Read Or Die!

      The end of my Junior year in High School I became a Christian. I had never read a book at that point except for James and the Giant Peach; I even remember the day I finished that book and how cool I thought it was (I was in High School, haha). I never had a passion or joy for reading, but I loved to learn. In High School, I was able to pull off "C's," if I wanted to, and never had to do the reading. This gave me the "appropriate" amount of time to skateboard and slack off in school without getting into to much trouble. The moment that I started to follow Jesus, my life, in regard to reading and education, changed forever. The first quarter back to school (which I had begun to follow Jesus only months prior) was an amazing experience, as I now found every excuse to be in class rather than ditching to go skate. One of my teachers was so amazed with my grades that she asked what had happened to me...I was obliged to share. My grades and attitude were exponentially better than the previous year. I felt as though a whole new world had opened up. Education now had meaning and significance for my life. This love for education soon turned into a love to learn-- through books, music, movies, etc. Anything I could get my hands on I did.  Early on I learned much about God  from the books that I was reading.
      I started out by reading books on Christian living, what it means to be a Christian in the world. Many of the books I read were basic, such as, Max Lucado, Erwin Mcmanus, and Rob Bell. These books helped me to learn how to think...something which was not part of my past. Soon after I had several of these types of books under my belt, I needed more. I needed to engage the questions raised in these books on a deeper level. I decided before I did this, it would be important that I sit down and really examine the Bible. This led me on an endeavor that still effects me today. I began to read the Bible several hours a day (Some days I would read 4 hours and others 8 hours), looking deeper than just the text itself. I was challenged the claims that the Bible made and the way I was living. This being said, my reading of scripture only prompted me to ask even bigger questions. This pursuit of learning about God, humanity, and the church, led me to love learning. To this day, I believe that God placed in me a supernatural desire to know him more and engage others on an intellectual level--a place I thought was not for people like me. I only say this to encourage others to pursuit reading and learning. The things we read and learn about God should only help us worship him better, and if that is not the case then you should reevaluate why you want to learn. The main purpose of this blog is to help others in their pursuit of God and I plan on listing books that have helped me in the past years understand God better. I will try to keep up on listing books on a regular basis, but I'm making no guarantees.

A couple of my favorites:

God- The Bible
Karl Barth- Commentary on Romans
Dietrich Bonhoeffer- Life Together
C.S. Lewis- The Great Divorce
N.T. Wright- Simply Christian
Tim Keller- The Reason For God
Richard Hays- Moral Vision Of The New Testament
Mark Driscoll- Doctrine
Alister Mcgrath- Theology
R.C. Sproul- What is Reformed Theology

I will try to keep up on a working list, but this is a good start for any interested readers. May God guide you in all truth. Amen.

*If there are errors, I'm sorry. I do not intend to take the time to edit. Much Love... Mark!