To the Golden Shore: The Life of Adoniram Judson, Courtney Anderson - If you were on my Christmas gift list last year, then this should come as no surprise. I LOVED this book and suspect it will make my REread list. Judson's attitude towards missions, the history of the early 19th Century American church concerning foreign missions, the cost of serving on a foreign mission field, the difficulty of serving in Burma (modern Myanmar) ... all these make for fascinating reading AND it's an encouragement to the 21st Century believer.
Jonathan Edwards: A Life, George Marsden - Don't be intimidated by the size of this book. Marsden is a wonderful writer and you'll find yourself making quick progress. New Englanders in particular will enjoy the local history - the year Edwards was born the Deerfield (MA) Massacre occurred (involving members of his family!). Marsden also does an excellent job of presenting Edwards' ideas. (Iain Murray also wrote an excellent biography on Edwards.)
Zvi, Elwood McQuaid - You know the man who writes the column on the back page of "Israel My Glory" magazine? This is the story of his life as an orphaned Jewish child trying to hide out and escape from the Nazis in WWII, his subsequent faith in the Messiah and emigration to Israel. This autobiography will stay with you the rest of your life!
The Autobiography of George Muller - This little book is a gem and is sure to encourage you in your prayer life. I also read the Benge's children's book on Muller with my SS kids. Muller became a believer while in college and the transformation in his life was just breathtaking. I'm still looking for a more complete adult biography of him. Any suggestions?
Through Gates of Splendor, Elisabeth Elliot - No need to explain THIS one!
5 Classic Biographies on my "To Read" pile:
Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther, Roland Bainton
William Tyndale, David Daniell
Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, John Bunyan (autobiography)
Hero for Humanity: William Wilberforce, Kevin Belmonte
A Passion for Souls: D.L. Moody, Lyle Dorsett
What are YOUR Top Five?
3 comments:
Yes! I did enjoy Jim Elliff's preaching and also checked out his book table [bien sur!! ;)]. I grabbed the book about Muller, which is really a copy of 2 writings: one a bio written by his second wife, a co-worker with him and the second - entries from his journal. I will enjoy that and am thankful to Jim for reprinting both, but I was hoping for something a little more comprehensive. In his intro he mentioned a bio by A.T. Pierson - I'll look into that. Thanks for making sure that I was aware of CCW's book on Muller...
and welcome to my blog!
No! I didn't know he did a second book! I'm surprised I didn't get a flyer for it...my mailbox is never lonely for Friends of Israel book flyers. ;) Thanks for the tip. The Torrey bio sounds interesting, too. I'll check it out.
Yes. ;)
Btw, I ordered a used copy of the second book...and a used copy of the Torrey bio. There's not a lot out there on Torrey...maybe not enough time has passed. But his was an important voice in American church history.
Taylor - my two favorites are the one by his son and daughter-in-law: Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret, Dr.& Mrs. Howard Taylor and one Tim recommended - Hudson Taylor & Maria, by John Pollock. I always find reading about him to be an encouragement, not only because of my interest in China, but also because he was able to see so clearly what many other believers of his day could not. Though ridiculed, he stayed his course, believing his approach to be biblically-based, rather than "English culture-based".
There are a few moments here and there where I can see certain things particularly clearly - in the area of how our culture has inflitrated the church. It may be because of my background and training prior to becoming a believer or it could just be that as I know God's Word better and better I can sometimes pick out cultural misuses of the Bible. The problem I am personally working on is how to "lovingly" and "patiently" motivate people to use God's Word more discerningly. I read things that just scream out "Warning...
warning...this is not Scriptural", and I want to be able to influence people to be more discerning about how "great new ideas" may not, in fact, be Biblical ideas at all.
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