by Jim Henderson and Matt Casper

Have you ever wondered what visitors to your church really think?

Jim Henderson, a retired pastor and his atheist friend Matt Casper tour the country and visit various churches. A small urban church, a suburban megachurch and many in between. Easy to read and eye-opening.

The thought from this book that stuck with me the most was a question from Casper after he observed several of the worship services: Is this what Jesus told you all to do?

by David Kinnaman, Gabe Lyons

This book gave me new insight about faith and church. I’ve long felt that Christians must stop complaining about the general public’s supposed anti-Christian bias. as it is, in many cases, well-deserved. We believe we are compassionate and loving, yet those we seek to reach perceive us as judgmental, legalistic and intolerant. Rather than listen to those we have hurt, we often become shrill and disrespectful of those who disagree with us.

The authors demonstrate the distinct disconnect between our self perception and the perceptions of others, particularly young adults. The testimonials from young people who have left the church and/or the faith and been wounded by Christians are particularly moving.

If you are an active church member, or particularly a leader, this is a must-read.

by Natalie Goldberg

Just finished this book. I will say that it helped me get excited about writing again. It freed my mind to think about writing not as something that always has to be immediately productive, but can be creative for its own sake. The chapters are brief and easy to read, but there is a lot I just couldn’t relate to and some of it is just BS. I’m no book reviewer (obviously!) but I’ve bookmarked a couple of pages and will probably refer back to it again.

by Brian Bailey and Terry Storch

This book is an excellent introduction to the world of blogging, even for those who are not as tech-savvy as they would like to be. I consider myself at the intermediate point of the blogging learning curve and I learned a lot from the book. The authors are prominent, respected bloggers, and are both affiliated with progressive churches.

It also covers philosphy of blogging and would be helpful to those who are trying to determine if a blog is right for their church or organization, and some principles that need to be decided up front. It’s a quick, easy read that is worth the time invested