When I was in Arizona recently, I had the great privilege of spending time with faithful iMonk Jim Park. Jim lives in Minnesota, but was born in Cincinnati and is a lifelong Reds fan. That was gold star number one right off the bat. And he has spent many years in radio, something else we share. But most of all, I found Jim to have an incredible heart for making disciples. He said he was looking for a really good book to give to a family member who had recently begun to follow Jesus. Ah, baseball, radio and books. We hardly needed to be sitting in the best Spring Training stadium under bright blue skies in free seats for this to be a great day. But all that helped.
Jim’s question got me to thinking. What would be the one book, other than the Bible, to recommend to a new Christian? Let’s assume the reader is an adult who has fairly good reading skills. Where to start? Mere Christianity
I just received a book in the mail today for review that could be that book: The Gospel Uncensored: How only grace leads to freedom
The Internet Monk Archives 
I would recommend G. K. Chesterton’s Orthodoxy.
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I didn’t know about the thumb. Did they use it to hitchhike back to Siena?
(Sorry about that. I’m not RC and that makes me think I can get away with it.)
At least the separation of Catherine’s head from her body was peaceful, unlike St Oliver’s. You call it a Popish Plot, but it sounds more like a Protestant plot.
I remember that one of the French kings (perhaps Henry of Navarre?) in order to spare this sort of bother, gave up on his Protestantism and converted back to Roman Catholicism. His memorable quote: “Paris is worth a mass.” But I’m sure it was also nice to keep his head.
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You are correct, Ted. She died in Rome and was buried there; the Romans wouldn’t let the Siennese have her body back but interred it in the Bascilica of St. Maria sopra Minerva, so some enterprising Siennese removed her head (and right thumb) and smuggled them back home:
But you don’t have to go to Rome; we have the head of St. Oliver Plunkett in Drogheda:
He was a 17th century Irish archbishop who was caught up in the Popish Plot of Titus Oates (a fraudulent conspiracy which pretended that there was a Jesuit-led Roman Catholic conspiracy to murder the King, and basically named as many high-profile Roman Catholics as he could think of, with him in charge of stamping out the conspiracy and getting paid for it, naturally) and was hanged, drawn and quartered in England on treason charges and for “promoting the Roman faith”.
His remains were exhumed and ended up in Germany, then in Rome, and eventually his head made it back home in 1921.
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Speaking of headless… whatever, Martha, unicorns, saints…
I stumbled onto your St Patrick’s day iMonk blogpost a couple of days ago. I missed it last month because I was flying just south of your isle that day en route to Italy to visit Daughter Number Three who is studying in Siena.
Anyway, my wife and I had a little apartment just a couple of streets down from il Duomo, which is spectacular, but the apt had a view across the ravine of another church, San Dominico, where the head of St Catherine is buried, cast into bronze, I think. She is one of the two patron saints of Italy along with St Francis, and although they buried her body in Rome, for some reason they detached (lopped off, hacked, separated, decapitated, surgically removed) her head for burial in her hometown of Siena. It was a nice view each morning with coffee, looking across to San Dominico and the body parts of Catherine.
Nice piece on St Patrick, by the way. My own blogpost that day (automatically posted because I was in the air just south of your island) also had a shamrock on it, but I found one with the colors of the Italian flag. Very international.
And as for headless unicorns, it is said that the Age of Reason has no need for unicorns. Hence the guillotine, the headless unicorn, and the guy with her. Isn’t history fun?
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Your post, OnemoreMike begs this question:
Do we wait till they’ve contracted the flu (church disappointment, burnout, abuse, etc) and THEN give them “Mere Churchianity” OR give it to them up front as an inoculation against future flu ??? What do you guys think, warn them up front or wait till they’ve been roasted a bit ??
GregR
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It’s a pity that the vast majority of Fritz Ridenour’s books are out of print. When I was a teen Christian, I would have offered a mixed bag- CSL’s Mere C’nity, Ridenour’s “Who Says… God Created?”, and yeah, Hal Lindsay’s LGPE and more importantly, his book on Salvation & Christian Growth- ‘The Liberation of Planet Earth’. The latter is STILL not bad. Now I would also add some essays by Fulton Sheen & Fr. Kallistos Ware’s ‘The Orthodox Way’, and of course, ‘The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe’ and ‘The Last Battle’.
