Riding the Re:Train

Last August, Mars Hill Church, our home church for the past four years and where I've been working for the past two years, started a Masters of Missional Leadership program called Re:Train. The program is designed to provide a seminary experience with a heavy emphasis on practical application. Pastors and professors from all over the country, including Dr. Bruce Ware, Dr. Gregg Allison, and Dr. John Piper have traveled to Seattle for one weekend out of the month to teach what's typically weeks worth of material in two intense days.

I was blessed to be accepted into the program this year as one of the seventy students in the inaugural class. It's been a challenging, but enjoyable experience. Along the way I've had the opportunity to learn from some amazingly wise, Christian men, read many challenging and helpful books, and think through what it looks like to put all of this into practice.

I'm currently working on our final assignment: a thirty-five to fifty page Master's Thesis, which will serve as a synthesis of what I've learned this past year, as well as a vision and plan for my life in ministry this coming year.

Following Mackenzie's example (part 1, part 2), I thought I'd share some of the books that have had the greatest impact on me this past year.

God's Big Picture by Vaughan Roberts
In many ways this is a more accessible version of Graeme Goldsworthy's Gospel and Kingdom. They both explain how the sixty-six books of the Bible fit together to form one, unified story--God's story of creation, the fall, redemption, and consummation.

Respectable Sins: Confronting the Sins We Tolerate by Jerry Bridges
Romans 3:23 says that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," but many Christians act as if their sin isn't grievous to God just because it might not be as "obvious" or damaging to those around them. This book does an excellent job of dispelling that myth and aims at helping people see just how desperately we all need God's grace.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: Relationships, Roles, and Relevance by Bruce Ware
The Trinity and Jesus' humanity/divinity are two of the more challenging doctrines of the Christian faith. How can one God exist in three persons? How can Jesus be fully man and fully God? This book is extremely helpful in trying to understand these important truths.

Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ by John Piper
Piper is an amazing writer; his writing is both poetic and easy to understand. This particular book does a great job explaining why Jesus is worthy of our worship.

The Assembly of "The Way" by Gregg Allison
This book hasn't actually been released yet, but we were fortunate to get a sneak preview. I'm sure glad we did. It was an amazingly thorough explanation of all that constitutes a church--doctrine, discipline, government, sacraments, etc.

Leading on Empty by Wayne Cordeiro
I read this around the time that Urban Meyer took a leave of absence from the University of Florida football program because of some health concerns. I kept thinking, "Man, he needs to read this book." And so do all leaders who push themselves beyond their limits without seeking God for renewal and strength.

Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture by Graeme Goldsworthy
In this book Goldsworthy builds upon his premise from Gospel Kingdom that Scripture is one overarching narrative and explains how this should impact the way a preacher preaches.

Lectures to My Students by Charles Spurgeon
I hadn't read much Spurgeon before this book, and my expectation was that it would be a thick theological read. But I was surprised to find that this book (a collection of lectures) was extremely personal and pastoral in nature.

Brothers, We Are Not Professionals by John Piper
Like Spurgeon's book, this was a helpful and practical look at what it means to be a pastor. Piper covers a variety of topics, including how to prepare a sermon and how to grow and mature as a pastor.

The Trellis and the Vine: The Ministry Mind-Shift that Changes Everything by Colin Marshall and Tony Payne
From what I can tell on the blogosphere, this is going to be an important book for everyone in vocational ministry. The premise is simple, but the application is essential: ministry is about seeing people grow in their relationship with Christ; putting in an inordinate amount of emphasis on systems and programs can detract from this purpose.

The Top Ten Mistakes Leaders Make by Hans Finzel
I think this book is a helpful companion to the above book. Finzel not only explains what these mistakes are (putting paperwork before peoplework, dictatorship in decision making, success without successors, etc.), he also provides practical solutions for correcting these mistakes.

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
I'm curious to know how many good ideas are out there floating around that never gain any traction, and as the Heath brothers would say, stick. This is another one of those simple, but essential books. It explores how to create and cast vision in a way that causes others to jump (and stay) on board.