Books of 2011

Here are the books I read in 2011. I'll list any book which I read at least 50% of in 2011. Books only partially finished will be noted with an * and books read on my Kindle will be noted with a "k." I'll comment on the books as warranted:

1. What are People For?, Wendell Berry - a Kentucky farmer who looks at life from a much needed perspective. You won't agree with everything he says, but you will look at rural areas and people with a new appreciation and question some of your most basic assumptions about Western life. Everyone should read something by Berry.
2. Christianity and Liberalism, J. Gresham Machen - A classic. Machen rips off the facade of liberal Christianity and calls it what it is; a different religion. 
3. To Change the World, James Hunter* - I didn't finish To Change the World, but I did drive Dr. Hunter to the airport after he lectured at RTS. He is very engaging, passionate, and brilliant. It was a real treat to spend 30 minutes chatting with him.
4. Culture Making, Andy Crouch
5. Christ and Culture, Richard Niebuhr
6. Handbook on the Prophets, Robert Chisholm
7. Doctrine of the Christian Life, John Frame
8. Bioethics and the Christian Life, David VanDrunen* - VanDrunen is an advocate of Two Kingdoms theology and it presents itself in his bioethics by seemingly advocating for a type of morality for believers and an ambivalence toward the actions of unbelievers.
9. Making Biblical Decisions, Franklin Payne*
10. In Living Color: Images of Christ and the Means of Grace, Danny Hyde - Does the 2nd Commandment apply to Jesus? 
11. The Death of Adam, Marilynne Robinson
12. Republocrat, Carl R. Trueman
13. Justification, James Buchanan - a great book on justification (this must come as a surprise given the clever title) written in the 19th century.
14. Justification, NT Wright - a not as great book on justification. Maybe from here on out we can all just agree that if you write a book on justification, you need to come up with a better title than just "Justification."
15. Sex, Economy, Freedom, & Community, Wendell Berry*
16. The Deep Things of God, Fred Sanders - Sanders unpacks (as much at mere mortals can) how the Trinity affects everything and why this is a central and crucial doctrine of the Christian faith. If you don't believe in the Trinity you aren't Christian (this means Mormons are not Christian. Period.)
17. Living in God's Two Kingdoms, David VanDrunen
18. Concise Reformed Dogmatics, J. van Genderen* - Okay, I didn't really read 50% of this because it is a really big book. I mostly just wanted to be able to put it on the list because a books that contain the word "dogmatics" in the title always look impressive.
19. The Making of a Leader, J. Robert Clinton (no relation to #42 or the Sec. of State)
20. To Be Told, Dan Allender - Allender helps you discover the story God has been writing in your life and how to get in step with him in crafting a beautiful ending. 
21. Tilt, Small Shifts in Leadership that Make a Big Difference, Erik Rees, Jeff Jernigan - not worth your time
22. Why We Love the Church, Kevin DeYoung & Ted Kluck - k (that second k wasn't a typo, I read it on my Kindle)- I really liked this book and think more evangelicals ought to read it.
23. Ten Myths About Calvinism, Ken Stewart - Or ten ways I want to distance myself from "those" Calvinist and still be friends with Arminians. There were parts of this book that I really liked and other parts seemed like an unnecessary apology to a non-issue, kinda like water apologizing for being wet.
24. Prodigal God, Tim Keller 
25. Islanders in the Stream: A History of the Bahamian People Vol. 2, Michael Craton - Best history of the Bahamian people you'll ever read...heck, who are we kidding, you're never gonna read a history of the Bahamian people. But if you do...this is the one.
26. The Rage Against God, Peter Hitchens - I thought this was going to be the story of Peter Hitchen's journey from atheism to belief. It really was Peter Hitchen's argument for why atheism leads to socialism and then why that's a bad thing, interspersed with his personal anecdotes from living in Moscow in the eighties. Nonetheless, it was an engaging read from the brother of the recently deceased archbishop of atheism, Christopher Hitchens.
27. Who Chose the Gospels?, Charles Hill - This was written by one of my professors from RTS. If you want an easy to read book that completely debunks the theory that the early church just picked out the four gospel account which were most politically expedient...then look no further.
28. God So Loved He Gave, Kelly Kapic and Justin Borger - This is a really great book if for no other reason than I made the Acknowledgments (Justin is one of my closest friends from seminary). This is a look at the Redemptive Historical story of the Bible through the lens of generosity. It is a much needed adjustment to our consumptive American evangelicalism.
29. The Art of Prophesying, William Perkins - not what you think. Perkins was the Father of English Puritanism and this was his text book on preaching.
30. The Book of Exodus, Brevard Chiles* - best technical commentary on Exodus
31. Exodus, NIV Application Commentary, Peter Enns* - best overall commentary on Exodus
32. Living for God's Glory, Joel Beeke - k
33. The Gospel in the Pentateuch, Henry Law - k
34. A Golden Chain, William Perkins - k
35. Beer if Proof God Loves Us: Reaching for the Soul of Beer and Brewing, Charles Bamforth - k - if you like beer, this is a really neat read. Bamforth is a professor of brewing at UC Davis (who knew you could major in Brewing?) which means he is an organic chemist who loves beer. The spiritual aspect of the book is blech ...but when he talks about beer it is fascinating. 
36. The Doctrine of the Covenant in Reformed Theology, Geerhardus Vos - k
37. Provocations, Soren Kierkegaard - k - I'm not really sure how to get that "o" with a slash through it.
38. Affirming the Apostles' Creed - JI Packer
39. The Good News We Almost Forgot: Rediscovering the Gospel in a 16th Century Catechism, Kevin DeYoung and Jerry Bridges - Another good one from DeYoung and somebody else.
40. Renewing Your Mind, RC Sproul

