return to What YWAM Leaders Read (main page)
Steve Goode (YWAM's
Int'l Ministries director for Mercy Ministry resides in Thailand; he reads
widely as you can see). "WorldChristian.com provides a broad selection of high impact books for you. Read hot authors of today or those that helped bring about change 100 years ago. Leaders are readers, and if you want to be a part of changing our world, read more! The resources featured at WorldChristian.com will help and equip you to become a world changer." (Steve G)
The Secret Message
of Jesus-by Brian McLaren
Brian McLaren’s goal in this book is a part of his journey to better understand Jesus, His message and His Kingdom. McLaren is curious, he is a learner, an explorer, an excavator, an observer, a discoverer, a thinker and a truth seeker. In this book McLaren explores three areas, Jesus and his times, the message of Jesus and our time, our world today and his hope is that our curiosity will not be satisfied in the reading of this book but ignited as we continue to explore its application.
I like McLaren’s style of raising and asking questions, digging, searching, looking at the Jewishness of Jesus, the religious backdrop of prophet and priest of that history and context. This will be very helpful for people that consider Jesus a great teacher and or a prophet. He explores the political and social message of Jesus in a land that was occupied by Rome, the superpower of the day. I think that it is sometimes easy for us to read the Bible, consider the life of Jesus and even become followers today without fully grasping what that message meant to the hearers in Jesus’ day. It was good to be reminded.
McLaren reflects on Jesus’ private and public conversations, his parables, his language, his indirect or hidden approach that eventually becomes visible, that raise questions, that require further engagement not just the sharing of information. “This form of parable helps to shape a heart that is willing to enter an ongoing, interactive, persistent relationship of trust in the teacher.” page 46. “ It was the most religious who seemed to get the secret message of Jesus the least, and the least religious who seemed to get it the most.” page 81.
What does this book say to us today? It raises the significant question, what does the Kingdom of God look like in the 21st century? How do we live out the life of God in every sphere of society today? If the Kingdom of God is in the midst of us today, what does it look like and when it comes, what can we expect? What is our role to play or where do we start? This book gives us some things to think about and to act upon.
Everything
Must Change Jesus, Global Crises and a Revolution of Hope-by Brian McLaren.
Two underlying questions are the reason for this book: 1. What are the world’s top problems today and 2. What do the life and message of Jesus have to say about these issues? This is a continuation of Brian’s previous book, The Secret Message of Jesus about the Kingdom of God and what does it look like today.
Brian traveled around the world in the writing of this book, talking to church, community, business and government leaders, asking questions and listening to answers. Brian is a thinker and makes you consider your faith, the mission of God’s people and its practical outworking to personal, community and global issues in light of the model and message of Jesus.
Like this book or not, you will have to think about the global issues that confront us and the relevance of faith and action to these issues. You may not agree with his ideas and his potential solutions but I have been impressed with his thinking and scope that will give us wisdom and keep us better informed in our response.
McLaren challenges us followers of Jesus about what it means to do God’s will on earth. His writing on the context of the life of Jesus and his teaching on the Kingdom of God in regard to Rome and its authority as well as the religious leaders of Judaism and those who opposed Rome is so relevant to us today.
I think that Brian has something very important to say to us as people of faith. I believe that Jesus has some critical things to say to us. The question is are we listening and what will be our response?
Three
Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a
Time.-by Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin
Greg Mortenson is an American who was raised by missionary parents in Tanzania. These parents left a legacy in Africa of one of the best hospitals led by African Doctors and a leading international school. They also modeled to a cross-cultural son about aiming high. Greg became a nurse who loved mountain climbing, dreaming of one day also conquering K2.
This is the story of his near fatal attempt to climb that mountain. The failure led him on another journey: to a very poor village in the Karakoram mountains and to the conservative Muslim tribal worlds of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Greg, emaciated and exhausted from his failed attempt, is taken in by a local family and nursed back to health. During his recuperation, he hears of some of their dreams for their village and makes a promise to return to build a school for their girls.
The name of the book derives from what a local village chief said, “Here (in Pakistan and Afghanistan) we drink three cups of tea to do business; the first you are a stranger; the second you become a friend, and the third, you join our family, and for our family we are prepared to do anything—even die.”
Greg is thrown into another cross-cultural world that is far different from his world in Africa. It is a world of tribal chiefs, imams, the poor trying to survive in incredible circumstances and the impact of poverty upon the lives of children. These people wonder why an American would make a promise that looked so impossible to keep and how this turned into Greg’s destiny.