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great stuff as always Martha……just make sure the newbie hears “sprezzatura” at least twice. Everything else is gravy… 🙂
GregR
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Oooh, Headless, this should appeal to you!
I kind of have a bit of a sneaking regard for the stories of decapitated saints – not the simple ones like John the Baptist, who just had his head lopped off, but ones like St. Denis of Paris or St. Dymphna – Irish saint who’s patron of the mentally ill.
You know, the tales where the saint’s head bounces three times and at every spot where it hits the ground, a holy well that cures ailments springs up? Or the saint picks up his severed head and walks three steps? Or the blood gushing forth stains the stones which can be seen to this day? There’s even a word for it – cephalophore (“head-carrier”).
Those kinds of stories. These kinds of images:
http://www.fedbybirds.com/2009/05/word_of_the_week_cephalophore.html
🙂
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” Examples to aim for? (Or maybe not, depending on your tolerance for weirdness…)”
That’s the great thing about the Communion of the Saints – for every one that makes you go “Holy crap, how nuts was that????!!” (and there are definitely going to be one that make you think he or she needed a course of lithium and a bit of a lie-down in a darkened room), there will be one who is just who or what you need.
I picked Martha as my confirmation saint because even at the age of twelve, I knew I needed help in the “getting off your backside and doing stuff” department (and she’s definitely the one for that). I don’t think I’m any the better yet, but that’s not St. Martha’s fault (and I think we both have a certain degree of eye-rolling at fluffiness in common; after all, she had no hesitation in pointing out, in the midst of her mourning, that after three days in the grave unembalmed in a hot climate, her brother’s corpse would stink).
My family, as I’ve said before, have poor St. Anthony of Padua tormented: “Yeah, yeah; never mind the impressive eloquence, fervent preaching, and renown as a Scripture scholar; find my car keys/glasses/important piece of official paper for me!”
😉
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That would be Little Nellie of Holy God, Headless. The child was undoubtedly devout (and is probably one of the Holy Innocents in Heaven, so I am not fit to undo the strap of her sandal), but the tendency of perfectly nice, well-meaning, pious Catholics to take such tales and turn them into edifying tales for the emulation of the young by coating them in six inches of treacle just never helps.
http://homepage.eircom.net/~portlawns/Pages/little_nellie.htm
Therese Martin was a much tougher cookie than the nickname “The Little Flower” indicates; a nick-name that used to annoy me intensely but somehow I’ve mellowed as I’ve gotten older, so it amuses me more (it’s rather like the idea that Attila the Hun’s name could mean something like “Little Father” or “Daddy” – there is such a gap between the mildness of the name connected with the reality of the person’s tough-mindedness that you just have to laugh).
What other fifteen year old would take advantage of a pilgrimage to Rome, which included an audience with the Pope, to make a personal request of him that he instruct the superiors at the convent to allow her to enter early and when he wouldn’t definitively agree to order them to do so, have to be carried out by the Swiss Guard?:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Th%C3%A9r%C3%A8se_of_Lisieux
“The youngest in the pilgrimage, bright and pretty, Thérèse did not go unnoticed. In Bologna a student boldly jostled against her on purpose. Visits followed one after another: Milan, Venice, Loreto; finally the arrival in Rome. On November 20, 1887, during a general audience with Leo XIII, Thérèse, in her turn, approached the Pope, knelt, and asked him to allow her to enter Carmel at 15. The Pope said: “Well, my child, do what the superiors decide…. You will enter if it is God’s Will” and he blessed Thérèse. She refused to leave his feet, and the Swiss Guard had to carry her out of the room.”
She may have been a little flower, but she was no shrinking violet!
🙂
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Give them “Simply Christian” and “Mere Churchianity” to read as parallel volumes. The first to answer the question “why be a christian in the modern world?”, the second to warn them away from the crazy, stupid crap that passes for christianity today. N.T. Wright and Michael Spencer. How can you go wrong?
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Brilliant, Martha! We forget that for a new Christian, this is the “honeymoon” phase, after all! Time, indeed, to fly to the spiritual Hawaii and forget about the mundane stuff for awhile. As we all know, we’re really going to need those honeymoon memories when the the “marriage” gets hard.
