How I Fell Short

Well, I blew it. Around this time last year I set a goal for myself. It didn’t have anything to do with treadmills or exercise bikes or anything ridiculously grueling like that. Instead, it had to do with something I love—books. For some reason, I had the bright idea that it would be good to read 100 books this year. As I said, I blew it. I was far more successful than I would have been if my goal would have had anything to do with the aforementioned instruments of medieval-style torture. But nevertheless, I still blew it.

But, rather than wallow in my failure, I thought I would share a list of the books I did read this year. Some were short, some were long. Some were good, some were bad (some were wretched). Some were re-reads. Later this week I’ll share my top 10 favorites, but that’s not what this list is about. This is simply a list of what I read—please don’t think it’s a recommendation list. That’ll come later.

Here we go:

1. The Formation of Christian Doctrine, Malcom Yarnell
2. Don’t Waste Your Life, John Piper
3. The Art of Manfishing, Thomas Boston
4. The Anabaptist Story, William Estep
5. Preaching & Preachers, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
6. Surprised by Joy, C.S. Lewis
7. Erasmus, the Anabaptists, and the Great Commission; Abraham Friesen
8. The Art of Prophesying, William Perkins
9. Greek for the Rest of Us, Mounce
10. The Murder of Jesus, John MacArthur
11. The God Who Is There, Francis Schaeffer
12. The Four Loves, C.S. Lewis
13. Culture Shift, Albert Mohler
14. An Anabaptist View of the Church, Franklin Littrell
15. Him We Proclaim, Dennis Johnson
16. Imitation of Christ, Thomas a Kempis
17. Jesus: The Greatest Life of All, Charles Swindoll
18. Brothers We Are Not Professionals, John Piper
19. Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor. D.A. Carson
20. The Darkness and the Dawn, Charles Swindoll
21. Christianity and History, Herbert Butterfield
22. The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer
23. Three Central Issues/Dispensationalism, Darrell Bock
24. Why Revival Tarries, Leonard Ravenhill
25. The Trillion Dollar Meltdown, Charles Morris
26. How to Develop a Powerful Prayer Life, Gregory Frizzell
27. Remarriage After Divorce—Three Views
28. Children and Conversion, Clifford Ingle
29. Prince Caspian, C.S. Lewis
30. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, CS Lewis
31. The Silver Chair, CS Lewis
32. The Last Battle, CS Lewis
33. The Magician’s Nephew, CS Lewis
34. The Way of the Didache, William Varner
35. The World is Flat, Thomas Friedman
36. Prayer and the Knowledge of God, Graeme Goldsworthy
37. Preaching With Passion, Alex Montoya
38. Comfortably Numb, Charles Barber
39. The Effective Invitation, Alan Streett
40. The Crisis of Islam, Bernard Lewis
41. Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome, Ken & Barbara Hughes
42. The Father’s Guide to the Meaning of Life, Joe Kita
43. The American Evangelical Story, Douglas Sweeney
44. Southern Baptist Consensus and Renewal, David Dockery
45. A Passion for God (AW Tozer), Lyle Dorsett
46. The Welsh Revival, Thomas Phillips
47. Desiring God, John Piper
48. Calvinism: A Southern Baptist Dialogue, Clendenen and Waggoner
49. Biblical Patterns for Powerful Church Prayer Meetings, Gregory Frizzell
50. The Gospel and Personal Evangelism, Mark Dever
51. Desire and Deceit, R. Albert Mohler
52. Comeback Churches, Ed Stetzer
53. A Tale of Two Sons, John MacArthur
54. The Legacy of Sovereign Joy, John Piper
55. Environmental Stewardship, Action Institute
56. Jesus Made In America, Stephen Nichols
57. Love Covers, Paul Billheimer
58. When God Comes to Church, Steve Gaines
59. Of Paradise and Power, Robert Kagan
60. The Practice of the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence
61. A God Entranced Vision of All Things—The Legacy of Jonathan Edwards, John Piper
62. Worship Matters, Bob Kauflin
63. Spiritual Depression, Martyn Lloyd-Jones
64. This Momentary Marriage, John Piper
65. Spectacular Sins, John Piper
66. Lives Given, Not Taken, Erich Bridges
67. The Purpose of Christmas, Rick Warren

Here’s to next year and hopefully less bad books and more good books!