'Three Cups of Tea' is a story of wisdom learned from the local culture over the centuries. It is seeing the practical difference that education makes in the lives of poor villages of Pakistan and Afghanistan one school at a time. It is a story of deep, lasting cross-cultural friendships in a world that has been defined by its geo-political and religious divides. Read it and weep......Read it and get involved.
Same
Kind of Different as Me: A Modern-Day Slave, an International Art
Dealer, and the Unlikely Woman Who Bound Them Together.-by Ron Hall & Denver Moore
This is a powerful, fascinating story that covers the early 1950s to mid 2000 in Louisiana and Texas about a black sharecropper (who was really a virtual slave). He became a hobo, hopping on and living on trains. He then lived for 30 years as a homeless man on the streets of Fort Worth, Texas. This book is about how the life of a homeless, dangerous man and the story of a couple, Ron and Deborah, interweave together.
Denver speaks the language of rural Southern African American who has never gone to school, worked in the cotton fields from sunrise to sunset, and never touched any money until he was an adult. For someone not from the South, the language may take a bit of getting used to.
Denver had never spoken to a white woman before until Miss Debbie. On Page 4 he writes, ”Miss Debbie was so pushy, I couldn’t keep her from finding out my name was Denver. She investigated until she found it out on her own. For a long time, I tried to stay completely outta her way. But after a while, Miss Debbie got me to talkin ‘bout things I don’t like to talk about and tellin things I ain’t never told nobody—even about them three boys with the rope. Some of them’s the things I’m fixin to tell you.“
The wisdom and simplicity of those who have little, will make you cry and think hard, and then move you to some kind of response. Don’t be afraid to read this book.
The Starfish
and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations-by Ori Brafman & Rod Beckstrom
If you want to know about YWAM, read this book. It is about centralized, decentralized and hybrid organizations. If you want to kill a spider, cut off its head. You cannot cut off the head of a starfish as it does not have one. If you cut off the leg of a starfish, it will grow another... starfish. Decentralized organizations have always been around and operate like our brains--once thought to operate in a hierarchical fashion, the latest research shows the opposite.
This fascinating book provides examples of the characteristics of decentralized organizations such as flexibility, shared power and ambiguity, and how the Internet has spawned a new generation of decentralized organizations. Some principles of decentralized organizations include:
- when attacked, they become even more open and decentralized.
- it is easy to mistake starfish for spiders.
- an open system doesn’t have central intelligence, the intelligence is spread throughout the system.
- open systems can easily mutate.
- as industries become decentralized, high profits decrease.
If you want to learn more about community, trust and openness in the 21st century, as well as how organizations like Al Qaeda thrive while being hunted, this is a must read.
The
Way of the Mystics: Ancient Wisdom for Experiencing God Today-by John Michael Talbot & Steve Rabey
These lessons from thirteen holy men and women of God encourage us to continue on our journey to both love God and be of service to others. They provide examples of prayer, solitude, reflection, spiritual direction, practicing the Presence of God and enduring dark nights of the soul; and they continue to mentor and guide millions by their lives.
Theresa of Avila, “This Lord of ours is so anxious that we desire Him and strive after His companionship that He calls us ceaselessly, time after time, to approach Him.” The practical, service side of Theresa was also deeply affirming. “True perfection consists in the Love of God and our neighbor, and the more nearly perfect is our observance of these two commandments, the nearer to Perfection we will be." Pg. 122. She also said, “we cannot be sure if we are loving God, although we may have good reason for believing we are, but we can know quite well if we are loving our neighbor.” Pg. 129.
St. Francis of Assisi has taught us much about his love for God and its expression in God’s creation, but this chapter also speaks about the social and spiritual difficulties of the time in which Francis lived and how that context moved him toward God rather than away from Him. His wealthy upbringing gave him a particular sensitivity toward the poor and weak as he gave away all that he owned and adopted a different lifestyle, one of poverty and service. Pg. 67.
St John of the Cross helps us to better understand “the dark night of the soul” times. Times when we hold on to God in the face of suffering or questions or wondering where is God. His response, “take up your cross.” His writings reminded me of the Psalms where it was ok to question God or speak to Him what was on ones heart. He spent quite a bit of time in prison where his writings occurred, much of it in solitary confinement. He felt that attachments were a great hindrance to progress in a spiritual journey.
