I have a ton of books sitting on my shelves or my Kindle that I have been way too busy to really start reading. I hate that I have not been able to read as much as I would like or am used to. With summer 1/3 of the way over and with some upcoming books on the horizon, it is time to read these bad boys that I have procrastinated on. I have a small window this week where I believe I can read at least 2 of these 5. Check out the goodness that is My Summer Reading List.

The Surge: Churches Catching the Wave of Christ’s Love for the Nations
by Pete Briscoe

Pete is the pastor at Bent Tree Bible Fellowship in Dallas, TX. I have visited Bent Tree a few times and have been impressed with everything I’ve experienced from facilities (they have the best baptistry I’ve ever seen) to their awesome people. Pete has an incredible gift for teaching and The Surge is about God’s Spirit flooding into the North American church to bring healing to a “dry and weary land.” I have had this book for a little over 8 months and now it is time to dive in.

Dangerous Church: Risking Everything to Reach Everyone by John Bishop

Check out this description on Dangerous Church: “Dangerous churches are willing to put everything on the line for the one thing that matters most; reaching lost people. Through probing questions and amazing stories of God’s grace, John Bishop confronts church leaders to embrace what matters most to the heart of God, whatever the cost. Most churches naturally gravitate to what is safe and familiar. Church leaders who take risks are bound to fail, and fear drives us to continue in our comfortable, but ineffective patterns. But reaching out to a lost world was never meant to be easy. Jesus promised his followers that they would have trouble in this world. Dangerous churches are churches that are willing to risk everything—comfort, safety, and the security of the familiar—for the sake of the one thing that matters most: reaching out to people who may spend eternity separated from the God who created them.” Boom! Who wouldn’t want to read this book?!?!?! I pre-ordered this book and it has sat unread on my Kindle since the day it was released. Time to get Dangerous!!!

The Other 80 Percent: Turning Your Church’s Spectators into Active Participants by Scott Thuma & Warren Bird

“20% of the people do 80% of the work.” You’re familiar with this old maxim right? Well, this book wants to help you reach out and motivate the 80% in your church that are passive observers, pew potatoes, or chronically absent from the life of your church. I am a big fan of Leadership Network and the resources they provide church leaders. This book promises to be highly practical- at least 80% practical.

Veneer: Living Deeply in a Surface Society by Timothy Willard & Jason Locy

I think this book is about culture and it’s ability to convince us to live shallow lives. I think that is what it is about- I haven’t really gone very deep in it. Maybe I’ll just skim it. Kidding!

Parenting Beyond Your Capacity: Connect Your Family to a Wider Community (The Orange Series) by Reggie Joiner & Carey Nieuwhof

This is the second parenting book I’m tackling since becoming a parent. I have a huge respect for Reggie Joiner and I am a big believer in the Orange strategy of parents and the church partnering together to raise the spiritual bar for the next generation.