What I've Just Read, Currently Reading, About to Read

Just Finished (in the last few months):

1. Shepherding a Child’s Heart (Tedd Tripp). My 3rd or 4th time through it. I believe it's the best parenting book with regard to Gospel-oriented principles. (When I went to Kenya, I took 2 dozen copies of this to give to church leaders.) To see a summary of each chapter, use the label "Shepherding" on this blog.
2. Big Truths for Young Hearts (Bruce Ware). Book intended to help parents of elementary and middle school children communicate theology to their family. I'm not lying at all when I say that it helped me personally understand Biblical truths better. The sections are each about 3-4 pages, with a couple of discussion-provoking questions at the end. Again, use the label "Big Truths" - and more posts are coming over the next few months.
3. The New Eve (Robert Lewis). Pastor Bill White gave this to all the pastors on staff for them and their wives to read. It's basically a counterpart to Men's Fraternity (where we originally got our Men's Roundtable material from), aimed to help define Biblical womanhood.
4. Strengths Finder 2.0 (Tom Rath). Highly recommend for everyone. I think it helps each of us understand how God has uniquely gifted us, and how we can use those gifts for maximum impact. The main part of the book is taking a 30-minute online assessment.  It's my second time taking such an assessment, and the results didn't come out exactly alike both times, but the common theme Analytical did, and is definitely a God-given strength for me.
5. Why the Mighty Fall (Jim Collins). Being analytical, this business-oriented book speaks my language of trying to understand why things happen. Specifically, the book studies major companies that completely tanked, so that we can learn to see the warning signs and avoid the same fate. At Grace Church, we are growing so fast, and going into so many unknowns, that we must remember to continually evaluate what we are doing, why we are doing it, and how things might need to change.
   

Currently Reading

1. Walking the Small Group Tightrope (Bill Donahue & Russ Robinson). I haven’t read in about 3 years, so I'm anxious to go through this again. It helps us understand the tensions that are inherent in Small Groups (for example: more bible study or more fellowship time?).
2. A couple of resources about Passover.  I'm trying to figure out to what level God would have me be involved in leading or participating in a Passover Seder.  Definitely for my family.  Definitely in Camp Grace. Probably in Community Group, and maybe for a mid-size group in our church.
3. A Gospel Primer for Christians (Milton Vincent). Another book that I've read before, but it's more meaningful this time around. This book is designed to help us apply the Gospel to our lives after the point of conversion. Everything in our live needs to be about the Gospel.
   

About to Read (I have a continually-growing stack of "must reads")

1. Age of Opportunity (PaulTripp). Counterpart to "Shepherding a Child's Heart." I'm only a few years away from having a middle-schooler.  Yikes!
2. Tipping Point (Malcolm Gladwell), Hug Your People (Jack Mitchell), or another business-type book.  Leading a staff of 8 (mix of full-time and part-time), and 600+ volunteers, I know that I have a lot to learn about vision and leading people.

By the way, try ordering these or any other books through Osborn Mission. Philly and Elizabeth are friends and faithful servants that are about to serve overseas to bring the Gospel to an unreached people. Check out their website.  Ordering through this link (it goes through Amazon.com) helps provide them with support.



What are you reading?

--  Joey Espinosa