The Books That Formed Me

IF YOU ARE what you read, it does make sense to choose one’s reading carefully. As I reflect on my own Christian life I discover that I have really been shaped by a combination of old books and new books. Perhaps this is as it should be as we seek to be faithful and relevant.

In the category of old books, the first volume to come to mind is the little compendium of thoughts by Brother Lawrence titled The Practice of the Presence of God. Profound in its simplicity, it has been a constant reminder to me that all of my life needs to be offered to the Lord as worship. St. Augustine’s Confessions were a great help and comfort to me in my early days as a Christian, especially as I learned that the although my sin is great, God’s grace is greater.

My copy of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s The Cost of Discipleship is well worn, and a much-needed reminder that the Christian life is a life which must be lived in obedience. Evelyn Underhill’s Worship and H. Richard Neibuhr’s Christ and Culture taught me something about the wonderful breadth of the Christian tradition — covering two very different concerns, of course.

New books

New books are more difficult to recommend since they have not been tested for as long a period. Let me give a few that have helped me. Brian Walsh and Richard Middleton have produced two little books I have found very helpful (both are published by IVP). The Transforming Vision deals with the development of a Christian worldview. Truth is Stranger Than It Used to Be is a readable attempt to respond to postmodernism from the perspective of a biblical worldview.

N. T. Wright has produced a number of helpful books, many on the popular level. (He uses "Tom" instead of "N. T." for his popular books.) I would recommend his more difficult books The New Testament and the People of God and Jesus and the Victory of God. These are works of serious and godly scholarship. They should be required reading for every seminarian.

One of the more unusual books I have read in the last few years is Vincent Donovan’s Christianity Reconsidered: An Epistle from the Masai. Donovan was a missionary among the Masai people of East Africa for many years. In the attempt to preach the Gospel to those who had never heard it, he discovered something of the depth of the Gospel that he had not previously known. It is one of the best Christian thrillers I’ve ever read!

The Rev. Dr. Grant LeMarquand is Trinity's Associate Professor of Biblical Studies and Mission.