Recommended Books and Resources

This section cites some of the more recent publications that Gary has been reading and lists books or resources that Gary recommends.

In most cases, if you click on the title you will be taken to Amazon.com where you can purchase the book or other resource.

Gary R. Collins, Christian Counseling: A Comprehensive Guide (Nelson: 2007).

This is Gary's basic textbook in Christian counseling, completely revised, re-written, expanded and updated.

Gary R. Collins, Christian Counseling Casebook (Nelson, 2007).

This is a book of real cases illustrating the thirty or more specific problem issues discussed in the Christian Counseling book. The Casebook has questions for group study and for personal application. It was written to parallel and supplement the Christian Counseling textbook.

Gary R. Collins, Christian Coaching (NavPress, 2009).

This is among the first and probably the most complete textbook on Christian coaching. The essence of coaching is here in a revised, expanded, and updated edition of the book that first appeared in 2001.

Gary’s Favorites

Recently I talked with a friend who is living overseas and who is in a stage of life where he has some time to read. He asked me to suggest 10 or 12 books that I would recommend. My friend is young, a committed Christian, an emerging leader, culturally sensitive, planning to enter medical school, but not especially interested in business, counseling or coaching. What follows are suggestions for my friend. These are books that have influenced me recently and that might interest others. In the coming months I will make changes, deleting some books whenever I find others that I like better.

I would be interested to learn about books that others would suggest: books that I should read and maybe add to the list. Please email me with your suggestions and, in time, I’ll start another list of some books that others have recommended.

Robert Benson. The Echo Within: Finding Your True Calling. (Waterbrook Press, 2009).

Henry and Richard Blackaby. Spiritual Leadership: Moving People on to God’s Agenda. (B&H Press, 2001). This is an excellent book on leadership that can apply to any Christian.

Dave Gibbons. The Monkey and the Fish: Liquid Leadership for a Third-Culture Church (Zondervan, 2009). The author likes to draw attention to his extensive travels but if you look beyond that, this is a very insightful book about doing church in the twenty-first century. Part of the Leadership Network Innovation Series it is a fresh and challenging portrayal of what churches can be like, making a difference in a contemporary, ever-changing world. In addition to being an effective writer, Gibbons is an engaging and insightful speaker.

Shane Hipps. Flickering Pixels: How Technology Shapes Your Faith. (Zondervan, 2009). The book is of uneven quality but overall it is a sobering and worth-reading discussion of how our beliefs and our Christian spiritual practices are being shaped by the "tiny dots that make up the screens of life, from TVs to cell phones."  A sobering and thought provoking book.

David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons. UnChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity...And Why it Matters. (Baker, 2007). This is a research based book from the Barna Group. If you have connections with many people under 35 the conclusions of this book will come as no surprise. But the book is a sometimes disturbing picture of what a younger generation (and many of us who are older) think when we really reflect on contemporary churches and Christianity. The book is sobering but positive and filled with hope.

Jimmy Long. The Leadership Jump:Building Partnerships Between Existing and Emerging Christian Leaders. (InterVarsity, 2009). If you keep up with trends in leadership, none of this will surprise you, but Long gives a clear contrast between the top-down "existing" leadership styles that are fading, and the fast emerging leadership that involves teams working in partnerships. Arrording to the cover "not only is the baton being passed to up-and-coming leaders, but the very nature of leadership is being transformed." This book shows how this is happening.

Erwin Raphael McManus. An Unstoppable Force: Daring to Become the Church God had in Mind. (Group, 2001). This had a profound influence on me when I first read it. Almost as important was another McManus book: Seizing Your Divine Moment: Dare to Live a Life of Adventure (Nelson, 2002).

Reggie McNeal. The Present Future: Six Tough Questions for the Church. (Jossey-Bass, 2003). McNeal is an insightful writer who also has written a powerful follow-up book, Practicing Greatness: Seven Disciplines of Extraordinary Spiritual Leaders. The latter book is a good guideline for spiritual and leadership growth.

Mary Pipher. Writing to Change the World (Riverhead Books, 2006). Pipher is a psychologist who does not write from a Christian perspective. This book on writing is practical and well written. Another of her books, In the Middle of Everywhere (Harcourt, 2002) is a fascinating book about how we can relate cross culturally (and learn to relate cross culturally) by connecting with international people in our own communities. This is recommended for anybody who wants to understand and connect cross-culturally and internationally.

Soon-Chan Rah. The Next Evangelicalism: Freeing the Church from Western Cultural Captivity. This is one of my farvorites on this list. Rah is a Korean-American professor at North Park Seminary near Chicago. He is persuasive and passionate in his style but does not come across as angry or condemning. He argues that the evangelical church is growing worldwide but shows how American evangelicalism (inclluding leaders of younger emergent churches) are encapsulated in the individualistic, materialistic, white, western cultural perspectives that already are draining our vitality and effectiveness. Thought provoking and stimulating.

Gary Small and Gigi Vorgan. iBrain: Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind (Collins, 2008). Well written and understandable (even if you know little about brian physiology), this book describes how our brains and relationships are being shaped by multitasking and the incessant flood of data, images, and messages from digital technology.

Andy Stanley. Visioneering: God’s Blueprint for Developing and Maintaining Personal Vision (Multnomah, 1999). This is the oldest book on my list but maybe the one that has influenced me the most. If you have any interest in finding and reaching your vision (or a vision for your church or business), read this book.

Andy Stanley. The Next Generation Leader: Five Essentials for those who will Shape the Future, (Multnomah, 2003).

Robert E. Weber, The Younger Evangelicals: Meet a New Group of Leaders who are Shaping the Future of a Movement. Well worth reading, especially if you live and work in a postmodern society (which we all do!)