10 Must-Read Books for Spiritual Growth
Books to help your walk with God
My assignment was to write about 10 books on spiritual growth. As I began to think of books that have influenced me, I ended up with 11. You get a bonus book on this list at no extra charge!
These books have expanded my image of God and helped me to grow in relationship with God. Each one is filled with highlighted sentences, sticky notes, and thoughts penciled in the margins. I could have listed a dozen more, but these are a good place to start.
Daily Meditations
1. You are the Beloved: Daily Meditations for Spiritual Living
2. Listening to Your Life: Daily Meditations with Frederick Buechner
These two are collections of excerpts from the writings of two of my favorite spiritual writers, Henri Nouwen and Frederick Buechner. Each daily meditation offers a quickly-read thought that will spiritually center your heart and mind for the day. I have often been inspired by the excerpt to read the book from which it was taken. ·
Buy on AmazonSmile: Nouwen, Henri J. M. You Are the Beloved: Daily Meditations for Spiritual Living. New York: Convergent Books, 2017.
Buy on AmazonSmile: Buechner, Frederick. Listening to Your Life: Daily Meditations with Frederick Buechner. New York: HarperOne, 2009.
Longer Reflections on Scripture
3. The Return of the Prodigal Son
4. When God is Silent
5. The Hopeful Heart
3. The Return of the Prodigal
The Return of the Prodigal Son is one of the most popular of Henri Nouwen’s many books. It was even featured on Oprah’s book list. Inspired by the Rembrandt painting of the Gospel story of the Prodigal Son, Henri reflects on his own life journey. The book calls us to envision ourselves in each of the characters of the story, opening deeper personal understanding of God’s grace and our own personal struggles of life. This is a book to be read slowly, letting it soak into your heart, while pondering the meaning of your own life journey.
Buy on AmazonSmile: Nouwen, Henri J. M. The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming. New York: Image Books Doubleday, 1992.
4. When God is Silent
One of the pre-eminent preachers of our time is Barbara Brown Taylor, who lives in North Georgia. She has a remarkable way of telling a story, choosing words, and crafting sentences that take you deeper into the Scriptures. She often explores challenging questions of faith, such as in When God is Silent. It is a book for both preachers and those who listen deeply to preachers.
Buy on AmazonSmile: Taylor, Barbara Brown. When God is Silent. Cambridge, MA: Cowley Publications, 1998.
5. The Hopeful Heart
When I was a college student, John Claypool opened my heart to a much bigger image of God’s grace than I had previously known. The Hopeful Heart is a wonderful book that powerfully conveys how we find hope through our Christian faith. “What breath is to the physical body, hope is to the human spirit” (p.4.) Some of our members may remember that early in his ministry Dr. Claypool served as Associate Pastor of First Baptist Church of Decatur.
Buy on AmazonSmile: Claypool, John R. The Hopeful Heart. Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse Publishing, 2003.
Spiritual Practices
6. Finding Our Way Again
7. The Way of the Heart
8. Soul Feast
Spiritual practices are actions we take that open our hearts to the presence of God’s Spirit within. They are sometimes called disciplines because as we are disciplined in doing these practices they become habits of relationship with God.
There are a number of different forms of spiritual practices, reflecting the diversity of human spiritual experiences. These three books all are about spiritual practices, with each viewing practices from a different approach.
6. Finding Our Way Again
McLaren, in his typical manner, expands our understanding of spiritual practices beyond prayer. For him, spiritual practices are about “becom(ing) awake and staying awake to God” (p.18). This book is about “the experience of God . . . the formation of character . . . and the sustenance of wakefulness to life” (p18). Spiritual practice is how we live more than what we do. McLaren is very readable, making this book a good introduction to spiritual practices.
Buy on AmazonSmile: McLaren, Brian. Finding Our Way Again: The Return of the Ancient Practices. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2008. ·
7. The Way of the Heart
This Nouwen gem explores “three ways to life in the Spirit” (p.5), solitude, silence, and prayer. These three attitudes are about the conditions necessary to quiet the spirit and open the heart to hear God’s Spirit. This is an excellent book of rich, spiritual wisdom for anyone serious about formation into the likeness of Jesus.
Buy on AmazonSmile: Nouwen, Henri J. M. The Way of the Heart: Connecting with God Through Prayer, Wisdom, and Silence. New York: Ballantine Books, 1981.
8. Soul Feast
This book by Marjorie Thompson (who studied with Henri Nouwen), is a classic review of spiritual practices used in seminaries and church study groups for 25 years. Nouwen’s foreword says, “There are few books in which a solid biblical vision and a practical, hands-on approach are so well integrated. . . She simply invites us to create the space where the life of God in us can be nurtured and brought to fruition” (p.ix-x). This is an excellent book for anyone serious about the Christian spiritual life.
Buy on AmazonSmile: Thompson, Marjorie J. Soul Feast: An Invitation to the Christian Spiritual Life. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1995.
Spiritual Growth in the Second Half of Life
9. Falling Upward
10. Winter Grace
[BONUS] 11. Pilgrimage into the Last Third of Life
These last three books are written for those of us in the second half of life. These are excellent books for individual reading or a group discussion, offering excellent explorations of the spiritual life in our later years.
9. Falling Upward
Falling Upward is a contemporary spiritual classic from Richard Rohr with a basic premise. The first part of life is about building the container of our identity – our vocation, family, and accomplishments. Eventually, a person will encounter challenges, mistakes, or some kind of suffering which Rohr says is necessary to see our lives in a different way. These “failings and fallings” open our hearts to deeper spiritual growth. Although any adult will find it meaningful, this book may be more relevant to those who through the years have grown more by “doing it wrong than by doing it right.”
Buy on AmazonSmile: Richard Rohr, Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2011).
10. Winter Grace
This book is written for older adults, their friends and families, and those who work with them. It looks at both the descent and ascent of aging, both the losses and decline, and the grace and growth experienced in one’s later years. She writes, “Old age can be a time of larger love and compassion, of attitudes of good will and thoughtfulness toward others” (p.9). This is a book of rich honesty, exploring the paradox of Jesus’ challenge to lose our lives in order to save them (Matt. 16:25). Though this classic book is out of print, used copies are available online. If you can’t find it, I have several copies available in my office at FBC.
Buy on AmazonSmile: Fischer, Kathleen Winter Grace: Spirituality and Aging. Nashville: Upper Room Books, 1998.
11. Pilgrimage into the Last Third of Life
This is a hopeful, encouraging book written by a clinical gerontologist and a retired minister in the form of a dialogue between them. Each of the seven chapters is divided into seven brief readings, making it great for daily meditations. The chapters cover issues faced in the last third of life (roughly sixtyish to ninetyish), such as Living with Limitations, Redeeming Loss and Suffering, or Facing Aging and Dying. This would be a great small group study. (That’s a great idea for the Legacy Ministry when we can have small groups again!)
Buy on AmazonSmile: Thibault, Jane Marie, and Richard L. Morgan. Pilgrimage into the Last Third of Life: 7 Gateways to Spiritual Growth. Nashville: Upper Room Books, 2012.
Greg Smith, Pastor for Senior Adults and Director of Legacy Ministry, First Baptist Church Decatur