Books, books, and more books!

Books nourish me, and so it should come as no surprise that I am packing many to keep my mind active, challenged and flooded with fresh language and images for this summer of African Days. After all the winnowing, this is the final cut (I think).

No Future Without Forgiveness by Desmond Tutu

God has a Dream by Desmond Tutu

Prayers for a Privileged People by Walter Brueggemann

Mandate to Make a Difference by Walter Brueggemann

The Jesus Way by Eugene Peterson

Eat This Book by Eugene Peterson

The Coming of the Son of Man by Andrew Perriman

Exclusion & Embrace by Miroslav Volf

The Great Transformation by Karen Armstrong

The Forgotten Ways by Alan Hirsch

This was not an easy list to come to, as you can imagine!  Some of the other potential titles (Surprise by Hope by N.T.Wright, Jesus for President by Shane Claiborne, The Country of My Skull by Antjie Krog and A Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela) I ended up reading in the run-up to our departure.  Basically, I just could not wait!  You can see my reflection on N.T. Wright's text in a previous post, for those planning to read for yourself be warned - it is a bit of a spoiler!  

I did try to shrink this list to bare bones.  I even called in a few favors, asking friends to help me choose between one or the other.  But even they agreed - take them both!  So I am dedicating a good amount of my suitcase space to books for my nightstand in Bujumbura this summer. Ideas are fuel for me, so these are essentials for me.  I am grateful to those who offered recommendations (Marius Brand, Tim Keel, Ron Martoia, Brian McLaren) and look forward to seeing the goodness they unearthed in these texts.  

You can anticipate occasional Reading Reflections in the months to come as part of my blog.  This is my way of processing new ideas and connecting with others who are also exploring similar concepts and experiences.