I was brought into the faith with the help of “Basic Christianity” by John Stott- which quite rightly showed me what a wretched sinner I was and how much I was in need of God’s grace. After the repentance, commitment, and reception into the Christian faith, how delighted I was to find that God was beautiful, full of humor, and the most delightful companion anyone could wish for! I was pointed to the lighter C.S Lewis books, George MacDonald’s fantasy stories, and lovely music and art. My spiritual mentor was a woman in her sixties who tap-danced for the “elderly” in nursing homes, took communion to shut-ins, and applied to be a flight attendant so she could travel more. She was full of joy, despite her many hardships, and when I would relay my latest “discovery” about God, she would beam, and say in her Texas accent, “but, of COURSE, dear! He’s like that, you know!”. I’m so grateful for the wise, mature Christians who pointed these things out to me; I probably wouldn’t still be a Christian today without these earlier lessons in joy. Thanks, Martha, for your “spot-on” insights and humor!
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Sorry for the confusion but I was suggesting Pilgrim’s Progress for a new believer not Paradise Lost. Pilgrim’s Progress was something I read as a young Christian and its imagery has always stuck with me. On a different note, I don’t think Milton intended to have his epic read only by English grad students and I certainly am not one. It was popular in his life time and was in its second printing before he died. The inclusion of Paradise Lost was for the older Christians reading this post.
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Me too, Bob, as a young Christian. Stott’s Basic Christianity was going to be my choice so I’ll second that.
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Sean, it looks like seminary is doing you some good! 🙂
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Ditto on the Catechism! An excellent and informative read.
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Miller is awfully good–I second that.
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Lol. great post.
when i became a Christian in 1994 i was given some really outragous material by people on End TIme stuff, Word faith, etc. I read THe New Millenium by Pat RObertson, books by David Hunt. i was given the Jack Chick comic series. it’s a miracle i’m not crazy.
i discovered the good stuff often on my own. (although my parents did give me the Screwtape Letters, of which i am grateful, and a wise bible study leader recommended THe Road Less Travelled by M. Scott Peck which helped me immensely).
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I was going to mention Streams of Living Water as a good one for new Christians.
as for Prayer, the Transforming Friendship by James Houston is my favorite.
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I would suggest Michael Horton’s “Putting Amazing Back into Grace”. Not only would it be an excellent means to inoculate new believers against works righteousness, it will also help those who have been blinded by the same in post-modern evangelicalism .
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Left Behind, huh?
In my day it was Late Great Planet Earth.
Considering what Left Behind Fever did to me, your friend lucked out big-time.
“Oh, the more it changes
The more it stays the same;
And the Hand just rearranges
The players in the game…”
— Al Stewart, “Nostradamus”, 1974
“If I live through this, it’ll make one helluva story/script!”
— Matt Wagner, “Collegiate Hepcats”, c.1990
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Back in the Seventies, Watchman Nee was The Hot Christian Author among some of the Evangelical types I ran with. They praised his stuff so highly (like it was the 67th Book of the Bible) it gave me the creeps. Don’t know much about the guy himself except what I read on Wikipedia, but some Christians DID go way overboard on him as a source and mentor.
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Give them STORIES, not Systematic Theology Parsing. Heroes and Adventures, not Purity of Ideology.
What are the stories of Saints but STORIES about Heroes of the Faith, Examples to aim for? (Or maybe not, depending on your tolerance for weirdness…)
And for St Therese of Lisieux, there is an UNABRIDGED autobiography of her out somewhere. Much better than the official 19th-Century version, which suffers from the Catholic equivalent of Sanitized Amish Bonnet Romance. (Martha from Ireland — wasn’t there some local child-saint hagiography you use as an example of “Victorian Sentimental Catholic Twee” — a “Wee Nellie of the Holy Spirit” or something similar?)
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I’m blaming the pernicious influence of all the Lutherans on here 🙂
It was the whole Law/Grace distinction that hit me; I was thinking about “How about the Catechism or this one or that one”, and then I went “Hang on a minute – Law versus Grace! Why am I suggesting that the first thing to tell new Christians is “You have been freely forgiven and are under love and grace, and you don’t have to do a thing”, and then handing them a recommended reading list of “Do this, don’t do that”?”
