strategies Regional Directors for their recommendations.  Though this is not as extensive as previous lists, I received suggestions for books that I never heard of and some that have been classics in the church for many years.  If the person suggesting gave a reason, I included it, but I chose not to include their name.  Why not take a look and pick out something that you can take with you this summer.

Spiritual development

Knowledge of the Holy by A. W. Tozer.
Heaven by Randy Alcorn.
Streams of Living Water by Richard Foster.       “Presents 6 streams of the Christian faith – it opened up a whole new world of understanding in terms of my own spirituality and how to incorporate different ways of communicating with God.”
The Great Work of the Gospel by John Ensor.        “Though I am prone to hyperbole, in complete honesty this is the best, most beautiful treatment of the gospel and its implications on our lives that I’ve ever read (and re-read and re-read).”
Pleasures Evermore by Sam Storms.       “This book isn’t new (2000), but it’s new to me.  Rick Hove suggested that all our new Faculty Commons staff read it.  His premise is that Christians don’t refuse the desires of the flesh until there is a better desire to replace them with, and in Christ there are pleasures evermore – “I count them as dung in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ”. The book, particularly the first seven chapters, is rich in thought and rich in practical application.”
Renovation of the Heart & “Study Guide” by Dallas Willard.
Whiter Than Snow by Paul David Tripp.       “A great devotional on sin, forgiveness & mercy!”

Character development

The Healing Path by Dan Allender.       “Living in a fallen world means that we will encounter pain, disappointment and brokenness and we must learn to walk through it in a gospel centered way. This is the best book on the topic that I have found.”
The Road to Unafraid by Jeff Streucker.       “The Army’s top ranger and “Blackhawk Down” hero recounts in harrowing detail how he has stayed faithful to God, his family, his men, and his mission in the midst of an Army career filled with calamity and chaos.”

Ministry

Leading with a Limp by Dan Allender.
Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey.       “Revolutionized the way I looked at my priorities and helped me put the first things first.”
Axiom by Bill Hybels.
The Deliberate Church by Mark Dever and Paul Alexander.       “An absolutely necessary and biblical corrective to the plethora of church models (The Emerging Church, The Purpose Driven Church, The Market Driven Church, etc.), this book challenges us to have a ministry driven perspective and governed by the gospel.”

Okay, now for a few of my favorites.

Organic Church by Neal Cole.     I think this is a must read by everyone in our ministry.  This is classic win/build/send.
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell.     We want the Gospel to sweep the campus.  Gladwell talks about the type of people necessary in the spread of social epidemics.
The Celtic Way of Evangelism by George Hunter III.     The way Christianity took root in a pagan world and how that world parallels our own.
UnChristian by David Kinnaman.     The subtitle says it all: “What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity… and Why It Matters.”
And now for a work of fiction.  Silas Marner by George Eliot.     After the gold of the outcast, hermit weaver was stolen, an orphan baby crawls into his life.  This redemptive story about learning to love and receiving love and treasure far greater than the one taken from him.

Just in case you are interested, you can check out the list of books that others suggested three years ago.  There isn’t as much repeated as I would have guessed.  Happy reading.