If you are anything like me, you probably still need to buy a few Christmas presents (even though this column is appearing in the issue of EN marked 'January' - publishers have a strange calendar). What follows is an entirely personal selection of great books for your young people, fellow leaders or even for yourself (go on, give yourself a treat, you deserve it).
Bruce and Stan's Guide to God
By Bruce Bickel and Stan Jantz
Harvest House Publishers
American, but none the worse for that. Laid out in the style of an 'idiot's guide' computer manual, and very user-friendly, complete with icons to orientate the reader as to what type of point is being made. This is one to add to your list of good covering-all-the-basics books. It's solid evangelical stuff, biblically-based and all wrapped up in a style which won't turn off even the coolest of young people. Plenty here for young Christians to get their teeth into, but no assumptions are made that the readers are Christians. This has recently moved to the top of my list of good books to give as baptism/confirmation presents. Well worth a look.
Christian Youth Work
By Mark Ashton and Phil Moon
Monarch
Essential reading for leaders. A biblical look at the whole subject of youth work by two former heads of CYFA (one of whom used to write this column many years ago). It doesn't provide the only way of doing Christian youth work, but the principles outlined are important and can be applied to different situations and different works.
Growing Up Evangelical
By Pete Ward
SPCK
Another one for leaders. Pete is the Archbishop of Canterbury's Advisor for Youth Ministry, and if you haven't read anything by him, you really should. You probably won't agree with all of the conclusions he draws, but he'll get you thinking. In this book, he argues that the evangelical sub-culture is shaped primarily by what goes on in youth work, which means that the nature of the work we do today will have profound implications on what the church is like in the future. Also worth a look by Pete are Youth culture and the gospel and Worship and youth culture (both HarperCollins). You might not like the answers he comes up with, but he'll help you to ask the right questions.
The Bible From Scratch
By Simon Jenkins
Lion
Criminally, this is out of print as I write, so get in touch with Lion and demand a new edition as soon as possible. An outline of every book of the Bible in cartoon form. An excellent way of helping young people (11-upwards, I would have thought) to put unfamiliar bits of the Bible in context. If you find any old copies in a bookshop, buy them all for your youth group. Every teenage bookshelf should have a well-thumbed, much-used copy of this book.
30 Days To Understanding The Bible
By Max E. Anders
Kingsway Publications
It looks horrible and American, and it is. Well, it's American anyway, but not horrible and not half as naff as it sounds. It promises to give an understanding of the Bible in return for 15 minutes a day for 30 days. I was sceptical, but it delivers. Obviously, we're talking broad brushstrokes here, but with daily reminder exercises to help cement the information into your head, it's an excellent aid to grasping the big picture of how the Bible hangs together.
A Sneaking Suspicion
By John Dickson
St. Matthias Press
A great one to give to members who aren't Christians but are willing to think about it (and willing to read Christian books!). It starts from the author's hunch that most people have a sneaking suspicion that there's more to life than beer and footie. The author's Aussie-ness sometimes shows through, but this isn't a problem. A great evangelistic book for teens and 20s.
Struggling To Believe
By Dave Burke
Crossway Books
A book for anyone struggling with living as a Christian, or for anyone who isn't and wants to be prepared for a time when they are. Includes good advice for anyone looking to rebuild a battered faith from its foundations. Very give-awayable.
The Ichtus File
Edited by Al Horn
St. Matthias Press
Square but strangely effective, much like many youth leaders. Still the best set of daily reading notes for teenagers I have ever seen (and I thought that before I worked for St. Matthias Press - honest guv). Daily Bible study material that actually teaches the Bible. Most (though not all) will love the humour without being distracted by it. One girl from my old group in Bristol said that it turned Bible study from a daily chore into something that she enjoyed and looked forward to. What more can you ask?
Steve Couch
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