Currently, almost all of my books are in storage in a container somewhere in Orlando. I miss them. Soon, we'll actually end this transitional period and have a home in New Jersey. Until then, all my books sit in a box which is in a bigger box which is stored in a yet bigger box somewhere in Central Florida...kinda like the Ark of the Covenant in Indiana Jones only nobody's face will melt off when they open up my books.

The Places of 2011

I haven't posted in quite some time. The main reason is reflected in the variety of places of 2011. This has been quite the transitional year: a new baby, graduating, moving overseas, candidating for pastoral positions, accepting a call, moving back to the US, and leaving Florida for good. Here are my places of 2011. Again, the rules are that I must have spent at least one night during 2011 for it to make the list.

-Orlando, FL - This was home base for most of the year.
-Winter Park Hospital, Winter Park, FL - Okay, Winter Park is really just a neighborhood in Orlando, but it gets a special mention because we kicked off the year with the surprise early delivery of our youngest, William Oliver. Highlight of the year!
-Virginia Beach, VA - PCA General Assembly
-Freeport, Bahamas - After graduation I accepted an interim pastoral position at Lucaya Presbyterian Church in Freeport. What a tremendous blessing! Who knew I'd spend 5 months after graduation in the Bahamas?
-Alamogordo, NM and El Paso, TX - What a unique part of the country! The desert and mountains were gorgeous.
-New Providence & Summit, NJ - This part of NJ must be why it is called the "Garden State." What a lovely area! I came to New Jersey twice this year to candidate at Covenant Presbyterian in Short Hills, NJ. Kim and I are super excited to be moving there in 2012.
-Plant City, FL - The Strawberry capital of the world. If you have strawberries in your fridge they probably came from Watsonville, CA (these are probably poisonous and have been shown by "science" to cause a condition known as "hot-dog fingers.") or Plant City, FL (sweet, juicy, and delicious). My sister and brother-in-law live in this quaint little town.
-Brandon, FL - Visiting the folks
-Chattanooga, TN - the Motherland. We're here in Chattanooga until we move to New Jersey around the end of January. It has been so good to be around mountains again.