Listed below are books that have made it to my "recommended reading" list. 

Who Is My Enemy? - Rich Nathan ***** - Highly recommended - The author addresses several contemporary groups the church tends to reject. He offers a biblical perspective with a heart-view of Jesus.  Quote by Rich Nathan "Finally every person, including every New Ager, has been made by God to give and receive love." Are You at War with Someone Jesus Loves? Many Christians are. We find it much easier to judge those outside the church than to love them. Yet Jesus did not come to condemn the world, but to save it. It is time we took on his attitude of servanthood--time to share not canned presentations, but our hearts and lives. Rich Nathan helps us understand how. Tackling five knotty current issues, he takes us inside the worldviews and street-level realities of postmodernists, New Agers, homosexuals, feminists, and liberals in order to better understand them, and to see beyond categories to real faces, real needs, and real hearts that long to be welcomed. Nathan reveals both the errors that we must challenge, and unexpected truths that will challenge us. Most important, he helps us to see individuals who long to experience the redemptive touch of Jesus--through us.

The Ragamuffin Gospel - Brennan Manning ***** - A must read for all the dirty, bedraggled and beat-up ragamuffins.  This book does an excellent job of revealing the grace and furious love of God for all us imperfect people.  Many believers feel stunted in their Christian growth. We beat ourselves up over our failures and, in the process, pull away from God because we subconsciously believe He tallies our defects and hangs His head in disappointment. In this newly repackaged edition—now with full appendix, study questions, and the author’s own epilogue, “Ragamuffin Ten Years Later,” Brennan Manning reminds us that nothing could be further from the truth. The Father beckons us to Himself with a “furious love” that burns brightly and constantly. Only when we truly embrace God’s grace can we bask in the joy of a gospel that enfolds the most needy of His flock—the “ragamuffins.”

An Arrow Pointing To Heaven -  James Bryon Smith *****As his mentor and friend, the author shares a close up view of the life and legacy of the late Rich Mullins.  Rich saw the world through the eyes of Jesus, his songs still point to the Creator in creation and the reckless raging fury called the love of God. Rich Mullins rose to fame and fortune in the music industry and then gave it all away to live in obscurity among Native Americans on a reservation in New Mexico, teaching children the joy of music and the hope of the gospel. Then his life, so full of promise, came toa tragic end in an auto accident. During his life, Mullins challenged the sensibilities of what it means to follow Jesus in today's world, and now in his death, he challenges all to build upon his legacy of joy, compassion, brokenness, unblinking honesty, and wonder in an Awesome God.

Messy Spirituality - Michael Yaconelli *****An excellent read that will open your eyes and set you free from attempting to be super spiritual and experience God's love in the messiness of life. I Guess I'm Not a Very Good Christian . . . Do you feel like: I don't pray enough I don't read my Bible enough I don't share my faith enough I don't love God enough I'm not committed enough I'm not spiritual enough Then this book is for you. Messy Spirituality was written for the silent majority of us who have been convinced that we just don't do Christianity right.  Maybe messy disciples are exactly the kind of imperfect people Jesus came to earth for and whose company he actually enjoyed--and still enjoys. If you want to find Jesus today, look for him in the midst of burned-out believers, moral misfits, religious incompetents . . . men and women whose lives are, well, messy. Messy Spirituality is a strong antidote for the spiritual perfectionism in us all. Here are truths that can cut you loose from the tyranny of ought-to's and open your eyes to the deep spirituality of being loved, shortcomings and all, by the God who meets you and transforms you in the midst of a messy and unpredictable life.

Wicca's Charm - Catherine Edwards Sanders **** I have to commend the author for not just writing another book about Modern Witchcraft but seeking out those who practice for a more balanced perspective.   Hundreds of thousands of people practice Wicca and other forms of modern Pagan spirituality in America today, and journalist Catherine Edwards Sanders wanted to understand why such belief systems are rapidly attracting followers. When a routine magazine assignment led her to realize that her stereotype of Wiccans as eccentric spiritual outsiders was embarrassingly misinformed, her curiosity compelled her to understand the Wiccan mystique. With the support of a journalism fellowship, Sanders spent a year interviewing neo-Pagans and witches and found that the lure of this emerging spirituality was not the occult, but rather a search for meaning in an increasingly fragmented and materialistic culture.   In Wicca’s Charm, Sanders explains the powerful attraction of an increasingly mainstream spirituality that celebrates the wonder of creation and the life-giving energy of women while also exploring why Christian churches often fail

Escape From The Fowlers Snare - Karen Strand **** For every mother whose teenager has ventured off the straight and narrow path, this book offers hope  of healing and restoration.   This is the dramatic true story of a young man trapped first in drugs, then by insanity. For two years he heard voices, thought he was Jesus, and thought he was talking to aliens. It soon became clear that he was battling the dark forces of evil. Forces that were powerful, but not as powerful as God's love and mercy.   As written by the Psalmist, We have escaped like a bird out of the fowler's snare; the snare has been broken and we have escaped. Psalm 124:7

Mister God, This Is Anna - Fynn ***** A must read... seeing God through the innocent and trusting eyes of a child  who had gained wisdom far beyond her years. Anna was only four years old when Fynn found her on London's fog-shrouded docks. He took her back to his mother's home, and from that first moment, their times together were filled with delight and discovery. Anna had an astonishing ability to ask--and to answer--life's largest questions. Her total openness and honesty amazed all who knew her. She seemed to understand with uncanny certainty the purpose of being, the essence of feeling, the beauty of love. You see, Anna had a very special friendship with Mister God. . . .  Supernatural books

The Worship God Is Seeking - David Ruis *****  A call to experience a passionate expression of worship. David shares revelation into throne room worship and encourages us to enter into an intercessory aspect of worship.  You definitely want to embrace this!    When the apostles in Jerusalem sent Paul out on the Church's first missionary venture, they launched him with one charge: "Remember the poor." It is the same challenge brought by worship leader David Ruis in this exploration of the intersection of worship and justice, the crossroads where love of God and love of neighbor meet. His passionate exhortation for God's people is to worship Him with integrity, cultivating a love of mercy while refusing to ignore injustice. "We cannot be a worshiping people without being a community of justice, within and without our walls." This is an invitation to experience a new way of seeing, of aligning our hearts with the heart of God---only then will we comprehend the justice God is seeking.