Read any good books, lately?

A parishioner at my former church e-mailed me the other day to ask what books I would recommend for a group preparing to go on mission.

That got me thinking. What books are really good for mission groups in preparation for service either at home or abroad? Do you have any recommendations?

I could think of three off the top of my head that I have used...

1) Gracias!, a journal from Henri Nouwen of his time as a missionary in Peru and Bolivia. This book is as readable and soul-searching as anything Nouwen wrote. I have used it specifically for groups going to Peru, but it would be very good for any mission in a Latin American context.

2) Yours Are The Hands Of Christ, by James C. Howell. This book, written by a United Methodist pastor, can be read either as a guide to discipleship or to mission (or both). It is written with a combination of erudition and anecdote, which is fitting from an author who has a Ph.D. (which Howell does) and is also a great preacher (which I have heard that he is). I would recommend this book for mission groups as well as small groups or Sunday school classes that are seeking to better understand Christ's call to discipleship in the world.

3) Ending Hunger Now: A Challenge to Persons of Faith, by George McGovern, Bob Dole, and Donald E. Messer. This is an interesting recent book that tackles the issue of global hunger from a non-partisan, faith perspective. It is good to use in a church with a wide range of political viewpoints because of the way McGovern and Dole approach their task. They assert that ending global hunger - a problem that disproportionately affects women and children - is an issue that all people of faith can agree on. They also claim that hunger can realistically be eliminated by the year 2030. The key is to figure out how to join (churches, governments, NGOs) together to get it done. The book has some deficiencies, and at times the contributions of Dole and Messer do not seem to match up to that of McGovern. (That's particularly disappointing in the case of Messer, who is a United Methodist ethicist and is supposed to be providing the theological heft to the book.) Still, it is a great book to use in preparation for a mission in the developing world. A mission team I led to Peru last summer read it beforehand, together with a lot of mutual prayer and joint physical preparation. The Holy Spirit really used this text to galvanize our attitude toward a children's feeding ministry in the location we were heading. It helped set the whole tone for our mission effort (as well as for continuing efforts after we returned).

I'd like to hear what books others are reading for mission and discipleship in the church.