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Category: Learning

Formative Books – Spirituality

Published by on March 4, 2021

It’s fun to go back in time and reflect on the books that have shaped me most through the years. Like the previous post, this list is in the order of when I first encountered them. I must say at the start that this was a difficult list to settle on. Being that much of my adult career was in vocational ministry, reading books on spirituality was part of my job. And so I’ve read a lot of great books during that time.

I also want to point out the fact that I’m aware that all but two of these books were written by white men. When I recognized that, there was a part of me that didn’t want to write this blog post, both because I felt a bit of shame because of that, but also because I feared being judged by others. I guess I got over that. I share this post in part because I can’t change my past. Each of these authors impacted me in profound ways. I’m so glad that I read each one of these books. I do wish that my exposure had been broader, and I know that this hope can impact how I move forward with my reading.

First up is No Compromise: The Life Story of Keith Green, by Melody Green. I first read this book in high school, and for the next few years, I would share this as my favorite book whenever I was asked. If you’re unfamiliar with Keith Green, he was an uber talented musician who was also a very passionate follower of Jesus. He, along with two of his children, tragically died in an airplane crash. It was his passion that caused me to see the Christianity that I had grown up with in a new light.

After college I had the privilege of helping to start a new church in Nashville. A little over a year in, Mandy and I got married, and it was such a wonderful community for us to begin our marriage in. We were a part of a small group there, and The Life You’ve Always Wanted, by John Ortberg, was one of the books that we read together. As you can see, the subtitle is “Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People.” At the time, I didn’t know much about spiritual disciplines, but I certainly didn’t think they were for ordinary people. This book not only opened me up to spiritual disciplines, but it also gave the opportunity to practice these together as a community.

The Silas Diary, by Gene Edwards, is the first of five books that tells the story of the early church. There’s a lot of reading between the lines in these books, but these books changed the way I thought about the Bible. I read these during my final months in Nashville before we moved to the bay area so that I could go to seminary. It was an exciting time of dreaming, and these books helped to shape those dreams.

Today, when someone asks me what my favorite book is, without hesitation I say The Divine Conspiracy, by Dallas Willard. I’m not alone in this. This book opened me up to Jesus and his kingdom in a way that few other books have. Willard isn’t the easiest author to read, but the reward is well worth the effort. I’ve read just about all of his books, and all are excellent.

I was first exposed to John Perkins through CCDA, when my friend Ryan and I went to New Orleans for their annual conference. When I got back I bought Let Justice Roll Down, which is John Perkins’ autobiography. I knew the history of injustice that African Americans had faced, and I knew a bit about the Civil Rights Movement. But this book caused me to see it in a new way. Perkins grew up and lived much of his life in the Jackson, MS area. This isn’t too far from where I was born. I still remember that what hit me so hard reading this book was realizing that some of the unjust treatment that he faced happened after I was born. It wasn’t simply something that had happened long ago. It was still happening. That changed the way I thought about race relations and injustice.

The Ragamuffin Gospel, by Brennan Manning, is one of the most beautiful books that I’ve ever read. The subtitle is “Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out”, and good news it truly is. It’s probably the book I recommend most to those who are interested in coming back to the faith that they grew up with but later rejected.

Mandy and I listened to Walking with God, by John Eldredge, on a road trip to Florida almost thirteen years ago. It wasn’t so much that it was new material, but it couldn’t have been more timely. I was in the middle of a challenging time in my life, and I really needed to hear these words. And what were those words? That God’s desire is for us to be near him and to be able to talk to him. Come to think of it, I need those words today as well!

Some of my buddies like to say that I have a man crush on Mark Sayers, author of The Road Trip that Changed the World. I think they’re right. I’ve read everything that Sayers has written. This was the first, and it’s still my favorite. Sayers has a way of bringing God, culture and history together in a way that I’ve seen few other authors accomplish. I highly recommend his work.

In Christianity, the crucifixion of Jesus is central to our faith. But there are so many theories on what happened, and why it’s important. N.T. Wright’s book, The Day the Revolution Began, has helped me the most in understanding the significance of this moment.

In May, 2018, I kicked off my three month sabbatical with a silent retreat at Our Lady Queen of Peace retreat center. On the first day I was perusing the library, and I came across Everything Belongs, by Richard Rohr. At the time I had heard of Rohr but had never read anything by him. By the next morning I had finished it. This was another one of those very timely books. I couldn’t put it down, and I took pages of notes on it. I highly recommend it as well as silent retreats.

I hope those of you reading this find one or two books to add to your reading list. Reflecting on this makes me want to reread quite a few of them.

Formative Books – Money

Published by on February 25, 2021

I’m starting a new series on the books that have shaped me most. For this first post, I’m focusing on money. These ten books have brought both insight and inspiration to me through the years. Rather than listing them in order of most formative, I’m listing them chronologically, from when I first encountered them.

First up is Financial Peace, by Dave Ramsey. After graduating from college I moved to Nashville. My first job was a boring desk job, but I was able to listen to the radio while working. One day I found Dave Ramsey’s show, and I listened to it just about everyday. I bought a copy of the book and devoured it. It was from this book, and the radio show, that I learned to budget, to stay of out debt, and to invest in mutual funds. I opened a Roth IRA after reading it.

