Suggested Reading
It goes without saying that the first book on this list is the Bible. Otherwise, the order and arrangement of these books are a jumbled mess. As you grow in your spiritual journey, it is recommended that your reading list reflect the transition of your life from a milky reading to that of meat.
Saint Augustine's
Confessions
One of the most prolific writers of the Christian faith, Saint Augustine is mandator reading. His Confessions, arguably the first ever memoir, lyrically grapples with the everyday struggles of everyday Christians.
Annie Dillard's
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
Eudora Welty wrote of Dillard's work, "The book is a form of meditation, written with headlong urgency, about seeing." Part memoir, part essay, everything compelling, Dillard teaches us to open our souls to the world and be embraced.
John Wesley's Sermons
Given that we are a United Methodist congregation, required reading includes John Wesley's Sermons. The Circumcision of the Heart, The One Needful Thing, Salvation by Faith, Justification by Faith, Christian Perfection, and The Scripture Way of Salvation are among his greatest hits--if you will.
Tracy K. Smith's Ordinary Light
Called by one book reviewer, "A lyrical, evocative, and poignant memoir: about poem in stunning prose," is perhaps an understatement. In many passages, it is hard to know if you are reading a book or listening to music. "The Jesus-happy crowd, the naked faith that would have traveled along my mother's voice, the hand holding and head bowing--I couldn't fathom indulging the embarrassment, even before myself, of such raw, untempered, hardheaded believing."
Henri Nouwen's Gracias!
A wonderfully prolific spiritual giant of the 20th century, Nouwen breathes new spiritual wind into the lungs of those hungering for more than quaint spiritual devotionals. Gracias is but one outstanding book. He has many others offerings.