Seminary completed, book list shared!

Yesterday I completed my last final, and just like that, my seminary work is done. In the coming weeks [if it continues to sound interesting to me] I’m going to share a series of posts, “What I’ve learned in seminary. For any readers considering seminary, I thought this might be an interesting collection of thoughts.

It was really a strange feeling leaving campus yesterday. School has been an integral part of my life for so long. I even caught myself talking to two different people yesterday about DMin programs. While I don’t think that is in my near future, I never would have guessed that after finishing my masters I would even want to think about that. But I have discovered that I love learning. With that thought in mind, I thought I’d share where I am going to be satisfying my craving for learning next by sharing my summer reading list.

I usually try to set out a certain number of books for a season as a challenge to myself to stay faithful to the discipline of study. I would like to average 30-40 books per year, and so I’ve made a stack of 13 books for the summer. Here they are.

Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Human Development – This was a book I heard referenced by Adam Hamilton in one of his sermons that I thought was interesting.

The Faces of Forgiveness – This book has been on my shelf for several years. I heard Leron Shults speak at the Emergent Convention back in ’05 and bought this book at that time. I’m really excited about this one.

The Challenge of Jesus – I’ve already read this book, but I’ve stuck this in the pile to read again. It is my absolute favorite N.T. Wright book.

Life Beneath the Surface – This is a book out of the Relevant box a while back. I heard Pilavachi speak a few years back at the National Youth Workers Convention.

The Gift of the Jews – Another one of Cahill’s books on History. I read his Desire of the Everlasting Hills last summer. That’s a great book if you’re interested in some history surrounding the time of Jesus.

The Gospel According to Starbucks – I got to hear Leonard Sweet speak this spring and that inspired me to add one of his latest to the summer stack.

Flirting with Monasticism – The subtitle looked intriguing… “Finding God in Ancient Paths.”

A Different Drum – I’m not sure where the recommendation came for this one, but it looks like an interesting read of community.

The Prophetic Imagination – An old book, but I love Walter Brueggemann.

Traveling Mercies – I keep hearing people rave about Anne Lamott. This will be my first read of one of her books.

Personality Types and Religious Leadership – A book that looks at different Myers-Briggs types in church work. This should be interesting.

God & Empire – Another book I purchased probably six months ago that I am really looking forward to. I was first introduced to Crossan through the book Excavating Jesus which is a phenomenal book about the archeology and history from the time of Jesus. It’s a must read that was recommended to me by Rob Bell. [Obviously, his book list, not him personally.]

Pastoral Theology in a Intercultural World – This book was given to me by my Short Term Pastoral Counseling professor. At Brite, each professor gives a book to a student as an award for outstanding work in their class. It took me seven years to win a book award, and I was even more surprised to get one from a counseling class. Nonetheless, this book is in my summer stack.

That’s my list for the summer. If any of these titles look interesting, pick one up and let me know what you think.

Related posts:

1. Book six
2. Follow Up – book list
3. Summer Reading List
4. Matthew Playlist Completed
5. Book Recommendation: Sacred Marriage

Category: Books & Readings, Leadership