14 Best Books of 2008

Here’s this year’s list: 14 Best Books of 2008.

Two disclaimers:

1) This list involves books I read in 2008, not just books published in 2008. Only a few of these books were published in 2008.

2) This list is subjective and personal. This is not necessarily a list of 14 books I think you should read (though all of you will probably want to latch on to one or two of these). This is a list of the 14 books that most significantly impacted me or that gave me the most pleasure in 2008.

1. Dean Karnazes, Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of An All-Night Runner

Reading this book, in conjunction with turning 30, somehow flipped a switch in me, changing me from a man who jogged 7 miles a week to a man who now runs 90 miles a month.

2. Martyn Lloyd Jones, Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cure

I’m beginning to think this is the greatest collection of sermons in print. Through slowly reading these old sermons I feel like I’ve been personally mentored, counseled, and cared for by Lloyd Jones towards deeper joy in Jesus, a richer understanding of the Christian life, and a better understanding of how God has wired me.

3. James Petty, Step By Step: Divine Guidance for Ordinary Christians

I can’t imagine a better, more freeing book on understanding God’s will and decision making.

4. Mike Mason, Champagne for the Soul: Celebrating God’s Gift of Joy

Through his 90-day experiment with joy, Mike Mason examines joy from 90 different angles, producing an incredible book.

5. G.K. Chesterton, The Complete Father Brown: The Enthralling Adventures of Fiction’s Best-Loved Amateur Sleuth

I love these stories. These are, in my limited opinion, the best mystery stories ever written. Whenever my mind won’t quite settle down, I’ll often read a Father Brown story before bed, filling my imagination with color and calming me towards sleep.

6. Tim Chester & Steve Timmis, Total Church: A Radical Reshaping around Gospel and Community

A tremendously helpful book that helped me further refine my identity as a pastor and my understanding of the church.

7. Matthew Elliott, Feel

An exciting look at what the Bible really teaches about our emotions. See the review. This book has subtly changed how I feel and how I think. I’m looking forward to having Matthew Elliott come speak to my church in the new year.

8. Daniel Taylor, Tell Me a Story: The Life-Shaping Power of Our Stories

A brilliant, accessible, inspiring unpacking of the significance of story. This book could easily appear higher on this list.

9. Ed Welch, Running Scared: Fear, Worry & the God of Rest

One sentence/idea from this book brought about a spiritual breakthrough for me while sitting on my porch in August. I’ve not been quite the same since.

10. Andy Crouch, Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling

This book made me think on new levels and look at life through new lenses.

11. Robert Alter, The Art of Biblical Narrative

Big idea: pay attention to the details when reading biblical narrative, that’s where the story really comes alive.

12. Howard & Geraldine Taylor, Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret

My second son’s namesake. I know Hudson Taylor’s spiritual secret (resting in Jesus no matter the circumstances), but I don’t live it. I want to teach my son Hudson to do what I’m just now learning to do and what Hudson Taylor learned to do only through suffering.

13. Ethan Rarick, Desperate Passage: The Donner Party’s Perilous Journey West

The best chronicle of the Donner Party’s ordeal in the Sierras. A great work of history. A great story.

14. Dane Ortlund, A New Inner Relish: Christian Motivation in the Thought of Jonathan Edwards

Tasting honey motivates you to live differently. Readers of Edwards know what I’m talking about.