This list is not necessarily the 10 best books I’ve read, just the most instrumental for that time in my life. (The hyperlinks are to my book reviews).

1. Hudson Taylor (2 vol.), Mrs. Howard Taylor – Read these on the flight to and from Ghana in college. They confirmed God was calling me into missions.
2. Foundations of Grace, Steve Lawson – Ransacks nearly every passage in Scripture addressing the doctrines of grace, thus convincing me of their joy and veracity.
3. How to Read a Book, Mortimer Adler – Adler taught me that reading a book well is hard work. Pastors should master his fifteen rules of reading. Read the sequel too.
4. The Calvary Road, Roy Hession – read this in Boulder, Colorado in my early 20’s and was the tool God used to shine the spotlight on a lot of pride in my life.
5. Paul the Missionary, Eckhard Schnabel – this biblical and insightful book challenged me to reevaluate my missionary goals and methods in light of the apostle Paul.
6. Shadow of the Almighty, Jim Elliot – Elliot became my hero in the two years before my departure to South Africa. He made we want to follow hard after God.
7. Money, Possessions and Eternity, Randy Alcorn – read this with Lindy while in Mozambique. Helped shape the way we view, give and spend our money.
8. The Doctrine of Repentance, Thomas Watson – no one has made me yearn to know the word and the Word more than Puritans. Watson’s vivid imagery is preeminent.
9. John G. Paton Autobiography – expectedly, Paton filled me with courage and devotion. Unexpectedly, he gave me a contemporary model for church planting.
10.  Ephesians, Harold Hoehner – a tour de force; this commentary reminded me that doing word studies the old-fashioned way is the best way to find the text’s meaning.