The three books that have had the most impact on me are the Holy Bible, the Lutheran Worship hymnal and the novel The Life of Pi.
The Bible is God’s Word. I do not need some scholar to tell me this, the Bible itself convinces me that it is God’s Word. Do not debate with me about things in the Bible if you have not read the Bible.
The Lutheran Worship hymnal was published shortly before I graduated from the seminary. It was not a perfect hymnal, but it was a much-needed update from the previous hymnal used by the congregations of our church body.
For the first twenty years of my ministry Lutheran Worship was the hymnal I used. I memorized many of its hymns and other worship resources. I still prefer much of what is in Lutheran Worship even though our church body published another new hymnal 17 years ago.
The book The Life of Pi, which has also been made into a beautiful movie, uses two remarkable stories to illustrate the power of story. Stories are not just enjoyable to hear about they also impact our lives in powerful ways. This brings me back to the Bible. The Bible not only has a lot of great stories, its overall message is the greatest story ever told.
A verse from the hymn “Alas and Did My Savior Bleed” from the Lutheran Worship hymnal puts it best:
“Well might the sun in darkness hide and shut its glories in;
When God the mighty maker died for his own creatures’ sin.” (Lutheran Worship, hymn 97, verse 3)
When we who are God’s creatures fell into sin, God did not send an angel to help us, he himself came into the world in the person of his Son, Jesus Christ, and died on the cross to save us. There is no better story than this story of God’s love.
Those are my three most impactful books.
Mirror Neurons 