{"id":8993,"date":"2011-12-31T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-12-31T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/?p=8993"},"modified":"2015-03-10T20:00:55","modified_gmt":"2015-03-11T03:00:55","slug":"best-books-2011","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/best-books-2011\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Books from 2011"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Best<\/p>\n

Books I read in 2011<\/h2>\n

I read 69 books in 2011<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here are my 5 favorite:<\/p>\n

\"Simply<\/a>1.\u00a0Simply Jesus<\/em><\/a>\"\"\u00a0by N. T. Wright<\/p>\n

This book may simply be the best book about Jesus I have ever read (Yes, yes. Apart <\/em>from the Bible. Does it really need to be said?)<\/p>\n

But the book is not just about Jesus. It is about the church, the Gospel, the Kingdom of God, Israel, history, government, social involvement, eschatology, and a mind-numbing array of other topics, all of which swirl around and center upon the person and work of Jesus Christ. Read the full review here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Till<\/a>2.\u00a0Till We Have Faces<\/em><\/a>\"\"\u00a0by CS Lewis<\/p>\n

Though I love The Chronicles of Narnia, <\/em>this is my favorite novel by C. S. Lewis.<\/p>\n

He wrote that it was his favorite as well, though when the book came out, it was not well received by the public, and never gained much notoriety. Even today, few people even know that he wrote the book. Learn more about the story, and read my full review here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Walter<\/a>3.\u00a0\u00a0Engaging the Powers<\/em><\/a>\u00a0by Walter Wink<\/p>\n

This is the third book is a three part series which addresses the biblical, theological, and practical issue of Satan, demons, the demonic, and the world of spiritual powers.<\/p>\n

Of the three books, this one is the the most practical, though the other two lay the biblical and theological groundwork for the ideas in this book. Unless you read the first two, the ideas of this book may sound outlandish, unsupported, and even extreme. Read the full review of this book here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>4.\u00a0\u00a0The King Jesus Gospel<\/em><\/a>\"\"\u00a0by Scot McKnight.<\/p>\n

Scot McKnight is concerned that that most evangelicals have a very narrow and unbiblical understanding of the Gospel.<\/p>\n

Most of us, he believes, hold to something which he calls \u201ca\u00a0soterian<\/em>\u00a0Gospel\u201d which is the idea that the Gospel message primarily concerns me and my salvation. Read the full review here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Finding<\/a>5.\u00a0Finding Organic Church<\/a><\/em>\u00a0by\u00a0Frank Viola<\/a><\/p>\n

This book is a good guide to help people find or develop a community of like-minded people with whom they can live and worship.\u00a0While I haven\u2019t read everything on the subject, I know of no other book like it on the market, and it really helped answer some of my own questions and provide me some direction as I seek to follow Jesus by loving and serving others in my community. The book provided a fairly clear picture of Viola\u2019s experience with the organic church and the Scriptural basis for this model.\u00a0Read the full review here<\/a>.
\n<\/p>\n

Reading plans for 2012<\/h2>\n

Below are some books that I plan to read in 2012. Look for reviews of them on my “4000 books 2012<\/a>” blog post.<\/p>\n