I mean, if I was going to encourage someone to watch a favourite tv show or read a favourite book or listen to this song, I wouldn’t launch into a technical description of “And on the fourth bar there’s a resolution into E minor that contrasts with the sprezzatura of the lyrics in the harmony”, I’d say “You’ll really enjoy this, it’s funny without being flip!”
For the same reason, then, I can’t list off works that they should read. Look at art. Listen to music. Read, yes, but like I said, an account of someone falling in love with God and going off to live in the desert so as to be in constant communion with the Beloved, not a verse-by-verse analysis of Paul’s Epistle to the Colossians and why they should take note of it.
Not at first, anyways. Bring them into the family, then later on, hit them with the homework 🙂
Show them something different. Give them
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1. Luther’s Large Catechism
2. The Spirituality of the Cross by Veith
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Many great suggestions so far! I also would need to know the needs of my new Christian before offering a book. But here are two more for people to add to their list of possibilities:
Tom Wright’s _Mark for Everyone_, a good guide through a gospel that ties in what Jesus meant to his contemporaries as well as what he means to us. Keller’s _King’s Cross_ may work as well – I haven’t read it yet.
Vaughan Robert’s _God’s Big Picture_ is a short-and-easy biblical theology overview that will give a new Bible reader a clear framework of God’s Kingdom and help them place Adam, Noah, Moses, David and Jesus into a coherent story.
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agreed
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Hasn’t been mentioned yet, but one book that helped me clarify things as a young Christian was Loving God by Charles Colson.
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I am reading that now, and it is amazing. SK is very loquacious, though, and his arguments are not straight-forward. Tough read, imo.
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Paradise Lost is something you read after you’ve finished a few years in the faith. And a graduate program in English literature. 😉
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Mere Christianity is a good choice for someone whose reading level will handle it (college grad, say), as would Chesterton’s Orthodoxy. For someone who’d have trouble with either of those, I’d say Donald Miller’s Searching for God Knows What is a more-than-acceptable substitute.
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This is probably a bit in a different direction, but the first book I’d probably give a new Christian adult would be the Book of Common Prayer. And maybe a good hymnal. Let ’em get some of that lex orandi, lex credendi under their belt.
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Ooh, good call on all that, Martha. What with the chrism still being wet and all, I’ve found that newbies tend to not need as much supplementary independent study if for no other reason than they often haven’t had the time to develop a ton of questions! Besides, they tend to be devouring the bible itself at that stage.
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I love all his books! but “Prayer” is my favorite as well!
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I would not give Mere Christianity having never read it. Just sayin’.
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This post made me laugh a little bit. A few years back a good friend of mine became a Christian and his conversion was an awesome thing to see. He was delivered out of drug addiction and you could truly see how changed he was over a very short period of time. He became a Christian about 8 years ago and has remained free of all the things that once bound him. Right after he came to Christ I was hanging out with him and I was curious if he was reading anything other than the Bible as a new Christian. To my horror he told me he had started The Left Behind series. I talked with him a little about the fact that faithful Christians have many different views of the end-times and in the end the Left Behind series didn’t destroy his faith or make him less of a Christian.
When it comes to what I think actually might be a good pick, I think Mere Christianity and Knowing God would be excellent. When my dad was exploring the faith a few years back I gave him Simply Christian by NT Wright.
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I would also recommend “Basic Christianity” by Stott and “Know Why You Believe” by Little
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Not that anyone would ever ask me for my recommendations for this in real life, but I might suggest “The Catechism of the Catholic Church”. Other than the Catholic specific items (primacy of Pope, among others) it is a great intro to just what Christianity is and expects of its adherents.
Other than that, I would suggest something grounded in both the history of the Church (e.g. the Creeds), the use, misuse (so they can recognize it when they experience it) and application of Scripture, and practical observance of Christianity.
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1. “The Divine Conspiracy” by Dallas WIllard. I can barely begin to express how this book worked in my life. I still go back to it after more than ten years. After a lifetime in church- always wanting to belong to God, even from my childhood -this was the first thing that ever really convinced me that God is truly good. It opened up to me “the good news about the kingdom of God”.