This book shows us men and women who wanted to know God more and what they did to find Him. Some will be shocked by their actions and the extent to which they deprived themselves, but these people had an audience of One that was their primary concern. They have much to teach us.
God
At War-by Gregory Boyd
Working in the aftermath of the Tsunami in Indonesia and Thailand, and with those affected by the earthquake in Pakistan, I have been grappling again with issues such as prayer, suffering, warfare, the destructiveness of creation and the problem of evil. Greg Boyd helped me deeply with his short book, “Is God to Blame?”
I did not have to look much further to delve more deeply. 'God at War' addresses spiritual warfare in a way that I can only say that this book is a must for missionaries, relief, development an health care workers, Christians in government and business.
We cannot forget that we are at war. Dr. Boyd’s premise of this book is on page 19, “the truth that God’s good creation has in fact been seized by hostile, evil cosmic forces that are seeking to destroy God’s beneficent plan for the cosmos. God wages war against those forces, however, and through the person of Jesus Christ has now secured the overthrow of this evil cosmic army. The church as the body of Christ has been called to be a decisive means by which this final overthrow is to be carried out.”
He covers the biblical idea of conflict, the hostile environment of the earth, the Kingdom of God as a warfare concept and how we engage the powers through the Christian life. Boyd starts out with a cross-cultural perspective on how many peoples deal with the spirit realm and ends up with how we respond to the atrocities of our world. This is a resource that you will keep referring to. I highly recommend this book but more importantly I encourage us as God’s people to engage at a new level the principalities and powers that are attempting to thwart the purposes and will of God.
Satan and the
Problem of Evil-by Gregory Boyd
This is a book that requires a lot of reflection (it was helpful to have a dictionary close at hand). Dr. Boyd continues on from “God at War” but takes a closer look at the classical positions and what it means for God to be “in control.” The book is premised on six foundations that structure his trinitarian warfare theodicy, and how God interacts with this world:
- Love must be freely chosen
- Love entails risks
- Love and freedom entail that we are morally responsible for one another
- The power to influence for the worse must be roughly proportionate to our power to influence for the better
- Love entails freedom and this freedom, within limits, must be irrevocable
- Angels and humans are finite beings who thus possess only a finite capacity to embrace or thwart God’s purposes for our lives.
Prayer: Does It
Make Any Difference?-by Philip Yancey
Philip Yancey has been a mentor to me through his books. This is a book that encourages us to pray and does not skirt the thorny issues as to why we do not. He draws insight from many different perspectives and many different ways to pray such as a Franciscan Benediction:
May God bless you with discomfort
At easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships
So that you may live deep within your heart.
May God bless you with anger
At injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,
So that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.
May God bless you with tears
To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war,
So that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and
To turn their pain into joy.
And may God bless you with enough foolishness
To believe that you can make a difference in the world,
So that you can do what others claim cannot be done
To Bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.
--Amen
God spoke to me and encouraged me through this book and he will do the same for you.
The Other
Side of the Sky (The Story of an Afghan Girl)-by Farah Ahmedi
I got Farad's book because we have been working in relief and development in Afghanistan since 1984. It is a sad but uplifting account of the suffering of a child and of people who come into our lives and believe in us, love us and walk with us through the difficulties of life in Afghanistan, Pakistan and in America.
Farad, a young, Hazara girl, has lived an unbelievable life before reaching the age of 15. Her story is a first-hand picture of the devastation of a beautiful country destroyed by war and ethnic conflict. She and her family were caught in the middle. She stepped on a landmine as she was going to school in Kabul. She was in the second grade and things went downhill from there.
This is a story of suffering and pain but also of finding strength to respond when it seemed impossible. This is a story of faith and people practically living out their faith. It is the story of a young girl who has a dream and who is on her way to fulfilling it.
Blink-by Malcom Gladwell
'Blink' (by the author of The Tipping Point) is about how we make decisions in a blink of an eye from impressions. Some are doing it very well and others not so well. Some people can go with their “instincts and win while others stumble into error.”
Gladwell tosses on its head the notion about waiting to get and analyze every piece of information before making decisions. Whether one is looking at great or fake art, the reasons why “New Coke” failed miserably, or why police make split-second decisions that can go horribly wrong, or predicting a tennis serve in or out, or whether a marriage will succeed or fail, was fascinating to read.
He writes about ‘thin-slicing’ or ‘the ability of our unconscious to find patterns in situations, and behavior based on very narrow slices of experience.’ Whether one is concerned about marriage, suing a doctor, marketing, speed dating, taste tests, electing a president, pop music or ‘listening with your eyes,’ this book has a lot to say to us about our decisions, context and experience, and how we process information, gather impressions and make decisions. This book will change the way you...
