Recommended Reading List

In my previous post I talked about the importance of reading. Here are some of my favorite books that have had an impact on my personal life and/or ministry. I realize everyone's interests are different, but these books are in my opinion at the top of the list. Not all of them are by Apostolic authors so I do not endorse any views in these books that may contradict fundamental doctrine. However most of these books written by secular or non-Apostolic authors do not deal with any doctrinal subject matter. I have listed them in no particular order of importance, other than the first book. I will only keep one reading list on this blog, so if I add any books in the future they will appear on this edited post. As always, thanks for reading…

The Family

1. A Father for all Seasons by Bob Welch- This book stands alone to me among all other books besides the Bible. It has impacted my life in ways that I couldn't even describe. My mother bought me this book for Christmas 2001. My son had just turned one year old. I don't know how long it sat on the bookshelf untouched, probably a couple of years. When I started to read it, the book changed my life. There are a lot of parenting books out there that try to teach us how to do it. This book is a man telling us stories about his father and stories about his two sons in a way that only Bob Welch can write. I don't know a lot about the author, other than he is not a preacher but a newspaper columnist from Eugene Oregon. This book is primarily for fathers who are raising their son, but a book that everyone should enjoy reading. I sat in restaurants reading this book and would have to stop reading it because I couldn't stop the tears from flowing. Gentlemen, you owe it to yourself to get this book. It may be ordered online at bobwelch.net .
   
2. Bringing up Boys by James Dobson- A true how to book on parenting, I learned a lot from this book that I could apply to my own role as a parent. Any of Dr. Dobson's books on the family are worth reading.
   

   
   

Bible Study Material

1. Thompson Chain Reference Bible- still hard to beat it for pure study.
   
2. PC Study Bible- I've tried Quickverse, but Study Bible has a much better user interface.
   
3. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Bible Facts
   
4. Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary
   
5. The Tabernacle by William Brown
   
6. The Pentecostal Home Study Course
   
7. Any of Crawford Coon's Christian Development Course, Pastor John McKinnies introduced me to this tremendous material.
   

Christian Living

1. When Ye Pray by Joy Haney
   
2. Unseen Hands by Nona Freeman
   
3. When Ye Fast by Joy Haney
   

   
   

For the Ministry

1. The Flesh of God by J.T. Pugh- if there is a more relevant book to the ministry today I haven't found it. Bro. Pugh gives us what the Church is and what our Purpose is more clearly than anything I've ever read. A true must read book.
   
2. The Wisdom and the Power of the Cross by J.T. Pugh- this was a hard read for me because it was pretty deep, but it is a must read for every preacher. Both of these first two books should be a required reading for young ministers.
   
3. Effective Pastoring by Bill Lawrence- I don't agree with everything he has to say, the Baptist form of church government differs from ours, but plenty of good solid advice to Pastors.
   
4. The Best of Vesta Mangun- A written version of some of her best messages
   
5. Any of David Bernard's books including- The New Birth, The Oneness of God, God's Infallible Word.
   
6. For Preachers Only by J.T. Pugh
   
7. I being in the Way by Harold Kinney- Written by a missionary, one of the most enjoyable books I've ever read.
   

   
   

Publications

1. Perspectives Magazine by Indiana Bible College- Usually a feature story on a Church, plus lots of good articles and insight, my personal favorite Apostolic publication.
   
2. The Pentecostal Herald- I would not list it just on the merits of it being the official organ of the UPCI. It has improved tremendously the last few years, and now has great articles in it every month.
   
3. PC World Magazine- If you own a computer, this one is worth subscribing to, lots of tips and downloads to help you keep running smoothly.
   

Success Literature

1. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey- The standard by which all other success literature should be measured. It is a life changing book if you will apply it. Every leader and preacher should read and reread this book.
   
2. First things First by Stephen Covey- It doesn't do the book justice to call this a time management book, but it gives you an idea of what it is about. An excellent book, I recently had a well known and successful pastor from the South tell me this book changed his life, it was enough of an endorsement for me to go out and buy it.
   
3. Only the Paranoid Survive by Andy Grove- Andy Grove is the former chairman of the board for Intel and was the driving force behind what made Intel what it is today. The book centers around Strategic Inflection Points, which you would have to read to understand. He made me a believer that any leader in order to be successful long term must understand Strategic Inflection Points in their particular field.
   

   
   

   
   

   There are many other books that I have enjoyed, but these are a few that I believe can make a difference in your life…
   

The Power of Reading

I am going to in future posts be reviewing and recommending books that have had a powerful impact on my life, and there are several. Before I begin those posts, I want to talk about the power of simply reading. Some may think that in an age where multimedia, High-Def TV, and interactive websites abound, that reading may well be on its way to becoming obsolete. I seriously doubt if this will ever happen. I don't anything more powerful or enjoying than sitting down in a quiet room and simply reading. How many times have you heard someone say, "Yes I saw the movie, but the book was much better." When you a read a book, especially a novel, your imagination goes to work. I've often thought that 10 people could read the same book and the scenery and characters are all different in each person's mind. I try to always be reading a book. I usually will have the book with me in my car and read it in a restaurant, a waiting room, or wherever I find myself with extra time on my hands.

I highly recommend that you have a variety of books that you read. Everyone will be different, but let me give you examples of the kinds of books that I read. First of all, the Bible must be at the center of all your reading. It is not a book, but THE book. My two favorite parts of the Bible to read are the Epistles in the New Testament and the stories in the Old Testament. But you must read all of the areas of Scriptures at some time. It is important to have balance in your Bible reading. Apart from the Bible, I read books on Apostolic Doctrine, Church history, and Church Leadership. I also read motivational books such as Stephen Covey's "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People." I would highly recommend this book, it is life changing. I am currently reading Stephen Covey's book "The Eighth Habit." All of his books are excellent. One of the books on my list to read for this year is Dr. Dobson's book "Bringing up Boys." I will eventually have a post of all my recommended books. Biographies and autobiographies can also be excellent reads. I purchased this week a biography of Andy Grove, who wrote the book "Only the Paranoid Survive", a must read for every leader. I don't read a lot of novels, but have thoroughly enjoyed Louis L'Mour and John Grisham novels.

The thing that I believe makes reading so powerful is that you are tapping into someone elses mind, harnessing and gleaning their wisdom and life experiences. They have thought about what they are going to write, they have revised and edited it many times, and you are awarded the final product of what they consider to be their best. I have tried to listen to books on tape, but have found that my retention rate is much higher when I actually read the book. I believe to be well read is one of the highest achievements of life. It is amazing that if you will simply read the books, how many times in conversation with someone else that you can pull from your mind something that can be added to the conversation. If you are a preacher, this is doubly true. I don't know how many times in my preaching that something will come to me that isn't in my notes that I will use in a message, something that I had in my mind from a book I had read. Starting now, purpose in your mind that you are going to give yourself to much reading. If you have children, encourage and help them to read. It is truly one of life's greatest pleasures.