What You Are Reading

Sam Rainer

May 26, 2009

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My father, Thom S. Rainer, president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources, wrote the following post after doing an unscientific Twitter survey. Feel free to chime in with your comments and some of your favorite books of the last two years.

I returned to the Twitterverse to listen to what people are reading these days. Since I have 13,000 “followers,” it seemed likely that we could at least get an idea of the books that are really capturing the attention of folks.

Once again, I must remind you that a Twitter survey is not a scientific poll. Though there were many responses, this approach does not use validated sampling techniques. It is at best an indication of interest. A majority of my Twitter followers are Christians, so you shouldn’t be surprised at the choices.

Some selections had to be eliminated. I asked for books of choice of the past two years, so I allowed any book with a copyright of 2007, 2008, and 2009 to be considered. Some folks provided older books. In fact, Simple Church by Eric Geiger and me would have made the top five, but its publication date of 2006 eliminated it from consideration. I should have thought about that when I asked my question! Also, some people selected more than two books when the question asked for one or two books. In those cases, I eliminated any books listed after the first two.

So here are your selections from my modest slice of the Twitterverse. It will be interesting to read your reactions.

1. The Reason for God by Timothy Keller (2008)
2. Death by Love by Mark Driscoll (2008)
3. The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller (2008)
4. Crazy Love by Francis Chan (2008)
5. Tribes by Seth Godin (2008)

9 comments on “What You Are Reading”

  1. kdb1411 says:

    Tim Keller rocks!

  2. Daniel C. Wilson says:

    The Reason for God by Timothy Keller would be my top pick as well.

  3. shanesjournal says:

    Missed the survey but I have just finished reading “Lord, Change My Attitude: Before It’s Too Late” by James MacDonald. It is a very insightful book of biblical principle and practical application.

  4. Al Fowler says:

    OK, definitely want to check out Keller and Driscoll. Any possibility of getting more than the top 5 listed?

  5. Sam Rainer says:

    BTW, my top 3 choices of the last couple of years are Prodigal God by Keller, He is Not Silent by Mohler, and Crazy Love by Chan.

    Al – I didn’t see the results beyond the top 5. Maybe Dad can add some insight if he gets a chance.

  6. Mark@DR says:

    My Top 3 of the last 3 years:

    A Quest for More by Paul David Tripp (New Growth Press)

    Worship Matters by Bob Kauflin (Crossway)

    Rethinking Worldview by J. Mark Bertrand (Crossway)

    I tend to avoid bestsellers until their hype dies down, so I can’t speak to Keller and Driscoll. But I will certainly read them…someday.

  7. Al Morella says:

    Sam, I asked your dad by email how Essential Church fared in the survey. He wrote that it finished 14th. Not too shabby for books for the past 2+ years. Congratulations. BTW, I love the book.

  8. Reason for God, Tribes, and Crazy Love are all on my desk. Read them and love them. Certainly some of my top choices.

    I’d add anything from Mark Batterson. His books are great.

    I read a lot of business books as well.

  9. iHateChurch says:

    Francis Chan is dope… you have a great list bro…. such a tough call. great to see you putting some great content to aid in development in our ambassadorship.

    cheers

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