The Innocent Man-by John Grisham
I picked up this book overlooking the fact that it is a non-fiction book. It was not until I got to the pictures in the middle of the book did I realize this book is a true story. It made this awful story even more awful.
This is the story of murder and injustice in a small town with normal people who have dreams and see those dreams derailed by bad choices by themselves or by others. Grisham shares the pain and suffering of families who have lost daughters to rape and murder. It also shows how people make assumptions or judgments and innocent people go to jail or even worse to death for the crime of another person. This could happen and does happen in many other small towns and cities as well for that matter. Police and law officials have almost impossible jobs to do. Sometimes they get it right and other times, they get it wrong. This is a book of getting it wrong. Innocent to proven guilty thrown right out the window in America. It shows the serious, deficiency of the the legal and prison system.
You may not want to read this book.
Letters from a
Skeptic-by Gregory Boyd
This is an incredible book about family, more particular about an agnostic, skeptical 70 year old father and a son who had very little in common on issues of faith. The times they had talked about faith and spirituality had been “awkward, very short and totally futile.” That is to say until they started writing letters to one another over a three year period of time where the son gave the father an opportunity to lay all of his objections to the truth of Christianity and the father gave the son the opportunity to answer these objections and give positive grounds for holding his Christian faith.
It is a fascinating, honest and painful journey and this is a incredible resource of hope of which we will refer for many years to come. They cover questions about God, Jesus Christ and the Bible like, Why has Christianity done so much harm? or Why didn’t God spare your mother? or is the risk of freedom worth all of the suffering? What about Does God know the future? Do all non-Christians go to Hell? What about the holy books of other religions?
There is a lot of respect and love for one another shown while reliving some of the most life-wrenching events in their lives, particularly losing a wife and a mother. They share their real feelings, their anger, their questions and some surprising answers. It is a story of language from the heart, ups and downs, just like life. But I have to tell you, at 73 he becomes a believer in Jesus which is unbelievable!!! From the epilogue, Dad says, "Well, as I told you over the phone, I finally “took the leap,” Hallelujah! As I sit here and read over all of our correspondence, I still can’t believe how I’ve changed from a smart-ass-know-it-all to an actual believer! Jeanne can’t believe it either! It’s probably even confused the hell out of our dog! The angels whom you say rejoice over this sort of thing are probably giving each other high-fives!"
Greg has been amazed at his dad’s post-conversion life, his transformation and his tenderness. By the age of 80, Dad Boyd had had three strokes before the last one put him in a coma but the worse it got, the more grateful he became. This is a book of life-transforming relationship with Jesus Christ and whether you are young or old, you will want to read it.
Epic-by John Eldredge
Epic starts off with a quote from G. K Chesterton, “I had always felt life first as a story — and if there is a story there is a storyteller.”
John Eldredge knows how to speak to us about life, about the larger story, how we have lost our way and how we can find ourselves again. He speaks through four acts, a prologue and an epilogue. Simple yet powerful.
I found myself throughout this book of just over 100 pages asking myself about my role in this story, where I had come from, where was I presently and where was I headed? Stories are like that, and each of us have a story to tell. We also want to know how we fit into the larger story of 6.6 billion people. What is our role to play? What is our contribution to make in this larger story? Do you know? What is your story? This little book is for you.
The
Jesus Creed-by Scott McKnight
From the Preface: "A Jewish expert on the law once asked Jesus what was the most important thing for spiritual formation. Jesus' answer turned history upside down for those who followed him. This book is an invitation for you to explore Jesus' answer to that man. I call it the Jesus Creed, and what he said should shape everything we say about Christian spirituality. Everything."
McKnight is an Old Testament scholar but he does not write like one. I have to admit that I sought out this book because of the loving others part. I think we in the church should be doing that better and more often in order to demonstrate the love of God to the Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, animist and other unreached worlds. Loving God and Loving others is like a coin. You cannot have one side without the other.
This book helped me a great deal. Compassion in the Jesus Creed is on every page of this book, just like it is in the four Gospels. I think we forget that sometimes, but Jesus did not. That is why He made it the center. God help us to continue to love Him and others, and thus fulfill the Jesus Creed.
