Attempting this ambitious of a list is quite a daunting one. Especially when I try to recall the books that I have read through the years.

What follows is not necessarily a list of the greatest books that I have read but the ones that have helped to shape me and turn me into a life-long reader.

10. The Stand by Stephen King–When I was about 13 years old I picked up my older brother’s copy of Salem’s Lot and began to read it. I was hooked. Although The Stand was not the first King book that I read it was the first where I knew that I was leaving the world of comic books and Encyclopedia Brown behind and moving into more adult fare.
My mom supported my growing reading habit but was understandably concerned about the mature subject matter of King’s book. She let me read his stuff anyway, most likely against her better judgment. There was one rule though: I couldn’t take any of his books to school with me. But The Stand was way too long of a book to not try to sneak it to school to read during class. And too engrossing. I got caught carrying it to the bus stop.

9. Lords of Discipline by Pat Conroy–It would be that following summer when I first picked up Conroy’s book. The themes of friendship, honor and integrity would so resonate in my 14 year old consciousness that I would go back and read it multiple times over the next few years of my life. It was the first book that would prompt the multiple readings. Not only that, but I would end up watching the movie version 32 times.

8. On the Anvil by Max Lucado–I haven’t read anything by Lucado in many years and don’t particularly enjoy his style of writing. However when I was 21 years old I decided that it was time to take this faith thing seriously. This book was the one that aided me the most in that process. It fomented my desire to be a true disciple. I still appreciate that.

7. A Tale of Three Kings by Gene Edwards–I read this book in the early days of my ministry. I did not go to a Christian school or receive any formal training in what ministry was all about. Going into it I thought it would be an easy job with nothing but love and nurture from people. This book was absolutely critical for me when I realized that was not the case. During the first 5 years of ministry I would pull this book down off the shelf every six months or so and read it again. The theme of brokenness is one that has always been important to me. It’s the only way I truly know how to proclaim the gospel.
It’s time to read this again.

6. The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning–Grace came alive to me when I read this book for the first time 17 years ago. This was in those formative days of trying to start a college ministry, hanging out with friends who were passionately pursuing Jesus, jaunts to the Tulsa Workshop, and passing a very pregnant Amy Grant on the streets of Nashville. It was when I first fully began to realize that the blessed gospel is for all and not my narrow corner of the world.

5. I Just Want To Be A Christian by Rubel Shelly–I would not have been prepared for the two-by-four of Manning’s book if not for the advance work that Shelly’s book accomplished. In the summer and fall of 1989 I was wrestling with God’s love and grace and just truly how wide, deep and high it was. This book was the one that first initially gave me the idea that maybe there didn’t need to be the series of litmus tests that I had thought were necessary. Maybe the things that I thought were so important as a test of fellowship didn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things.

4. The Jesus I Never Knew by Phillip Yancey–It’s amazing to think how slowly and gradually true change takes place. In the five years between Ragamuffin and this book I considered myself a progressive, open-minded Christian. However, in that period I didn’t experience the love affair with Jesus that would characterize my life in later years. Yancey’s book began the sea change away from Paulianity to truly fixing my eyes on Jesus.

3. Parting the Waters by Taylor Branch–Branch’s first entry in his masterful trilogy documenting America in the years of Martin Luther King, Jr. had a tremendous impact on me. Over the last few years I have confronted my own hatreds and prejudices. It was in reading this book that King became more than just a tragic figure but a true hero of mine. Branch’s work is exhaustive and compelling. He brings the pains and struggles of the Civil Rights era into stark relief and spurred me to greater love for all people.

2. The Inescapable Love of God by Tom Talbott–Not only is this one of my favorite titles of all time but it is also one of my favorite writings. Part autobiography, part exegesis this writing is the one that took me deepest into a true understanding of the never-ending love of God. Regardless of words that I have said to the contrary I have longed viewed God’s love being fixed and finite, conditional and contingent. Talbott’s book was instrumental in moving me to a more fleshed out and salvific view of the character and nature of God.

1. Mere Discipleship by Lee Camp–It’s no stretch to say that this book has shaped me more than any other that I have ever read. It is not the most exhaustive or scholarly book that I have read on the subject of true Christian discipleship. But it is the one that truly sparked my desire to be more like Christ, to understand and embrace non-violence and allegiance solely to the Lamb.
And to think that it was by chance that I discovered this book: standing in a Port Huron, Michigan library in January of 2004 and noticing a title that seemed to combine two of my favorite works only to discover that it was penned by a member of my own tribe. I got the book read a few pages, got disgusted and put it aside.
But I kept coming back to it. The truth that it proclaimed was too real for me to escape from. I’ve since read it 7 times. It has shaped me and redefined me.

But then again, all of these books have. I anxiously await the next 10 books that will impact me like these.

What about you?