Top Books for New Disciples

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This was hard, coming up with a short list of top books to read for a fairly new believer who is a reader. This could go in so many directions, but here's what I gave him, including my notations.

  • Basic discipleship – The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren– This book really covers all the major bases for basic discipleship. If you haven’t read it, take 40 days to read it (one chapter per day) and then read it again.
  • Evangelism – Becoming a Contagious Christian by Bill Hybels and Mark Mittleberg – I think this is the best one book to read on the subject and it has some really good practical stuff in it.
  • Spiritual Disciplines – The Life You’ve Always Wanted by John Ortberg – We’re going to offer a six-week seminar on this next year that I would highly recommend – Runner ups in this category are Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster and Ordering Your Private World by Gordon MacDonald.
  • Bible interpretation – How to Read the Bible for all its Worth by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart – This will be like a mini seminary class on biblical interpretation and will impact your reading of the Bible for the rest of your life.
  • Church – The Purpose Driven Church by Rick Warren – This is the book that made Warren famous in the pastoral world, years before he ever wrote the Purpose Driven Life. Some concepts and applications are a little outdated, but it’s an encyclopedia of church growth/health principles. Runner-up in this category is 7 Practices of Effective Ministry by Andy Stanley, but Warren should be read first.
  • Theology – The all-time classic is Knowing God by J.I. Packer.