Staff Reviews: 5 Books to Help You On Your Journey
December 31, 2030 - March 14, 2040
Staff Reviews: 5 Books to Help You On Your Journey
Staff Reviews: 5 Books to Help You On Your Journey
Here at Pacific Reach, we love to learn more about Jesus and what it means to follow Him. One of the ways we do that is by reading books…not just the Bible. Living in community means you can always go to someone for some book tips. In a community as diverse as ours, one person will give a tip for a moving novel, another will recommend an inspiring missionary biography, another a book on how to live faithfully as a follower of Jesus and yet another will give you an obscure tip about a nerdy book that will help you understand the Bible better (if you would like to get a better grip on the full story of the Bible, come join us and do our Discipleship Bible School!).
So, in this article, we will give you some book recommendations from some of our lovely staff members. There are 5 books reviewed here on pretty diverse subjects, but all able to equip you to follow Jesus more faithfully. We hope that these books will bless you and help you in your walk with Jesus.
Book #1: A Loving Life: In a World of Broken Relationship
Author: Paul E. Miller
Staff Comment: “This book taught me so much about the unconditional love of God.”
Page count: 176
Review: “This book is an expository study of the book of Ruth that will transform your understanding of its impact in the biblical story as well as how it relates to us in our everyday lives. It’s filled with real-life stories and examples of how God’s unrelenting love can look in practical terms. The book is so gripping!”
Links: Amazon
Book #2: The Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others
Author: Scot McKnight
Staff Comment: “Really brings the commandment of Jesus to ‘love God and neighbor’ to life.”
Page count: 296
Review: “This helped to reflect on Jesus’ command to love God with my all, and neighbor as self. In this book, the author looks at Jesus’s first-century setting. Some of the characters in the New Testament are looked at through the lens of living out the greatest commandment. It is written with the knowledge of a New Testament scholar but with plenty of pastoral sensitivity, and keeping it to a level that is easy to follow as it is written for the church. It changed much of how I viewed not just the characters in the bible or what Jesus meant with the greatest commandment, but how I viewed and lived out my own following of Jesus. A great resource! It is also the unofficial first book in an unofficial series of books by the author.”
Links: Amazon
Book #3: Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman’s Soul
Author: John & Stasi Eldredge
Staff Comment: “This book has helped in transforming the way I see myself as a woman of God.”
Page count: 256
Review: “This book has truly unraveled what it means to be a woman created by a loving, perfect Father. It has started me on a healing journey into deep, old wounds that have impacted me to this day. I am seeing Jesus use this book to transform the way I see myself as a woman of God and those around me through this greater understanding of our purpose. This book is full of personal stories and testimonies that stick with you and assure you- you are not alone on this journey.”
Links: Amazon
Book #4: Messy Grace: How a Pastor with Gay Parents Learned to Love Others Without Sacrificing Conviction
Author: Caleb Kaltenbach
Staff Comment: “Jesus opened up my perspective on how to love others without sacrificing conviction.”
Page count: 224
Review: “Reading this book really convicted me and made me realize some hard truths in my life. The author has had experiences with the LGBT community and the church, and therefore laid out both perspectives in such an honest way. It brought me to understanding and repentance through learning more about God’s love.”
Links: Amazon
Book #5: Love Your God with All Your Mind: The Role of Reason in the Life of the Soul
Author: J. P. Moreland
Staff Comment: “If you’re a thinker and love Jesus, read this book.”
Page count: 305
Review: “Growing up I struggled to believe that God was for me. Asking hard questions was not discouraged by my parents but it was frowned upon in the churches I grew up in largely. Eventually, Jesus got hold of me but then I struggled whether I belonged in the church and how. Being told to keep quiet at times, the struggle is still real. However, this book helped me to see that Jesus was the smartest person to ever live and that thinking done in the way of Jesus is a good thing. This book is gold not just for the person that thinks deeply but for anyone in any kind of church. The book also has a book recommendation list for all kinds of subjects, from politics to biblical worldview and from business to education, which is worth the price of the book alone.”