2. “Following Jesus” by N.T. Wright. This is a collection of sermons. Dry? Pedantic? Predictable? Not Hardly!!! They are short; sermons in “high” liturgical churches don’t usually run more than 15 minutes and are typically about ten minutes. Each sermon is about one key thing in one of the books of scripture. The think I like best about them is that they are not terribly directive. But there’s so much to which he connects those key ideas, that they end up painting pictures, in a very real way, a way that stays with you… This is another book I keep opening. I liked “Simply Christian” very much, but “Following Jesus” I think is “even more so”.
3. “The Way of a Pilgrim/A Pilgrim Continues His Way” (Helen Bacovcin’s translation conveys the Russian sensibility very well, from what I understand). Well, I’m Orthodox, after all… It’s about prayer, the thing that we all agree we need to “do” most as Christians.
3a. Tracking with Martha’s most sensible advice about drowning in beauty, and to go along with #3, Rowan Williams’ little book, “The Dwelling of Light: Praying with Icons of Christ” is an invitation: to contemplate what God becoming incarnate truly means, to “read the theology” of the icons, and to stand before God in prayer and allow the Holy Spirit to read us.
Dana
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I don’t think I would give a brand new believer a copy of the ‘Bondage of the Will’, or other in depth theological works.
I think we should walk before we run. There is a process of maturation in the Christian life that we go through.
That said, every person is different.
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If someone was to read only one book on prayer ever, I’d recommend Foster’s “Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home.” It is one of those rare books that is both informative and practical at the same time. I find that it encourages me to pray, and branch out in my praying.
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I agree.
I’d recommend his “Ruthless Trust” too.
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Saint Francis de Sales “Introduction to the Devout Life”.
Thomas Merton “New Seeds of Contemplation”.
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+1 for Phllips. The others are good, too.
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“If their pastor and teachers sound a lot like Stott, Sproul, or Peterson, maybe they don’t need books so much as a phone call and encouragement. So I guress it depends on that person’s present intake.”
You are so right. No book is a replacement for discipleship. But how many discipling pastors are left? (Sigh). What frustrating times in which we live.
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Amazing how a question like this reveals where we are.
A few years ago I would have recommended something in the systematic theology realm. Now I would say Narnia.
I wonder what I will say in a few years.
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Personally, I benefited a lot from Piper’s “Desiring God,” though this is not a book quite for beginners. As a recommendation I would suggest Eugene Peterson’s conversation series: “Eat. This Book,” “Tell It Slant,””Practice the Resurrection,” “The Jesus Way,” and “Jesus Plays in Ten Thousand Places.” Any of of those in any particular order would be a great start.
Yuri
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I own a lot of intro books on Christianity. Now, saying that, I think it depends on who the questioner is. I’d also want to give penal substitutionary atonement the center, since, that’s what I believe. As a result I’d probably give a book that was Reformed in its leanings. But because it’s different needs depending on different people, it depends on the book. So…
“The God Who is There” by D.A. Carson. I think this book hits it on the head. It goes through the story of Scripture, teaching the doctrines of God, Man, and Christ. It also assumes no knowledge of the Bible and as a result saturated in Scripture quotations. I also like how it’s agnostic on the issue of evolution and just drawing the theological meanings of Genesis 1 and 2. So that book is the first I would give. But my favorite part is how pastorally he writes. He’s very gentle in his writing. I feel like my grandpa is talking to me about Jesus when I read him, so, that’s the first book I would give.
“Simply Christian” by N.T. Wright. Um, I’d give this to a person who too wants a basic introduction to the faith but from the angle of kingdom. My hesitation is that he doesn’t emphasize the forgiveness of sins though I love his new creation tip. I’d probably give it to a new Christian more then anything. Alternatively, I’d give it a post modern since it talks about how Christianity makes sense of things and not why it’s true. We’re a pragmatic generation, ya know.
“Don’t Call it a Comeback” edited by Kevin de Young. This I would give if people asked me what Protestants believe, well, Evangelicals believe or should. Yes all the authors are from the New Calvinistic crowd, but I think they write what they write pretty well.
“Mere Christianity” by C.S. Lewis. A classic to be sure. I’d probably give this to those who are more modernistic in their thinking or to those who want to go deep in their understanding of things. Mind, my only issue with the book is it uses classical apologetics in its approach, and I would prefer a more presuppositional approach. But of course that’s just the Presbyterian in me.
