Recommended Reading from the Minister's Class

Mark Johnson | September 19, 2017

The following is a list of books recommended by folks from Central Baptist Church as formative and meaningful in their Christian journey.  Please speak with the appropriate person if you would like more information about any of the following books.

1. Borg, Marcus, Meeting Jesus for the First Time (Harper: San Francisco, 1995), Recommended by Mark Johnson.
2. Borg, Marcus, Reading the Bible Again for the First Time (Harper: San Francisco, 2001), Recommended by Mark Johnson.
3. Buechner, Frederick, Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy and Fairy Tale (1997), Recommended by Charles Conkin.
4. Buechner, Frederick, The Longing for Home, Recommended by Raleigh Kincaid. 
5. Butler-Bass, Diana, A People’s History of Christianity (Harper One: New York, 2009). Recommended by Mark Johnson.
6. Claypool, John, Tracks of a Fellow Struggler: How to Handle Grief (Word: Waco, 1976). Recommended by Mark Johnson.
7. Davis, Ellen F., Getting Involved with God: Rediscovering the Old Testament (Rowman and Littlefield: Lanham, 2001). Recommended by Mark Johnson.
8. Diamant, Anita, The Red Tent (Wyatt: New York, 1997). Recommended by Mark Johnson.
9. Ekblad, Bob, Reading the Bible with the Damned, Recommended by Charles Conkin.
10. Frankl Viktor, Man’s Search for Meaning, (Beacon Press: Boston, 2006) First published in German in 1946. Recommended by Charles Conkin and Mark Johnson.
11. Newell, J. Phillip, The Book of Creation, Recommended by Charles Conkin.
12. Kidd, Sue Monk, When the Heart Waits, Recommended by Rachel Smith Childress.
13. Merton, Thomas, Raids on the Unspeakable, Recommended by Bill Campbell.
14. Merton, Thomas, The Seven Story Mountain, (Hartcourt: Orlando, 1948). Recommended by Mark Johnson.
15. Miles, Sara, Take This Bread, Recommended by Charles Conkin.
16. Nouwen, Henry, Life of the Beloved, Recommended by Charles Conkin.
17. Oates, Wayne, The Struggle to Be Free,  Recommended by Rachel Smith Childress.
18. Palmer, Parker, Let Your Life Speak, Recommended by Rachel Smith Childress.
19. Pratt and Homan, Radical Hospitality: Benedict's Way of Love (2002), Recommended by: Sara Herrington-Jones.
20. Rohr, Richard, Everything Belongs (Crossroads: New York, 2003).  Recommended by Mark Johnson.
21. Rauschenbusch, Walter, Dare to Be Christians, Recommended by Charles Conkin.
22. Rice, Anne, Christ the Lord, 2 Volumes: Out of Egypt; The Road to Cana (Knopf: New York, 2005, 2008). Recommended by Mark Johnson.
23. Smith, Huston, The World’s Religions, (Harper: San Francisco, 1958). Recommended by Mark Johnson.
24. Suchocki, Marjorie Hewitt, In God’s Presence; Theological Reflections on Prayer (Chalice Press: St. Louis, 1996). Recommended by Mark Johnson.
25. Swinton, John, Raging with Compassion: Pastoral Responses to the Problem of Evil (2007) Recommended by: Sara Herrington-Jones.
26. Ten Boom, Corrie, The Hiding Place (1971)  Recommended by: Sara Herrington-Jones.
27. Thurman, Howard, Jesus and the Disinherited (Beacon Press: Boston, 1949). Recommended by Mark Johnson.
28. West, Cornel, Race Matters, Recommended by Charles Conkin.
29. Wiesel, Elie, Night, (Hill and Wang: New York, 2006) Originally published in 1958. Recommended by Mark Johnson.

And remember….

Books, 'tis a dull and endless strife,
Come hear the woodland linnet;
How sweet his music, on my life
There's more of wisdom in it.
—Wordsworth