As usual I am continually buying and borrowing books.  I feel it important, as a Christian, to constantly be reading and learning.  One of my goals is to build a modest library as a resource for my faith community.  I am always willing to lend out books and other resources I have to those who are interested.  Here are few books I have just recently acquired that I am planning to read in the next few weeks.

I recently was the winner of a Dave Black online contest.  As a result I am promised a copy of his book, The Jesus Paradigm. Dr. Black (who insists that we call him “Dave,” or “brother”, or something Biblical like that) has been a challenging influence in my life.  He is constantly encouraging others to serve Jesus in every area of their life.  I am always amazed by his intelligence, humility, godliness, and missionary lifestyle.

Sitting on my shelf is also a copy of Kevin Vanhoozer’s The Drama of Doctrine:  A Canonical Linguistic Approach to Christian Theology. This book was very useful to me in seminary.  I am looking forward to having my own copy and reading it in its entirety.

Zondervan has been kind enough to send me an advanced copy of Jason Boyett’s newest book, O Me of Little Faith:  True Confessions of a Spiritual Weakling, for review.  After reading the introduction and first chapter I already have mixed feelings about the work.  On one hand I find the vulnerability and honesty admirable, on the other hand there are already serious methodological, theological, and philosophical flaws.  I do not want to come to any premature conclusions, so after I finish reading it, I will post a some thoughts.

Another book on my immediate reading list is Christian Smith’s treatise on young adult spirituality, Souls in Transition:  The Religious and Spiritual Lives of Emerging Adults. I am hoping this book will provide some cultural insight into current trends in spirituality.  My goal is to gain tools to understand and communicate the gospel to young adults.

Finally, I am giving in to the myriad of recommendations and reading T. David Gordon’s Why Johnny Can’t Preach:  The Media Have Shaped the Messengers. I have read recommendations for this book from David Nelson, Kevin DeYoung, J. D. Greear, and many others.  I figured I might as well peruse this little paperback and see what all the fuss is about.