“The Reason for God” by Tim Keller. Another book I’d give to a non Christian from a post modern perspective. Keller is a big proponent of presuppositional apologetics and he manages to put Christ and the cross on the center.
Now here’s the thing, the reason I would give away Carson’s book is because not only does he teach the Gospel of Christ, he teaches systematics while teaching the Gospel of Christ as the center of the storyline of Scripture. It’s like a catechism, and don’t quote me that’s exactly what Keller said when endorsing the book.
I’ve also heard that DeYoung’s book on the Heidelberg Catechism is good, but that’s not so much an intro to Christianity as it is an exposition of a Reformed catechism. I don’t have a problem with it, but, I know many people who do.
P.S.
To the above poster who used Luther’s Smaller, that’s another great resource. I’ve perused it and thought “Man! Luther hit it on the head”.
And perhaps I should be using my church’s standards, the Westminster Confession and Catechisms. But to be fair I find the Three Forms to be warmer in their presentation of the Reformed faith.
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I know this is going against the grain, but I’ve always felt strongly that the Holy Spirit is the greatest and best teacher. Why not sit down w/ this new disciple and give them a general overview of the scriptures. Ask them to prayerfully and repeatedly read the New Testament. Offer to be available to talk through what they are learning, and as you see how the Holy Spirit is guiding them, you can suggest other authors. But I wouldn’t even do that until they’ve read the New Testament at least twice through.
I think we do a disservice to new believers by giving them all these other authors to read too early: … faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Romans 10:17 Trusting the Holy Spirit to do His work is something we often let fall by the wayside, because the evidence is often so “slow in coming.”
Let the Word marinate and the Spirit do his work before adding to it. Then by all means, offer these works to the disciple once the foundation has been laid. I have suggested Mere Christianity, myself. Pilgrim’s Progress is a wonderful book, but I don’t care much for the updated translation and most don’t appreciate reading the dated English prose.
Just my 2 cents.
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Recently, the pastor at my church used Luther’s Small Catechism to teach a man in his 30’s the Christian faith. This man had no understanding of Christianity. Also, we are now using a book called Lutheranism 101 (published by Concordia Publishing House) to each new members the Christian faith as taught by the Lutheran Church.
I strongly believe that a new Christian needs to get trained. In the Great Commission, we are called to make disciples by Holy Baptism and teaching them the faith. It is very dangerous to leave a new Christian alone in the faith. It is the Church’s responsibility to provide properly training in Christian Doctrine.
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Some more offerings:
“Your God is too Small,” by J.B. Phillips
Then-Cardinal Ratzinger’s “Introduction to Christianity” is the best-ever explication of the Apostles Creed and why Christians believe what we believe. It can be heavy reading but very rewarding.
And for a conversion thrill ride Thomas Merton’s “Seven Story Mountain.”
Tom
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I’m surprised that no one has mentioned it yet, so I offer C.S. Lewis’s “The Screwtape Letters”.
Lewis had an incredible knack for describing the pitfalls of living as a Christian, and his extraordinary sense of humour makes for an easy, enjoyable, and nevertheless eye-opening read.
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A great read for today’s Christians.
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“Bunyan’s ‘Pilgrim’s Progress’ is still the nearest thing to a surival guide for the faith journey.”
When I was a senior in high school there was a chapter from “Pilgrim’s Progress” in our English Lit book. After reading this I went to to the library and checked it out. I was absorbed in reading the entire book for a few days, spending lunch periods and study halls getting through it. Reading it did something for me that I can’t quite define. The only thing I’m not sure about is it’s style and language for the younger people around today. However maybe it would appeal to their imaginations.
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+1
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“The Will of God as a Way of Life” by Jerry Sittser
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_Celebration of Discipline_ by Richard Foster because it explains well the practices of a Christian that help him or her know God better.
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“The Holiness of God” by R.C. Sproul, “Penguins and Golden Calves” by Madeleine L’Engle, and “The Pusuit of God” by A.W. Tozer.
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I haven’t revisited this book in many years (so I may not be currently on board with some of his doctrine) but one book that got me going as a new Christian was “The Normal Christian Life” by Watchmen Nee. I’d be interested to read what others think of this and if it’s still considered a classic work.
