Our Pastors' Book Recommendations


Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus   Nabeel Qureshi - 2016

Nabeel’s dramatic journey from Islam to Christianity, complete with friendships, investigations, and supernatural dreams along the way. 

Jesus, my Father, the CIA and Me - a memoir or sorts   Ian Cron - 2011

As he faces his own personal demons, Ian realizes the only way to find peace is to voyage back through a childhood marked by extremes--privilege and hardship, violence and tenderness, truth and deceit--that he's spent years trying to forget.

For the Glory: The Untold and Inspiring Story of Eric Liddell, Hero of Chariots of Fire   Duncan Hamilton - 2016

Hamilton chronicles not just the gold medal athlete, but his years of missionary service in China, where he became imprisoned in a Japanese work camp.  Many who knew him described him as closely reflecting Jesus as anyone they ever met.

Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery  Eric Metaxas - 2007

Amazing Grace tells the story of the remarkable life of William Wilberforce (1759-1833). This accessible biography chronicles Wilberforce's passionate twenty-year fight to abolish the British slave trade.   This is the companion biography to the also recommended feature length movie “Amazing Grace”.

Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes   Dr. Kenneth Bailey  2008

Bailey employs his expertise as a master of Middle Eastern culture to lead you into a deeper understanding of the person and significance of Jesus within his own cultural context.  Superb book

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption  Laura Hillenbrand - 2014

In boyhood, Louis Zamperini was an incorrigible delinquent. As a teenager, he channeled his defiance into running, discovering a prodigious talent that had carried him to the Berlin Olympics. But when World War II began, the athlete became an airman, embarking on a journey that led to a doomed flight when his bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean.  Against all odds, Zamperini survived, and spent years in a Japanese prisoner of war camp.

Mending the Soul, Understanding and Healing  Abuse  Steven Tracy  2008

An excellent book, divided into three parts: the nature of abuse, the effects of abuse, and the healing path.  This is gentle pastoral care of souls ravaged by abuse, wrapped into an insightful, honest volume.  Accompanying workbook also avaialable.

Bonhoefer:  Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy   Eric Metaxas  2011

Bonhoeffer was both theologian and spy—with a story of incredible moral courage in the face of monstrous evil of Hitler and the Nazis. Note: 624 pages. 

The Lost Letters of Pergamum: A Story from the New Testament World      Bruce     Longenecker - 2016

A fictional account of letters between New Testament writer Luke and a loyal Roman named Antipas.  Great insight into the Greco Roman culture of the first century and the rise of Christianity in a very readable format.  

Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion   Gregory Boyle - 2011

For twenty years, Gregory Boyle has run Homeboy Industries, a gang-intervention program located in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, the gang capital of the world. In Tattoos on the Heart, he distills his experience working in the ghetto into a breathtaking series of parables inspired by faith.

Just Mercy - a story of Justice and Redemption   Brian Stevenson - 2015

A powerful true story about the potential for mercy to redeem us, and a call to fix our broken system of justice in regards to the poor and wrongly condemned—from one of the most brilliant and influential lawyers of our time.

Just Like Jesus: Learning to Have a Heart Like His   Max Lucado - 2008

My favorite Max Lucado book. God loves you just way you are, but he refuses to leave you there. He wants you to be just like Jesus.

Letters From a Skeptic: A Son Wrestles with His Father's Questions about Christianity  Gregory Boyd - 2008

Greg Boyd and his father, Ed, were on opposite sides of a great divide. Greg was a newfound Christian, while his father was a longtime agnostic. So Greg offered his father an invitation: Ed would write with any questions on Christianity, and his son would offer a response.  The letters tackle some of today's toughest challenges facing Christianity,

The hole in our Gospel: What Does God Expect of Us?   Richard Stearns - 2010

Stearns’ answered God’s call on his life, a call that tore him out of his corner office at one of America’s most prestigious corporations―to walk with the poorest of the poor in our world as the president of World Vision.

Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage   Alfred Lansing - 1988

Shackleton’s quest to travel to the South Pole was derailed when his ship became Ice Bound.  A tale of survival of 28 men over 22 months in the frigid Antarctic.  Not a Christian book per se, but perhaps the most incredible tale of survival and leadership that has defined heroism for the modern age.  

Hiding in the Light: Why I Risked Everything to Leave Islam and Follow Jesus Rifqa Bary – 2016

Rifqa secretly became a Christian at 12. 4 years later, when her father threatened to kill her, she ran away, and her story and journey through the courts became national news. Very Compelling.

Foxe’s Book of Martyrs  John Foxe - 16th Century with updates to - 2017

Foxe's book of Martyrs details the persecution endured by many who proclaimed the truth of the Gospel without fear.  Preaching without a license and going against the established government religion merited many of the martyrs imprisonment and death.

Eat this Book  Eugene Peterson  2006

With warmth and wisdom Peterson offers greatly needed, down-to-earth counsel on spiritual reading

A Grace Disguised: How the Soul Grows Through Loss  Jerry Sittser  2004

Loss came suddenly for Jerry Sittser. In an instant, a tragic car accident claimed three generations of his family: his mother, his wife, and his young daughter.  A Grace Disguised plumbs the depths of sorrow, whether due to illness, divorce, or the loss of someone we love.

The Five Love Languages  Gary Chapman 2004 with updated editions

Dr. Chapman encourages us to discover our love languages: Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Receiving Gifts, Acts of Service, and Physical Touch. 

Where is God When it Hurts  Philip Yancey  1990 with updates

Using examples from the Bible and from his own experiences, Yancey looks at pain—physical, emotional, and spiritual—and helps us understand why we suffer. 

To End All Wars  Ernest Gordon  2002

This is an updated version of Bridge on the River Kwai. Gordon tells of his time in a Japanese prisoner of war camp in Burma, where they were forced to build the notorious ‘Railroad of Death’.  Faced with appalling conditions and the brutality of the captors, Gordon survived to become an inspiring example of the triumph of Christ’s love and the human spirit against all odds.  There is also a motion picture by the same name.