Generous Lists

I had a wonderful conversation with Rob Kelly, a pastor on the East Coast, recently. I got in touch with him because he ran a website about what it means to be missional and I really wanted to get some clarity and better understanding of how people are using that word today.

When we talked Rob did not disappoint. He is a great example of a generous mind that is willing to share passionately and openly what God has put on his heart with others. The result was that I finished that conversation with a new friendship and a clearer understanding of the missional movement that is building momentum globally.

But one of the main things I realized about Rob during the course of our conversation was that he is a voracious reader. He shot of countless names of key books that had influenced his thinking. So at the end of our conversation I challenged him to create a reading list on what it means to be missional so that I could share it with each of you and this is what he sent.

Following are some of the foundational books on the subject of missiology and the missional church:

Missiology:

  1. The Mission of God - Christopher Wright
  2. Transforming Mission - David Bosch

Missional Church:

  1. The Trellis and the Vine - Colin Marshall and Tony Payne
  2. Breaking the Missional Code - Ed Stetzer
  3. Missional Church - Edited by Darrell Guder
  4. Introducing the Missional Church - Alan Roxburgh and Scott Boren
  5. The Forgotten Ways - Alan Hirsch
  6. Missional Renaissance - Reggie McNeal
  7. Church Unique - Will Mancini

I hope this list will bless you as it has me, but there is a bigger point here that I want to make. To be a generous mind, you need book lists. Whatever you are passionate about probably has come about through the reading of many books. If you are going to share your ideas effectively, that is one of those core resources you need assemble. Sometimes you might share the whole thing. Other times you might select out a key resource to share with a person. But however you use it, I think book lists should be considered a required tool for every generous mind.

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