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Drown them in beauty.
lIke this…..before the ev. circus hits town…LOL…
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I would recommend “The Knowledge of the Holy” by Tozer.
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Towards what Sir Ox said:
What I would suggest the disciple in making to read would depend on which christian pond they are swimming in, and with whom. Are they hearing ten kinds of end times craziness ?? Are they hearing GOD wants them to have the Porshce of their dreams ? Are they hearing it’s YEC or her-eh-see ?? If their pastor and teachers sound a lot like Stott, Sproul, or Peterson, maybe they don’t need books so much as a phone call and encouragement. So I guress it depends on that person’s present intake.
GregR
PS: if they are in the same county as GR, they WILL be getting something from the IMONK archives…….again and again…
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I’d like to recommend something different: The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan. It’s been years since I’ve read it but the story is unforgettable. I know modern Christians don’t like to read early modern Christian literature(i.e. Paradise Lost)but Pilgrim’s Progress is easily accessible allegory of this life and how a Christian should live and the temptations he faces.
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John, what do you mean by eschewing their non-sense. I am interested in that because I have rarely heard of a RB who would eschew that.. I might really be interested in this book.
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I was revolving in my mind what tome of theology or apologetics or the like I’d recommend, and then it hit me that that’s the wrong approach.
This is for a new Christian, right? The chrism is still wet, so to speak. Okay – something about why be a Christian, or why other people were/are Christians.
Pick your favourite saint, find a relatively good biography (“The Story of a Soul” is the classic reference for St. Thérèse of Lisieux, but it’s also a classic 19th century hagiography meaning it’s chock-full of saccharine sentiment, so beware!) and shove it into his or her hands. “Here – here’s the story of someone who fell madly in love with God. See what you’re letting yourself in for.”
Quite seriously, I’d recommend this: a small volume of art-history, very simply laid out in the format of a saint for every day of the year (based on the Calendar of Saints) with accompanying artwork. The usual masterworks by da Vinci, Michaelangelo and so forth, but also less famous artists and more obscure saints.
Drown them in beauty. Get them interested in “Who the heck was St. Eligius, anyway?” and let them start investigating for themselves, to get to know their elder brothers and sisters in the faith.
Time enough later for the heavy learning (and, alas!, for getting embroiled in the arguments about who is and is not a heretic/liberal/bigot/real Christian).
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I recently read The Mystery of Christ and Why We Don’t Get It by Robert Capon. It is a great book and also a fun read. He tells different stories about people he has counseled and what there problems are with this free gift of grace. He then tells the story of a group he meets with who range from Evangelical to Agnostic and get their take on each of the stories. I really think it is a fabulous book! I also liked When Being Good Isn’t Good Enough by Steve Brown and for anyone who may be interested more in Luther let me suggest Stephen Paulson’s Luther for Armchair Theologians. Those are just a few I could recommend!
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Yep. “Free to Be” is a winner!
Forde was a real gem.
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Bazaro question:
Would many one NOT give “Mere Christianity”????
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Good list! I would put “The Shack” on there as well.
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“Lion and Lamb: The Relentless Tenderness of Jesus” also by Brennan Manning.
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Okay, 2 doesn’t make for a long line of pastors. That reads silly!
And a bunch of bookS….plural.
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The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus – A Clear and Simple Explanation of the World’s Best Seller by John R. Cross.
For this prodigal, who comes from a long line of pastors; 1 who attended Seminary, 1 who did not. Church and church school in my background, I never doubted there was a God or Jesus was His Son who came to earth in the flesh to die for the sins of mankind. I did, however, need a bunch of book on grace, as my background was soaked in Baptist Fundamentalism and legalistic, external behavior junk. Things of which I still struggle with today.
I saw this book at my dad’s house a couple of years ago and I soaked it up in 2 days. It’s not an easy one to find on the shelves, but I ordered it soon after so I could have it in my hands. Always. I laughed, I cried, I was amazed that the simple and basic point of the whole Bible is Jesus Christ. It wasn’t about the doctrine’s and theology’s that have divided so many for centuries. It wasn’t the dress code, hairstyle, movie non-attendance and music choice that restricted me and pushed me away as a young rebel. It was all about Jesus. And it still is.
Or rather……it should be!
