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Summer Reading – Twenty Books For A Desert Island
A friend of mine was asking recently- If I was stuck on a desert island with no hope of rescue, what ten books would I take to read? And presumably re-read! I wasn’t able to help. As I got into it, I found there were far too many books to recommend.
In the end, I settled for twenty. So here are my all time best reads. Whether it is really a tropical island, or just the back garden, enjoy the summer- and don’t forget the books!
 1. The English Standard Version Study Bible. This is a new translation of the Bible. Not far away from the well known NIV, it has been translated by a team that includes Wayne Grudem, recently a speaker at KingsGate Church as part of the Christian Institute roadshow. Wayne is, for me, the best living theologian, so not only is the translation good but his notes alongside are excellent.
2. Systematic Theology – Wayne Grudem  This is not a lightweight book, coming in at around 1,300 pages. But it is wonderful! There are a lot of heavyweight theology books on the market, but not many that are thorough, balanced and readable. It’s Wayne Grudem again, of course. It is a book of doctrine, dealing with every aspect of Christianity you could think of. There are questions for personal application and lots of Bible references along the way. Want to know whether scripture is error free? How can God be three persons in one? When and why did God choose us? What is the meaning of the Lord’s Supper? What is heaven like? It’s all here- and much more!
This is not a reading book, more for reference, but dig into it at any point and you are going to get both blessed and educated.
 3. The Purpose Driven Life – Rick Warren
Within the first five years of publishing, this book has sold over 30 million copies. Rick Warren is a great communicator and in this book takes you on a journey over 40 days of study to ask the question ‘What On Earth Am I Here For?’ This is a blueprint for Christian living, and for me, one of the most important Christian books ever written.
4. Courageous Leadership – Bill Hybels  For me, the best leadership book ever written, either sacred or secular- and I’ve read quite a few! Hybels takes as his starting point the centrality of the local church to the purposes of God and then weaves around it the qualities needed of a leader. It has wide application beyond the church and deals with styles of leadership, developing leaders, working in team and much more.
And just in case you don’t think you are a leader… yes you are! We all lead in some way and reading this will help hone our leadership and encourage us to continue.
5. The Greatest Thing In The World – Henry Drummond  This little book (yes, for a change, this one is only 50 pages or so) was born in revival. The author was part of the team that helped D L Moody in the great revivals that swept this country in the early 1900’s.
First spoken as a bible study, the book covers 1 Corinthians chapter 13- the love chapter. It is beautifully written, thought provoking and gently challenging. Having never been out of print since it was first written is perhaps its strongest recommendation.
6. The Prayer of Jabez – Bruce Wilkinson 
Another smaller book and an easy read, but with a challenging message. Wilkinson takes the short prayer of Jabez in the Old Testament, and leads us on a prayer journey of praying big prayers, seeking blessing, protection and an enlarging of our borders. A real break-through book for those of us that struggle to make sense of our lives.
 7. The Divine Mentor – Wayne Cordeiro
I’m so grateful that our senior pastor at KingsGate, Dave Smith, came back from his short sabbatical with this book! It has transformed my times reading the Bible- and I know it has done the same for many others in the church.
Cordiero reminds us of the value of our relationship with God and then introduces us- or reintroduces us- to journaling. That is simply as way of recoding our thoughts as we study a passage of scripture. He uses the acrostic SOAP: Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer. As we follow this simple process it puts us back in touch with God’s word in a deeper way. This book can change the way you read the Bible for good!
8. The Pursuit Of God – A W Tozer 
This is a book that impacted me as a young Christian. Written by a brilliant American preacher in the late 1940’s, it is said the author ‘wrote it on his knees’. Tozer himself calls it a ‘modest attempt to aid God’s hungry children to find Him’. We are called to follow hard after God. This gem of a book helps us on the journey.
 9. The Heavenly Man – Brother Yun
The first of two biographies to make it into this top twenty. This is the story of a Chinese Christian’s interrogation and torture, his endurance and his miraculous escape. His faith is contagious. We have the same God! The same power of the Holy Spirit! Read it and be challenged.
10. The Normal Christian Life – Watchman Nee 
Another Chinese Christian imprisoned for his faith. This is a book first written in the 1950’s, whilst in prison; Watchman Nee's great Christian classic, tracing the steps along the pathway of faith and presenting the eternal purpose of God in simple terms. Primarily using the book of Romans as his source, Watchman Nee takes us on a journey through understanding the blood and cross of Christ, on into the application of all Christ has done for our ‘Normal Christian Life’. I don’t think you will find this an easy book to read, but it will do you good!
 11. what’s So Amazing About Grace? – Philip Yancey
From a difficult read to an easy read. It was hard to pick out just one of Yancey’s books for the top twenty, but I went for this one for two reasons- the subject matter and the story. The subject is grace and Yancey deals well with the subject, using past literature and plenty of common sense illustrations to help him on his way. The story- I don’t know if Yancey intended it to be as central to the book as I found it. It only covers a few pages but it will stay with me as long as I live. A modern ‘prodigal’ story updated for our age. Powerful and moving.