Not
For Sale: The Return of the Global Slave Trade--And How We Can Fight It.-by David Batstone
I have been working in Relief and Development for 26 years in Asia, particularly in war zones, refugee situations natural disasters, civil unrest and major social issues like trafficking. David Batstone gives a terrible, graphic picture of slavery in the 21st century from just about every continent. It grabs your heart and will not let you go. This issue will require the same kind of perseverance that William Wilberforce overcame in abolishing slavery, changing laws and worldviews in the UK in the 18th century.
We have had the privilege of supporting the work of Pierre and Simonetta Tami and the Hagar Project in Cambodia since its inception. We have seen up close the horror and pain of children as young as 6 years being sold, trafficked and abused. This book tells those stories in graphic, unbelievable detail from countries like Uganda, Thailand and Cambodia. These stories are not about statistics but about people with names and families who have endured hell, been scarred for life or have been killed in the process. You will not believe it, then you will become furious that this is happening today.
It also shows ordinary people that are a voice for the voiceless and are making an incredible, difference. There are just too few of them. Maybe, you will ask yourself, "How do I get involved in this global effort?" This book is a call to action. Don't buy this book unless you are ready for engagement in a loving, compassionate fight against the evils of the 21st century slave trade.
See also Terrify No More | This Immoral Trade | Good News About Injustice and other titles in the category of Holistic Mission
Joy At Work-by Dennis Bakke
This is an incredible story of leadership and how values shape an organization, business, school, church, mission or government. This book will help people who want to know how decentralized organizations like YWAM are successful and why young people are so attracted to them. Dennis is a Christian with a biblically-based view of the world, a Harvard Business graduate who put what he proposes into practice with his work in government services, an energy company and now in one of the largest chartered school systems in the USA.
He shows how work is one of the ways we honor God. Work is worship. God set the example in Creation by working for six days, then resting for one day. He gave us a model to steward resources and meet other people's needs. Any work, even the least creative and inspiring job, that is accomplished for God, meets a need in society and honors God. "The key to joy at work is the personal freedom to take actions and make decisions using individual skills and talents." Thus, the key to good organizational leadership is restraint in making decisions of importance. A radical idea.
Editor: See other Leadership and Marketplace titles in our bookstore
Kite Runner-by Khaled Hosseini
I write this summary from Kabul as I have been coming to Afghanistan since 1984 for holistic development work through our partners. The sounds of the call to prayer from the mosque outside my window and controlled explosions of mines and bombs, the sites of battle and the rebuilding, the fresh smells of naan and kabobs, the language, the Afghan hospitality bring reality in the reading of this novel. However, one does not need to be in Kabul to read this book. Mr. Hosseini’s ease of language brings it to you from an Afghan, a refugee and an American perspective.
This is a gripping story of family, friendship, cruelty, brokenness, deceit, and strength in Afghanistan during the rule of the King Zahir Shah, the Russians, Afghan communists, the Mujhadeen and the Taliban. It brings back strong memories of the journey of Afghanistan as a nation. It disturbingly follows and is seen through the lives of two young Muslim boys of different ethnic backgrounds... One privileged, one illiterate. One a weak, the other strong. One a kite flyer, the other a kite runner. Two friends and yet something more. Jealousy and desire searching for identity. A haunting journey in the midst of war. Secrets discovered that overwhelm the soul.
Mr. Hosseini’s writing and story telling have given him a place on the New York Times best seller list. It is a heart wrenching story but well worth reading.
Too Small to
Ignore: Why Children are the Next Big Thing-by Dr. Wess Stafford (CEO of Compassion) with Dean Merrill
The author looks at the plight of poor children through his own life of adventure, having been raised in a rural, African village. He and his sister had a rich, upbringing as missionary kids in West Africa. His experience of how young children were included in every aspect of life is worth the read. His description of childhood dreams, the strength of relationships and ceremony and communication reminded me of so many of the places we work. I was reading this book while visiting some of our slum projects in Dhaka, Bangladesh. I must say that the poor have much to teach us about the importance of relationships, of time, of hospitality and of inclusion of children in the important things of life.
The book includes plenty of statistics and issues of concern about children, and how we in society as well as in the church tend to overlook these little ones until their late teenage years. Dr. Stafford challenges us to be engaged with kids, wherever we are and have opportunity to.
This is a very real book on the importance of children and how we can make a difference today. I was recommended this book by our good friend, Philippe Mermod, a former YWAMer and now the head of Compassion Switzerland, who is reaching out to children in Africa and Asia.
Editor: see also Sheba's Story
return to What YWAM Leaders Read (main page)