My main two goals of 2010:

1. Average reading a book a week (52 total).

2. Read the entire Bible in a year.

I fell a little short on both (got close!), but here’s the list of books I did manage to read:

Craig Bartholomew & Michael Goheen
1. Living at the Crossroads:  An Introduction to Worldview
Jim Belcher
2. Deep Church
Dan Brown
3. Digital Fortress
4. The Lost Symbol
Francis Chan
5. Forgotten God
Mark Dever
6. The Gospel and Personal Evangelism
Mark Driscoll
7. Vintage Church
8. A Book You’ll Actually Read on Church Leadership
9. Religion Saves and Nine Other Misconceptions
Michael Horton
10. God of Promise:  Introducing Covenant Theology
Hugh Halter & Matt Smay
11. The Tangible Kingdom
12. And:  The Gathered and Scattered Church
Tim Keller
13. Counterfeit Gods
14. The Reason for God
15. The Prodigal God
16. Generous Justice
Dave Kraft
17. Leader’s Who Last
C.S. Lewis
18. Mere Christianity
19. The Screwtape Letters
20. The World’s Last Night and Other Essays
21. The Abolition of Man
22. The Magician’s Nephew
23. Surprised by Joy
Robert Ludlum
24. The Ambler Warning
C.J. Mahaney
25. Living the Cross Centered Life
George M. Marsden
26. A Short Life of Jonathan Edwards
Brian McLaren
27. A New Kind of Christian
Donald Miller
28. Through Painted Deserts
Al Mohler
29. Atheism Remix
Grant Morrison
30. Batman R.I.P.
Barack Obama
31. The Audacity of Hope
Ray Ortlund Jr.
32. Whoredom:  God’s Unfaithful Wife in Biblical Theology
Darrin Patrick
33. Church Planter:  The Man, The Message, The Mission
Ron Paul
34. The Revolution
John Perkins
35. Confessions of an Economic Hitman
John Piper
36. Finally Alive
37. The Supremacy of God in Preaching
Vaughan Roberts
38. God’s Big Picture
Charles Ryrie
39. Dispensationalism
Jason Stellman
40. Dual Citizens:  Worship and Life Between the Already and Not Yet
Francis Shaeffer
41. A Christian Manifesto
Mary Shelly
42. Frankenstein
Owen Strachan & Doug Sweeney
43. Jonathan Edwards on Hell
Mark Twain
44. Huckleberry Finn

I’ve got some fresh goals for 2011, and I’ll post them on here soon

Related Posts:

• Book Review: Total Church by Tim Chester & Steve Timmis
• Book Review: The Lazarus Vendetta by Robert Ludlum & Patrick Larkin
• Extended Book Review – Paul and the Thessalonians by Abraham Malherbe
• Extended Quote of the Day – Tim Keller
• New John Piper Book – Check it out!

Go ahead and chalk up another home run for Tim Keller.  Generous Justice is a book about social justice, argued from a Christian perspective, and amazingly written with equal parts intellect, accessibility, challenge, and balance.  The hard part about this book will be applying it, but Keller argues (and I believe convincingly) that we are called to carry out social justice for the poor and marginalized because Jesus has changed us and made us new.  Keller carefully balances his writing so that it is neither Republican, nor Democrat, neither triumphalistic, nor apathetic, but balanced and biblical.  When I start reading a Keller book, I honestly get a bit covetous of his ability to write so well about such important subjects.  He’s just great.  I highly recommend this book.

Related Posts:

• Five Sentence Review: City of Man: Religion and Politics in a New Era – Michael Gerson & Peter Wehner
• Book Review: The Prodigal God by Tim Keller
• Brief Book Review/Rant: The Revolution by Ron Paul
• Book Review: Confessions of an Economic Hitman by John Perkins
• Book Review: Living the Cross Centered Life by C. J. Mahaney

(these aren’t necessarily new albums, just the ones I’ve newly discovered / rediscovered or listened to incessantly this year)

1. The Roots – How I Got Over (edited)
2. David Crowder Band – Church Music
3. R.E.M. – Document
4. The Rolling Stones – Exile on Main Street
5. Andy Hunter – Collide
6. Ascend the Hill – Ascend the Hill
7. U2 – No Line on the Horizon
8. Lecrae – Rehab
9. Zwan  – Mary Star of the Sea
10. Arcade Fire – Neon Bible
11. Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (edited)
12. Hanson – Shout it Out
13. Underoath – Disambiguation
14. Derek Webb – Democracy Vol 1
15. Paul McCartney & Wings – Band on the Run
16. The Dead Weather – Horehound
17. The Decemberists – The Hazards of Love
18. The Ember Days – Finger Painting EP
19. R.E.M. – Automatic for the People
20. Andy Hunter – Colour

Related Posts:

• The music of 2010 (70 albums I think)
• P.O.D. “On Fire” Live from Cornerstone
• Have you heard Michael Jackson’s New Single?
• I Love These Guys
• It’s Gonna Be Good.

Along with The Tangible Kingdom (Halter and Smay’s first book), And:  The Gathered and Scattered Church is a challenging and worthwhile book for church leaders and church planters.  It’s unique and insightful.  In many ways Halter and Smay are extremely balanced (a rarity among writings on the subject of missional church).  This balance comes through in the title of the this book,  And:  The Gathered AND Scattered Church.  Halter and Smay are trying to do a good job of encouraging, and challenging, but at the same time not allowing the pendulum to swing too far in one direction.  I really appreciate this intention.  And I can honestly say I’ve been challenged and helped by this book.  If I do have one caveat:  occasionally their interpretations of biblical texts seem a little rushed or short-sided.  It’s not extreme, but it’s enough to make me scratch my head from time to time.  Still, this is a great book with a lot of time-tested advice.  Halter and Smay’s desire to reach the world and see new people become disciples is very genuine.

Related Posts:

• Book Review: The Tangible Kingdom by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay
• Book Review – Church Planter by Darrin Patrick
• Deep Church by Jim Belcher – Quick Thoughts
• Book Review: Whoredom: God’s Unfaithful Wife in Biblical Theology by Ray Ortlund Jr.
• Book Review: Total Church by Tim Chester & Steve Timmis