Links: Amazon
Against The Tide
Next to these book tips we also would like to offer this tip: Against the Tide is a book about the origins of Pacific Reach. Written by our very own David Cowie, who together with his wife Linda, both are also part of our base leadership team.
We hope you enjoyed some or all of our book tips. We will be sharing more of our book tips in the future. If you know any specific subjects you would like a book tip for let us know.
If you are interested in growing in your relationship with Jesus while having a community to encourage you, then come and join us for a Discipleship Training School.
“SPHC was honestly one of the best experiences of my life so far. From the lecture phase to outreach, my mind was constantly blown by the endless stream of possibilities that become available when you combine practical medical care with the power of prayer. Also, getting to hike, ride in boats and in the back of trucks, and setting up clinics basically anywhere was quite the highlight for a city girl like me.”
Tabitha Abishegam, 26, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
“Being a part of the Justice Movement Stream has really challenged the way I see and define justice. It has made me more passionate and aware of the help this broken world needs, and what I can do to bring a stop to the injustice. I can now confidently say that I am able to take on the world, seeking justice and mercy for people in need.”
Chelsea Logan, 19, Newcastle, Australia
“Being a part of the Pilgrimage Stream impacted my life for the better. Not only did it teach me how to function in a small community (as we shared the burden of climbing those mountains together), but also how to rely on one another, have fun and worship together, and, most importantly, how to be vulnerable with each other. The focus of our Stream taught me what it looks like to be on a pilgrimage for God. God calls us out of our homes to the wilderness, where we’ll see Him face-to-face, and are forced to fully depend on Him before we receive His inheritance.”
Harty Dumalagan, 21, B.C. Canada
“Did you know that according to WHO more than half the world does not have access to healthcare? After seeing those statistics first hand, while in the mission field, I was heartbroken, but I was not without hope. God used my SPHC team and me to meet the needs of many individuals both physically and spiritually, and He opened my eyes to the possibility of a career in healthcare. I now attend the University of Missouri and I am pursuing a degree in Public Health. I hope to one day work for the WHO and take on the challenge of reaching those without healthcare with God’s healing hands.”
Caroline Wilson, 21, Colorado, USA
“Reading the whole Bible was a real challenge for me, but it was so rewarding. My eyes were opened to the fact that Jesus had existed from the very beginning and that God’s gracious heart always was and is the same! I learned that the Bible isn’t just a story about God, but rather a story about imperfect, raw, real people. I know now that I am one of them, and that I can see God work in my life just like He did it with them!”
Jenny Fritz, 19, Germany
“My life used to be run by my fears, my struggles, and my failures. I had no way of fighting them because I didn’t know the truth. Over my time with YWAM [Pacific Reach] and beyond, I have encountered so much freedom as God has shown me the truth of who He is in His Word. Dive into the Bible on Cover to Cover and watch God transform you as He begins to show you who He really is and who you were really made to be.”
David Souter, 22, England
“Being part of the Wild Heart stream helped me know my place in the kingdom as well as parts of my spiritual identity. It broke lies and empowered me to be who God called me to be!”
Nicole Tavares, 18, Brazil
“Being a Kingdom Come student was an awesome experience. We learned a lot about the kingdom of heaven and how to live it out in our daily lives.”
David Lindner, 21, Germany
“The Pilgrimage DTS allowed me to take the time I needed to get to know God more and grow closer to Him while spending lots of time in His beautiful creation. God also used the hikes to challenge and encourage me to rely on Him more.”
Colin Berkley, 24. B.C. Canada
“The GoPac Stream challenged me to broaden my view for the people around me, to step out of my comfort zone, and to expand the love that God has put inside of my heart, to love Him and others more.”
Alex Ronsdorf, 24, Germany