Next up is Rich Dad, Poor Dad, by Robert Kiyosaki. It was 1998 or 1999, and I was working for a financial services company selling mutual funds. The lady who was training me gave me a copy of this book. At the time my mind wasn’t ready for the radical vision of business that this book laid out. However, more stuck with me than I realized. This became clear as I began investing in real estate. One of the big ideas of this book is that you should buy assets that produce cash flow. For the past fifteen years or so Mandy and I have been buying rental properties (assets) that provide cash flow. At the moment we reinvest that cash flow back into the business, but at some point down the road (around nine years from now) we will start living off that cash flow.

Free: Spending Your Time and Money on What Matters Most, by Mark & Lisa Scandrette, is a wonderful book. I actually brought Mark in to teach on this at my church sometime after he wrote this book. It might have been the first book I read that equated time with money. You’ll see that theme repeated in a few other books.

I’m listing these next two books together. The Big Short, by Michael Lewis, and Too Big to Fail, by Aaron Ross Sorkin, both tell the story of the 2008 global recession. I have been fascinated by what happened a little over a decade ago. And has been said before, the best way to know the future is to study the past. A lot can be learned by what happened during this time. Both of theses books were made into great movies as well.

Money: Master the Game, was Tony Robbins’ first book in two decades, and, as Steve Forbes mentions on the cover, it is “a goldmine of moneymaking information.” It’s a thick book, but very readable, and totally worth the effort. The interviews at the end are absolutely incredible. His followup book, Unshakable, co-authored with Peter Mallouk, is also great, especially the final chapter.

I first heard about the FIRE Movement close to three years ago. FIRE stands for Financial Independence Retire Early. It has been a game changer for me. Playing with FIRE, by Scott Rieckens, is a great overview. The author shares his journey of learning more about this movement. He also made a great documentary that Adam and I went to see (back when we went to movie theaters).

Quit Like a Millionaire is Kristy Shen and Bryce Leung’s story of retiring in their early thirties. They’ve been traveling the world ever since. Or at least until COVID. It is both inspiring and very practical.

Finally, JL Collins’ The Simple Path to Wealth is a book that I’ve now read twice. I’ll continue to come back to it. He believes that we often make finances way too complex. Collins originally wrote this book as a series of blog posts for his daughter. I’ve found the content very helpful.

Lifeonaire, by Steve Cook, is a recent find for me. I first heard about this book on the BiggerPockets podcast. It’s another fictional story, and as you can probably guess, it’s a play on the word “millionaire.” Adam and I are reading it together right now. There’s so much in this book that I want him to understand as he prepares to go to college.

I hope that you find some of these books as helpful as I have.

Favorite Books for 2020

Published by on December 23, 2020

I set a goal to read 40 books this year. As of today I’m at 43. Of those 43 books, here are some of my favorites.

First up, a couple of finance books.

Quit Like a Millionaire – Kristy Shen
Kristy Shen writes at Millennial Revolution. She and her husband are some of my favorite writers in the FIRE community. So many great nuggets gained from this book. Note: I just noticed that the Kindle version is only $4.99.

The Path, by Peter Mallouk & Tony Robbins
This is a follow up to their book Unshakeable, which was also a great read. The opening paragraph in chapter 1 gives a great synopsis of the book. Robbins writes, “We all want to be truly free. Free to do more of what we want, when we want, and share it with those we love. Free to live with passion, with generosity, with gratitude, and with peace of mind. This is financial freedom, It’s not an amount of money; it’s a state of mind.”

Next up is four books I’d classify under the spirituality category…

Life Without Lack – Dallas Willard
Psalm 23 has always been one of my favorite Psalms, and this book is Dallas Willard’s take on it. It’s fantastic.

Even in Our Darkness – Jack Deere
I have never read such an honest memoir. I’ll leave it at that. I think it’s the first book I’ve ever read in one day.

Get Your Life Back – John Eldredge
The subtitle is Everyday Practices for a World Gone Mad. I found it to be a very practical and helpful book.

Stillness is the Key – Ryan Holiday
This is a book that I’d like to read again this year. Holiday has so many good stories in this book.

Next up, some fiction.

The End of October – Lawrence Wright
This book came out in April. It’s the story of a global pandemic. Thankfully its impact was far worse than what it seems our ending with COVID will be.

Tell No One – Harlan Coben
I had never read anything by him prior to October, 2020. I read seven of his novels over the past two months. I love discovering new authors!

Finally, three non-fiction works.

Talking to Strangers – Malcolm Gladwell
This was my favorite audiobook, and it’s a book I plan to read again.

Bitcoin Billionaires – Ben Mezrich
Mezrich also wrote The Accidental Billionaires, which was later turned into the movie The Social Network. It’s in some ways a follow up, in that it focuses on the Winkelvoss twins venture into bitcoin.

Don’t Know Much about History – Kenneth Davis
I actually came across this book when I was researching books that every high school student should read (since I have a high schooler). This was on one of the lists. I actually haven’t finished it, but that’s the beauty of a book like this. You can jump around to various chapters in our history. It’s very well written.