12. One Thing – Sam Storms 
Something of a disciple of John Piper, I find Sam Storms books an easier read. This one is wonderful. Sam Storms states that our goal in life is happiness- happiness in appreciating God’s glory. And that is what this book is about. Taken from some of the teaching of the 18th century preacher and revivalist Jonathan Edwards, Storms reminds us that ‘we were made to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.’
 13. Run Baby Run – Nicky Cruz A classic biography of the street gangs of New York. Chilling scenes of knife fights, torture and murder dominated the life of a young man proud and feared on the outside, but inwardly running scared. His fears and loneliness were brought to the surface through an encounter with the unlikely character of preacher David Wilkerson, who led Cruz to open his life to Christ - an incredible conversion that amazed all who knew him. Thirty years on, this is still one of the best Christian stories ever told.
14. God’s Lavish Grace – Terry Virgo 
Terry is a great teacher and preacher on pretty much any subject, but if you had to pin him down to what his life message is, I think it would be ‘grace’. His message and life have had a profound effect on me and my family and we had the privilege of working with him for some years. This book is classic Terry Virgo and classic teaching on the much needed subject of grace.
 15. Great Revivals – Colin Whittaker Nearly thirty years ago I was looking around a second hand bookshop in Wales. I found a small volume called ‘Revival Comes to Wales – The story of the 1859 revival’. It changed my life. I became fascinated with the whole subject of church history. There is so much to learn, so much to encourage us as the church today. Many have been before us, fought for what we believe today, some to the point of death. All have a story to tell.
Colin Whittaker’s book is a great introduction to the whole subject of revival in church history. If you don’t know your John Wesley from your Duncan Campbell, here’s where to start. It is very readable and will give you a taste for the much larger subject of church history through the ages.
16. The For Everyone Series – Tom Wright  I travel a lot. When I do, it’s hard to take a Bible and study big chunks of it. So I take one of the ‘For Everyone’ series.
It’s a bit of a cheat I know, as this is a series of books, not just one (My suitcase for this desert island is getting a bit heavy!) Tom Wright has translated most of the New Testament and along with it has written his own study notes. They are thoughtful, challenging and not too long- they last pretty well most of the 50 minutes it takes me to travel from Peterborough to London for work, though I think you could manage to read each passage in 20 minutes or so if you don’t have that sort of time. Deeper than daily notes but not so challenging as a full study, a good way to start the day. If I had to pick one to get you up and running, try ‘John For Everyone’, Tom Wright’s study of John’s Gospel.
 17. Learning the Joy of Prayer – Larry Lea
A simple and easy to read book that takes you though the Lord ’s Prayer and teaches you that prayer becomes effective as you move from discipline to desire to delight in prayer. If, like me, you find prayer a challenge, this will help you pray through the hard times and begin to enjoy both prayer and the results of prayer.
18. Out Of The Saltshaker – Rebecca Manley Pippert 
There are plenty of books on evangelism. Many of them just leave me feeling guilty. This one doesn’t. Written in the 1970’s, it is still being published today. There is a good sense of humour here and lots of great practical advice. Reading her book we laugh at her mistakes, identify with her failures, and find ourselves eager to become as effective in telling others of Jesus.
19. Questions of Life – Nicky Gumbel 
The book that launched the Alpha Course. It’s a fun read, full of great facts and written in an easy to read style. Maybe you have been on the Alpha Course and want to remind yourself of some of the material. Or you may have wanted to go on Alpha but are not sure what it’s about. Either way, this is the book for you.
20. God-Life – Ralph Turner 
I know. It looks a bit egoistic to stick my own book in the top twenty. But the fact is, if I didn’t think it was worth reading, I wouldn’t have written it!
The book comes out of the need to take people on beyond the basics of an Alpha Course. What comes next? How do I pray? How do I read the Bible? Is God interested in my everyday life? I’ve filled the book with stories- it is meant as a story book rather than a study book. And a lot of the people you come across are Peterborough people. You may have bumped into them on a Sunday morning or in the street. It’s a book that will help you follow Jesus and go deeper.
And finally….. if you were to ask me next week, some of my choices may have changed. There are so many good books and good authors out there. A couple of biographies that nearly made it are ‘Chasing The Dragon’ by Jacky Pullinger and ‘The Cross And The Switchblade by David Wilkerson. Bill Johnson’s book ‘Face To Face With God’ was nearly there as was Andrew Wilson’s ‘Incomparable’ and R T Kendall’s ‘Out of the Comfort Zone’. Oh, and don’t forget Richard Foster’s ‘Celebration of Discipline’. I really must stop now!
Ralph Turner Is a Director and Group pastor at KingsGate Community Church. He is the Pensions & Benefits Director for the Mars Group.
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