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“Ragamuffin Gospel” by Brennan Manning.
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“Free to Be”, which is a guide to Luther’s small catechism and co-written by Gerhard Forde. It covers many of the pitfalls of evangelicalism, such as the believism merry-go-round (do I really, really, REALLY” enough and sincerely and enthusiastically and…
Bunyan’s “Pilgrim’s Progress” is still the nearest thing to a surival guide for the faith journey. Lewis’ “A Pilgrim’s Regress” is also good. A newer guide, outlining the current pitfalls of evangelicalism, would be important, but I don’t know if it exists – perhaps “Mere Churchianity”. There needs to be a book with chapters like “Dispensational Dysentary” or “Young Earth Yellow Fever” or “Cultural War Woes” or “Praise Band Pariah” (sorry, no spell checking available). They need to prepared for the “everyone is doing it” temptations of pop American Evangelicalsim.
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Yes, same guy. I really would like to meet him!
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He has followed this up with “Radical Disciple” which is very good as well, and maybe more readable.
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Slightly off topic, b;ut if you get the chance to meet Ken in person, Jeff, go for it. I think in terms of the package that he puts grace in, you two would really hit it off. If it’s the same Ken Blue I’m thinking of (former CA Vineyard pastor and olympian pentathlete), you guys are definitely cut from the same weird kind of cloth.
I heard him give a series of messages on healing spiritual abuse many years ago, and he made a strong positive impression on me.
Blessings
GregR
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“Cost of Discipleship”?
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To an adult with fairly good reading skills, I would give a copy of “Works of Love” by Soren Kierkegaard. A profound book that brilliantly captures the demands and implications of Christianity in a way that many others are afraid to do.
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It depends on the person. An older, well-read person, I’d give “Mere Christianity” by Lewis. Most people under forty, I’d give “Blue Like Jazz” by Miller. Some people I would give “The Reason for God” by Keller or “Simply Christian” by Wright.
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“The Fight ” by John White
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(I don’t know why “we” assume “new Christian” means “Unable to read anything with depth”.)
The book I would give to an (adult) new Christian would be Bonhoeffer’s book on grace (I think the title is Cheap Grace).
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In my early days as a Christian John Stott’s Basic Christianity was a good starting point.
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I find a lot of new Christians have very specific concerns that are personal. Each person i’ve interacted with is very different with their questions. through discussion with new Christians i have found a vast selection of different books to be of help.
I think Mere Christianity is excellent for people who are interested in Christianity, but it is too abstract for people who profess faith in Christ. they usually want more concrete direction. (although i did recommend it to one person i knew who was very philosophically minded and he appreciated it very much. others i gave it to didn’t really understand it and were confused).
i find a lot of people enjoyed a video series by R.C. Sproul on Christian basics (eventhough i am not a calvinist at all, or encourage that theology in any way). Sproul has a very pleasant demeanor in these videos and speaks clearly and simply.
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Another great and easy read is a book by the late Dr. Gerhard Forde, titled, “Where God Meets Man”.
Chocked full of the radical gospel which Forde was known for, in Lutheran circles especially.
And he’s wrote a lot more (in depth) theological works that you can see if you google his name.
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The three books I’d recommend for those seeking to follow Christ would be these:
But I say Unto You, by John Reisinger, who is a Reformed Baptist who eschews the usual legalistic nonsense which permeates RB circles,
Also, Grace In Practice, by Paul Zahl, who, though Anglican, leans heavily towards Lutheran understandings of grace and law. I’m not totally on board with everything he says in this book, but it’s a good and necessary corrective to the legalistic construct that binds far too many souls.
A third book which expresses the gospel message exquisitely is The Selfless Way of Christ by Henri Nouwen. It reminds us that to follow Christ is to follow in the servant’s way, as Christ did.
Each of these books have reminded me that to follow Christ is to not follow the way of the world. They each illustrate a different angle of what that means, but in every case they are cross centered. That to me is the lens through which we must always look.
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I read The Gospel Uncensored.
I loved it. They did a great job of laying out and describing the problems in law based theology and churches, and then countered (using Scripture) to show how the gospel frees us from all that religious stuff and navel gazing.
It’s a great and easy read, packed with the freedom of the gospel. My wife read it in a few hours and loved it also.
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